Good moves begin with an idea you can check. Before memorising opening names, learn a short routine: recognise danger, compare candidates and consider the opponent’s reply.
In this guide
A routine before every move
Start with the opponent’s latest change. Which piece was attacked, which line opened and which protection abandoned? Your attractive plan is worthless if it loses a queen next move.
Next look for checks, captures and immediate threats for both sides. This is a search method, not an instruction to check whenever possible. A forcing move is useful only if the position afterwards is useful too.
- Safety: am I in check, or is one of my pieces insufficiently protected?
- Candidates: which two or three moves address the danger or improve my position?
- Test: what would be the most troublesome plausible reply to each candidate?
Development creates possibilities
The example follows e2–e4, e7–e5, g1–f3, b8–c6, f1–c4 and f8–c5. White has advanced a central pawn and developed both kingside minor pieces. Kingside castling e1–g1 is now legal.
This illustrates coordinated development rather than a compulsory sequence. Knights and bishops gain useful squares while the king can move towards safety. Bringing the queen out very early often invites attacks and costs development time.
Position as text
White: bishop c4, pawn e4, knight f3, pawn a2, pawn b2, pawn c2, pawn d2, pawn f2, pawn g2, pawn h2, rook a1, knight b1, bishop c1, queen d1, king e1, rook h1. Black: rook a8, bishop c8, queen d8, king e8, knight g8, rook h8, pawn a7, pawn b7, pawn c7, pawn d7, pawn f7, pawn g7, pawn h7, knight c6, bishop c5, pawn e5. To move: White.
Control the centre without occupying it blindly
The central squares d4, e4, d5 and e5 often give pieces more directions. Control can come from a pawn occupying a square or from a piece attacking it at a distance. What matters is whether your setup responds to the opponent’s possibilities.
Every pawn move is permanent: a pawn cannot retreat. Before advancing a pawn that shields your king, check the lines and diagonals it opens. Space and safety need to be considered together.
Trade with a concrete calculation
Rough values help beginners: pawn about one, knight and bishop roughly three, rook about five and queen about nine. These are thinking aids, not game points or a reliable evaluation of every position. King safety, mobility and immediate mate can override material arithmetic.
In a capture sequence, count beyond the first piece won. Mentally follow the possible recaptures to the end, then ask which side can use the remaining pieces more actively.
Three common mistakes and their checks
- Looking only at your attack: check opposing checks and captures once more before committing.
- Moving one piece repeatedly without a reason: see whether an undeveloped piece can take on a useful task.
- Treating a material advantage as a guaranteed win: also check stalemate, exposed king squares and escape routes.
Practise one skill per game
Choose one question for a practice game, such as: did I notice every attacked friendly piece before moving? A lower computer setting is useful for this. Understanding one decision afterwards teaches more than a bare win percentage.
The next guide isolates three decisions in practice positions. These are original teaching positions, not records of famous games. Read them without signing in; the browser games currently have no free position editor for automatically loading these diagrams.