Chess for Beginners
There are five basic rules for the ‘beginner’ chess player who has just learned how to move the chess pieces on the chess board.
These five basic rules are:
Basic Rule # 1: Control the centre positions at all times.
The centre positions generally are the squares at the center of the board, cornered by c3, c6, f3 and f6. But more specifically the really centre positions are the four squares at d4, d5, e4, e5.
Controlling the centre is not an end in itself but it is definitely a step towards an victorious end. A good end result is a combination of the following four main advantages:
1. Controlling the centre makes our pieces have more influence over the entire board.
2. Controlling the centre means a greater mobility of our chess pieces.
3. Controlling the centre restricts the mobility of our enemy pieces.
4. Controlling the centre results in a favorable exchange of pawns at the center leaving our enemy weak and often helpless.
Basic Rule # 2: Have an Attack Plan in Place
It is always good to have a definite plan in place, rather than having to depend on the flow of the moves. For instance we can plan to have our attack on the Queen side of the board or on the King side of the plan The idea is to take note of where the imbalance of the pieces are and then concentrate on that side (Queen side or King side) where the imbalance is to our advantage. And, it is always wise to alternate our moves between the defensive moves and the attacking moves.
We have to remember that there is no single plan for any game. We need to develop a plan of attack every time our opponent has moved his piece. To develop an effective plan as we go along in a game, we need to:
(1) assess and evaluate the situation each time an opponent makes a move;
(2) create a plan of action after that evaluation; where should our attack be concentrated, for instance?
(3) consider our opponent’s plan (if such a plan can be contemplated) and decide what we should do - to neutralize or defend or to proceed with our own plan of attack;
(4) be prepared to modify our plans as we move along the game.
http://www.rolandbesblogs.com/how-to-plan-in-chess.html
Basic Rule # 3: Castle Early for a Perfect Defence.
Castling is important as it connects the rooks together and it gets the king out of the center exposed position. If an opponent is able to ply open the center board, a centralized king is in great danger of being attack, and once attacked, the game is almost always lost.
The importance of connecting our rooks together should not be underestimated. If our rooks are not connected we will face a lot of problems later on in the game when we face and contest open files. Our rooks will then be forced to stay passive and our opponent can then outplay us with his or her active rooks.
Basic Rule # 4: Control the Middle and End Games by learning Tactics.
During the middle and end games of a chess match, the need to acquire the knowledge of the strategies and the tactics in getting a positive result is paramount. Tim Brennan at TacticsTime.com provides a list of 101 tips on strategies and tactics worth noting. Check these tips out at:
http://tacticstime.com/downloads/101TacticalTips.pdf
To perfect our skills in controlling the middle (after the first twenty monves) game and the end (when only less than six pieces of each side are left on the chess board) game, we have to practise - heaps of practices. It is wise to practise using the website www.chess.com where we can play free-of-charge with other players either on a 10-minutes game or or the 5-day game. http://www.chess.com
At this website, there are tactical puzzles to solve on a daily basis and there are also free e-lessons to learn.
Basic Rule # 5: Stay determined and focussed during the game.
Yes, even after a ‘disaster’ has happened - like a blind move that sees one of our key pieces like the Queen being taken by our opponent. In that case, all we need to do is to calm ourselves down, to play slowly such that there will not be any further mishaps, to have a plan of attack and play to force a draw or a stalemate.
A stalemate is a situation in chess where a player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal move. The rules of chess provide that when this stalemateo ccurs, the game ends as a draw with no winner.
http://www.chesscorner.com/tutorial/basic/draw/draw.htm