Chess Basics and Strategy to Dominate the Home Game - Beat Your Friends at Chess 1

4 Basic Chess Strategy Factors

In general, we will focus on four basic factors that need to be taken into account when choosing your opening. Each opening in this book will include a gauge to measure how powerful each opening is for each factor. Keeping these factors in mind during the entire course of the game will give you a good idea of how to react to any situation.

Tempo

Tempo means making every move count. It's closely related to speed, and is needed both offensively and defensively. To keep tempo when opening, one must avoid moving the same piece twice. Another way to loose tempo is to move pieces that do not work together or do not accomplish anything quickly.

Keeping tempo throughout the opening means more flexibility, quicker attacks, and a more fluid defense. On higher levels of play, being a single move ahead in tempo is a solid advantage. On the home game level, a mistake in tempo is much more likely and therefore the advantage from keeping your tempo can be enormous.

Center Pawns:

Despite their appearance, pawns may just be the most powerful piece in the game. Think about it - the only piece worth trading for a pawn is a pawn. Forcing your opponent to trade when you have better center pawn control will give you an advantage and give your opponent a chance to make the game ending mistake.

Having pawns in the center means having pawns that are either positioned in, or able to attack, the four squares in the middle of the board. This can drastically reduce your opponents options, and eventually tighten a noose that will likely end in your victory. Just don't forget to keep the pawns protected from a distance. As long as your center pawns are protected, you want them up as far as physically possible.

Minor Pieces:

Minor pieces are everything other than pawns, the king, and the queen. Advancing the minor pieces is vital to both attack and defense. Where you place your pawns early on will be the biggest factor in how easily your minor pieces can advance.

The most important role of minor pieces is to put pressure on the opponent's king. This pressure doesn't just mean an immediate checkmate but also includes locking down the minor pieces or queen of your opponent, forcing them not to move and expose the king.

King Safety:

While some players may prefer more aggressive strategies, the defensive player will be most interested in this factor. The first opening we will work through is a perfect example of a formation with high king safety. Check our ebook for more beginner chess openings.

The king is typically safest after castling, which can be performed as soon as there are no pieces between the king and one of the rooks. The king is even safer if there are also a number of pawns close by. Openings which leave room for the king to castle, and don't remove defensive pawns, will develop a safer king.

Chess Basics and Strategy to Dominate the Home Game - Beat Your Friends at Chess 1   

Chess Pins and Forks - Beat Your Friends at Chess 2

Pins and Forks

Pins A pin is the position that occurs when there is an attacking piece in sight of a defending piece that can not move without exposing a more valuable defending piece. "To pin" is the action of moving the attacking piece into position.

Unlike the fork, there are only three pieces than can perform a pin. The bishop, queen, and rook. This is because these pieces move in long straight or diagonal lines. Knights and pawns can not pin, although they can still initiate a pin by moving out of the way of a well-positioned bishop, queen, or rook.

Any piece can become pinned, but typically the more valuable piece on the other side of the pin is either the queen or the king. A pinned queen will also mean that the pinned piece is at least somewhat defended. It is much better to keep a pin than to take an even trade in pieces.

An absolute pin is a pin in which the more valuable piece behind the pinned piece is none other than the king. It is actually against the rules of the game to move a piece that is pinned in front of the king, as this would put the king in check and on the next move would theoretically be taken.

Any time you can successfully perform a pin it is almost certainly the best choice to do so. A pin does substantial damage to the mobility of a players pieces, even if does not actually remove them from the game.

Forks

Creating a successful fork will effectively end most chess games.

A fork is the maneuver by which one piece makes two or more attacks simultaneously. Most of the time, this forces the defending player to sacrifice at least one of the forked pieces. Forks are most powerful when one of the pieces under attack is the king. The defending player will have to move the king out of check, guaranteeing the potential to take the other forked piece.

If the king is not one of the units under attack in the fork, it is possible to escape. If one of the pieces caught in the fork can escape, and in the same move put the enemy king in check, this will give the defender time to move away the second forked piece on the next move.

The fork is preformed most often with the knight. The knight can attack up to six squares at a time, not as many as the bishop or rook, but the squares the knight can attack are located around it in a circle. This radius attack allows forking the king and another opponent piece even though they are separated or defended by other pieces.

Chess Basics and Strategy to Dominate the Home Game - Beat Your Friends at Chess 1   

Chess Pins and Forks - Beat Your Friends at Chess 2

Pins and Forks

Pins A pin is the position that occurs when there is an attacking piece in sight of a defending piece that can not move without exposing a more valuable defending piece. "To pin" is the action of moving the attacking piece into position.

Unlike the fork, there are only three pieces than can perform a pin. The bishop, queen, and rook. This is because these pieces move in long straight or diagonal lines. Knights and pawns can not pin, although they can still initiate a pin by moving out of the way of a well-positioned bishop, queen, or rook.

Any piece can become pinned, but typically the more valuable piece on the other side of the pin is either the queen or the king. A pinned queen will also mean that the pinned piece is at least somewhat defended. It is much better to keep a pin than to take an even trade in pieces.

An absolute pin is a pin in which the more valuable piece behind the pinned piece is none other than the king. It is actually against the rules of the game to move a piece that is pinned in front of the king, as this would put the king in check and on the next move would theoretically be taken.

Any time you can successfully perform a pin it is almost certainly the best choice to do so. A pin does substantial damage to the mobility of a players pieces, even if does not actually remove them from the game.

Forks

Creating a successful fork will effectively end most chess games.

A fork is the maneuver by which one piece makes two or more attacks simultaneously. Most of the time, this forces the defending player to sacrifice at least one of the forked pieces. Forks are most powerful when one of the pieces under attack is the king. The defending player will have to move the king out of check, guaranteeing the potential to take the other forked piece.

If the king is not one of the units under attack in the fork, it is possible to escape. If one of the pieces caught in the fork can escape, and in the same move put the enemy king in check, this will give the defender time to move away the second forked piece on the next move.

The fork is preformed most often with the knight. The knight can attack up to six squares at a time, not as many as the bishop or rook, but the squares the knight can attack are located around it in a circle. This radius attack allows forking the king and another opponent piece even though they are separated or defended by other pieces.

Chess Basics and Strategy to Dominate the Home Game - Beat Your Friends at Chess 1   

Chess Pins and Forks - Beat Your Friends at Chess 2

Pins and Forks

Pins A pin is the position that occurs when there is an attacking piece in sight of a defending piece that can not move without exposing a more valuable defending piece. "To pin" is the action of moving the attacking piece into position.

Unlike the fork, there are only three pieces than can perform a pin. The bishop, queen, and rook. This is because these pieces move in long straight or diagonal lines. Knights and pawns can not pin, although they can still initiate a pin by moving out of the way of a well-positioned bishop, queen, or rook.

Any piece can become pinned, but typically the more valuable piece on the other side of the pin is either the queen or the king. A pinned queen will also mean that the pinned piece is at least somewhat defended. It is much better to keep a pin than to take an even trade in pieces.

An absolute pin is a pin in which the more valuable piece behind the pinned piece is none other than the king. It is actually against the rules of the game to move a piece that is pinned in front of the king, as this would put the king in check and on the next move would theoretically be taken.

Any time you can successfully perform a pin it is almost certainly the best choice to do so. A pin does substantial damage to the mobility of a players pieces, even if does not actually remove them from the game.

Forks

Creating a successful fork will effectively end most chess games.

A fork is the maneuver by which one piece makes two or more attacks simultaneously. Most of the time, this forces the defending player to sacrifice at least one of the forked pieces. Forks are most powerful when one of the pieces under attack is the king. The defending player will have to move the king out of check, guaranteeing the potential to take the other forked piece.

If the king is not one of the units under attack in the fork, it is possible to escape. If one of the pieces caught in the fork can escape, and in the same move put the enemy king in check, this will give the defender time to move away the second forked piece on the next move.

The fork is preformed most often with the knight. The knight can attack up to six squares at a time, not as many as the bishop or rook, but the squares the knight can attack are located around it in a circle. This radius attack allows forking the king and another opponent piece even though they are separated or defended by other pieces.

Chess Basics and Strategy to Dominate the Home Game - Beat Your Friends at Chess 1   

Chess Pins and Forks - Beat Your Friends at Chess 2

Pins and Forks

Pins A pin is the position that occurs when there is an attacking piece in sight of a defending piece that can not move without exposing a more valuable defending piece. "To pin" is the action of moving the attacking piece into position.

Unlike the fork, there are only three pieces than can perform a pin. The bishop, queen, and rook. This is because these pieces move in long straight or diagonal lines. Knights and pawns can not pin, although they can still initiate a pin by moving out of the way of a well-positioned bishop, queen, or rook.

Any piece can become pinned, but typically the more valuable piece on the other side of the pin is either the queen or the king. A pinned queen will also mean that the pinned piece is at least somewhat defended. It is much better to keep a pin than to take an even trade in pieces.

An absolute pin is a pin in which the more valuable piece behind the pinned piece is none other than the king. It is actually against the rules of the game to move a piece that is pinned in front of the king, as this would put the king in check and on the next move would theoretically be taken.

Any time you can successfully perform a pin it is almost certainly the best choice to do so. A pin does substantial damage to the mobility of a players pieces, even if does not actually remove them from the game.

Forks

Creating a successful fork will effectively end most chess games.

A fork is the maneuver by which one piece makes two or more attacks simultaneously. Most of the time, this forces the defending player to sacrifice at least one of the forked pieces. Forks are most powerful when one of the pieces under attack is the king. The defending player will have to move the king out of check, guaranteeing the potential to take the other forked piece.

If the king is not one of the units under attack in the fork, it is possible to escape. If one of the pieces caught in the fork can escape, and in the same move put the enemy king in check, this will give the defender time to move away the second forked piece on the next move.

The fork is preformed most often with the knight. The knight can attack up to six squares at a time, not as many as the bishop or rook, but the squares the knight can attack are located around it in a circle. This radius attack allows forking the king and another opponent piece even though they are separated or defended by other pieces.

Chess Basics and Strategy to Dominate the Home Game - Beat Your Friends at Chess 1   

Chess Pins and Forks - Beat Your Friends at Chess 2

Pins and Forks

Pins A pin is the position that occurs when there is an attacking piece in sight of a defending piece that can not move without exposing a more valuable defending piece. "To pin" is the action of moving the attacking piece into position.

Unlike the fork, there are only three pieces than can perform a pin. The bishop, queen, and rook. This is because these pieces move in long straight or diagonal lines. Knights and pawns can not pin, although they can still initiate a pin by moving out of the way of a well-positioned bishop, queen, or rook.

Any piece can become pinned, but typically the more valuable piece on the other side of the pin is either the queen or the king. A pinned queen will also mean that the pinned piece is at least somewhat defended. It is much better to keep a pin than to take an even trade in pieces.

An absolute pin is a pin in which the more valuable piece behind the pinned piece is none other than the king. It is actually against the rules of the game to move a piece that is pinned in front of the king, as this would put the king in check and on the next move would theoretically be taken.

Any time you can successfully perform a pin it is almost certainly the best choice to do so. A pin does substantial damage to the mobility of a players pieces, even if does not actually remove them from the game.

Forks

Creating a successful fork will effectively end most chess games.

A fork is the maneuver by which one piece makes two or more attacks simultaneously. Most of the time, this forces the defending player to sacrifice at least one of the forked pieces. Forks are most powerful when one of the pieces under attack is the king. The defending player will have to move the king out of check, guaranteeing the potential to take the other forked piece.

If the king is not one of the units under attack in the fork, it is possible to escape. If one of the pieces caught in the fork can escape, and in the same move put the enemy king in check, this will give the defender time to move away the second forked piece on the next move.

The fork is preformed most often with the knight. The knight can attack up to six squares at a time, not as many as the bishop or rook, but the squares the knight can attack are located around it in a circle. This radius attack allows forking the king and another opponent piece even though they are separated or defended by other pieces.

Chess Basics and Strategy to Dominate the Home Game - Beat Your Friends at Chess 1