* QUEEN: Not very useful right at the start, because it may be harassed, but always powerful. Place it near the centre in the opening, behind the minor pieces – e2,d2 or f2/c2 are good squares – ready to jump out to make a raid in combination with other pieces. After some pieces have been exchanged, or you have a clear advantage, you can move the Queen further towards the little centre (e4,d4,e5,d5).
To summarise: anxiety, haste, vagueness, confusion and simple-mindedness are the enemies of good moves.
(Fine) Fine’s two last questions to be asked before a move is made: * How does it affect the centre? * How does it fit in with the development of my other pieces and pawns?
6. Move your king to safety at the side by castling King’s-side (which also gets your Rook into play)
* How do you react to pressure? Mental toughness and willpower are important in chess. The top boards often look calmer and more composed because they are; they are concentrating on the game and are not distracted by unexpected events on the board. [I have more than once played strong opponents who said afterwards they thought I was winning at one point, but I would never have guessed that from their expression during the game – they looked totally assured and confident!]
(Lasker) 2. Do not move any piece twice in the opening, but put it at once on the right square.
Don’t hope that your opponent won’t see the threat – expect your opponent to play the best move, and see if you still like your plan. [You cannot base your game around one-idea plans like a3 Bc2 Qd3 Qxh7# – this may take four moves to threaten and one move (…g6) to defend]
(Lasker) 1. Do not move any pawns in the opening of a game but the King and Queen pawns.
Accumulation theory: even if you have several advantages, don’t be too confident to pick up another.
* Very often the first priority in the early middle game in closed positions is to see where you can open a file. (Like in the French defence: after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Black should immediately see about opening up space on the Queen’s-side with 3…c5.)
