35 Vital Chess Principles | Opening, Middlegame, and Endgame Principles - Chess Strategy and Ideas

1. Control the center of board
2. Develop pieces quickly
3. Knights before bishops
4. Dont move same piece twice in opening
5. No queen too early
6. Castle before move 10
7. Connect rooks
8. Rooks should go on open or half open files
9. Knights on the rim are grim
10. Avoid double pawns
11. Avoid isolated pawns
12. Avoid backward pawns
13. Dont trade bishop for knight
14. Avoid moving pawns in front of castle king
15. Dont open center if king is still there
16. 2 minor pieces are better than rook+pawn
17. 3 minors is better than queen
18. Rooks are strong on 7th or 2nd rank
19. Doubled rooks on open file are very strong
20. Bishops are better in open, knight-closed
21.deal with attack on flank with atk on cntr
22. Capture toward cntr with pawns
23. End game, king is valuable
24. Rooks go behind passed pawn
25. 2 connected pawns on 6th rank beats rook
26. Atk base of pawn chain
27. Knights are best blockaders of pawns
28. If position is cramped, trade pieces
29. When ahead, trade pieces but not pawns
30. When down, trade pawns but not pieces
31. Opposite colored bishop pieces dangerous
32. End game, games are drawish
33. Dont play hope chess
34. When you see good move, stop and look for better move
35. Know right time to ignore principles

Author — @snookabooka1

My elaborate notes

*General principles*
Look for a better move when you see a good move
Know the right times when to ignore chess principles (so basically know why you use the principles)

*Opening*
Control the center
Go for kings safety
Develop pieces, first knight, then bisschop, queen not immediately because you may have to move your queen and you miss out on the chance to develop other pieces
Develop pieces on side you want to castle
When developing your pieces, don’t move already developed pieces if possible
after you have castled and you have developed your pieces → connecting rooks is powerful


*Middle Game*
Put rooks on open files or half open files (half open file is file with one pawn)
knights have more options in the centre
Avoid double pawns (two pawns on the same file)
Avoid isolated pawns (if no pawn is next to his file)
Avoid backward pawns (pawns that have no protection from side pawns)
Don’t trade bishop for knight without good reason
Avoid moving pawns in front of castled king
Don’t open up the center if your king is still centered (because your king can get exposed)
2 minor pieces are better than rook and pawn
3 minor pieces are better than queen
Rook is strong on 7th rank
Double rook on open file is strong (e.g., can prevent opponent from placing rook on open file)
Bishops are better in an open game, knights are better in closed game (closed game can be one with pawns that block bishop lines)
Deal with a flank attack (from pawns) with a counter attack in the center
Capture towards the center if you have the option to capture a piece with two pawns
Attack the base pawn of a pawn chain (pawns that are protected by each other)
Trade pieces to open up a cramped position (when pieces are blockaded and can not move)
Opposite coloured bishops are dangerous in the middle game because you can not do anything with your bishops against his bishop. His bishop with his queen are particularly dangerous


*Endgame*
It is strong to protect passed pawn (= a pawn that could walk freely to 8th rank) with a backward rook
2 connected passed pawn (= two passed pawns next to each other on the same rank) always beat a rook and one pawn gets a queen
Knights are good to blockade passed pawns
Trade pieces when you are up in material but don’t trade pawns. E.g., if you are up 2 points in material with a rook against a knight, the rook becomes more valuable after you trade pieces because it can then capture pawns.
- The opposite of that is also true, try to trade pawns when you’re down material
In endgame, opposite coloured bishops (without queen in the game) can easily result in draw

Author — @oscarwaterman6137

I want to add: 36. Don't play "Defence chess" which is essentially you trying to NOT LOSE. You only defend and try to protect and preserve your pieces, but there's no attacks or any goal to checkmate your opponent. I see this in a lot of players that are afraid of losing.

Author — @LudosErgoSum

I recently started really learning chess at 35, I've known the rules through a handful of games when I was a kid.

I would just like to thank you for making this. It's hard for an older, overworked, too many things to do after you get home from a construction job kinda guy like me to get in to it again. I also know there are 7 year olds out there that would make me look silly, and that tends to make you want to choose something different to be interested in. Something your years give you an edge on.

But this video alone really helped build my confidence to just try. I watched it, i want to play a game now, i want to watch it again, game, watch, until its ingrained.

Because playing chess isnt like anything else, and learning chess blindly is absolutely awful. In my experience

Author — @TheSefk

I've been trying to play against a chess app in the level hard and had been repeatedly beaten by it in the opening. On my first game after watching this video I did significantly better. Thank you!

Author — @brenorocha6687

Also don't forget to try to force your opponent into breaking the principles.

Eg try to put them under pressure to double up their pawns, try to pressure them into moving their knights to the edge of the board, pressure them into moving the same piece multiple times during the opening, etc.

Author — @alkaholic4848

One good tip that I've realized after years of playing is that you should think of Chess as a single player game, and therefore always plan out the moves for both sides. It can be easy to tunnel vision on your own side, but if you always prepare yourself by thinking "what would I do if i were my opponent" you often can perform better and formulate more complex ideas.

Author — @teoflandoliokeefe5483

I also love Levy Rozman's principles of "Checks, Captures, Attacks" for analysis importance, and "disprove the move" in calculation (the latter basically means you should never justify how a move could succeed, but instead justify why the move can't fail)

Author — @8stormy5

For a ""beginner+" player like me this was a perfect video. Clear, logical, and brief/helpful explanations! Thank you so much! 👍

Author — @mbc-xe8rb

Thanks for your amazing content bro. Straight to the point, loud and clear! Cheers!

Author — @maistortrichko

Wow I was skeptical about a Top 35 video but this was very amusing and helpful. I haven't even seen this guy play but I know he's good. I learned more in 20 minutes than all my games I've played. Thank you so much for the tips. They feel like secret weapons.

Author — @tomvonneefe4269

And suddenly I realize how many twists chess can have. I knew there was something I was not able to find. Comparing the principles there is a vivid picture now why I have to do certain things. Really sorted my play. Thank you!

Author — @stiller4590

Great video. I had missed some of these basics

Author — @olivernordin

Excellent summation! Thanks for the great principles and good luck in your next tournaments! I will utilize your video for my chess students! Thank you and great job!

Author — @digigil4597

Thanks. I have actually intuitively adopted all the principles over time. Principle 21 is the one I'm struggling with, as is EVERY beginner: "attack". This is what makes you an intermediate player: being able to plan an attack, i.e. predict more than 2-3 moves.

Author — @Rammbock

To the point, short and sweet. Now why cant people who teach chess do it like you. We not interested in what they think and what they would do or how smart they are, if they so smart they shouldn't be teaching but rather playing Magnus. Thank you so much for this lesson.

Author — @carlos1rsa

I enjoyed every bit of this❤. With this, i have seen solutions to my problems in chess. Thanks for sharing

Author — @nkechimakata3254

0:46 Principle 1 - Control Center
0:57 Principle 2 - Develop Pieces
1:16 Principle 3 - Knights before bishops
1:24 Principle 4 - Don't move the same piece 2 times, while developing
1:36 Principle 5 - Don't bring queen out too early
2:03 Principle 6 - Castle Before move 10
2:16 Principle 7 - Connect your Rooks
2:33 Principle 8 - Rooks should go on open or half open files
3:09 Principle 9 - Knights on the Rim are Grim
3:25 Principle 10 - Try avoiding doubled Pawns
3:56 Principle 11 - Avoid Isolated Pawns and Double Isolated Pawns
4:26 Principle 12 - Avoid Backward Pawns
4:49 Principle 13 - Don't trade your bishop for knight; without good reason
5:27 Principle 14 - Avoid moving the pawns in front of your castled king
5:50 Principle 15 - Don't open the center if your king is not castled
6:12 Principle 16 - 2 minor pieces (Knights/Bishops) are generally than 1 Rook and 1 Pawn
6:44 Principle 17 - 3 minor pieces is better than a Queen
6:55 Principle 18 - Rooks are very strong on the 7th rank
7:19 Principle 19 - Doubled Rooks on an open file are Very Strong
7:38 Principle 20 - Bishops are better in open positions -Knights are better in closed positions
8:16 Principle 21 - Best way to deal with flank attack is counter attack the center
8:39 Principle 22 - Capture towards center of board
9:03 Principle 23 - Utilize King during end game
9:22 Principle 24 - Rooks go behind Passed Pawns
10:00 Principle 25 - 2 Connected Passed Pawns on the 6th rank Will beat a Rook
11:06 Principle 26 - Attack Base of Pawn Chain
11:31 Principle 27 - Knights are best blockaders of Pawns
12:00 Principle 28 - If Position cramped, Trade Pieces
Principle 29 went on vacation
12:39 Principle 30 - When Ahead material, Trade Pieces but not Pawns
13:17 Principle 31 - When Down material, Trade Pawns but not Pieces
13:57 Principle 32 - Opposite colored bishops are dangerous in middle game
- 15:15 Opposite colored bishops are draw-ish in end game
15:43 Principle 33 - Don't play "Hope chess"
16:44 Principle 34 - When you see good move - Pause and look for better move
17:11 Principle 35 - Know when to go against Principles

Author — @isaachimself

Another good principle to note is "responsibility pins". It's when an opponent's piece must stay in a certain area to prevent checkmate or an immense loss of material. The piece's responsibilities keep it confined "aka" pinned to an area. For example, if I have my rooks lined up, getting ready to back rank mate my opponent's king, my opponent's rooks MUST stay on the first rank to prevent checkmate. That means I can get a piece like my bishop onto the second rank to help attack rooks and attack the king without worry about it being captured, because the instant one of the rooks goes to the second rank to capture my bishop, I can deliver back rank mate.

Author — @ahuman32478

Thank you this is inspiring! I want to learn how to properly play and understand chess but theres just too many strategies lol. Thank you for helping me understand at least basic concepts. As you explain each concept the game starts to take more shape and i began to see each piece differently. It makes more sense and the board no longer looks like just a bunch of squares. I can actually see the territory and its advantages.

Author — @kevinlee7083