Henebry - Chess Words of Wisdom: the Principles, Methods and Essential Knowledge of Chess

You should not trade pieces if you have the initiative

Opening the position helps to exploit weak squares

The best number of pawn islands to have is two

Exchanges increase the chances of mobilizing the majority wing

When behind in pieces, trade pawns, but not pieces

Calculate wide, not deep

Space is usually more important than time

Releasing the tension reduces your options

The player playing against the IQP should usually exchange all of the knights

You should not mobilize pawn structures that have doubled pawns

If a move looks bad on general principles, the plan is probably bad

The side with a positional advantage has no need to complicate

Knights are often better than bishops in blitz

A plan is made up of ideas, not moves

Trying to play the best move and playing to win are not the same

When faced with a critical position, you have to calculate variations

A gambited pawn is equal to three tempi

With the initiative, miracles can happen

Do not ignore your intuition

The weak point of the fianchetto position is the h3 (h6) square

Complications are good for the side that is losing

Long analysis, wrong analysis

If the move feels wrong, it usually is

The fianchettoed bishop is not as good as a pawn is in guarding holes

Do not win a pawn if it costs you more than two tempi

Sharp openings are best in blitz

The initiative is especially important in blitz

To play chess at a strong level, it is essential to play according to sound principles

To increase the influence of your fianchettoed bishop, open the center

A temporary advantage must be exploited at once

When you fianchetto one bishop, the other bishop automatically loses a little of its mobility

Rooks attack best from a distance

You should not change openings because the opponent is higher-rated

Passive defense can work against rook and knight pawns, but it does not work against inner pawns

An imbalance is a double-edged sword

Pawns gain in strength as the power of the pieces left on the board decreases

There is a difference between blitz and time-trouble

Exchange your redundant rook for your opponents only rook

When ahead pieces, trade pieces, when behind pieces, trade pawns

When you are ahead on pieces, trade pieces (but not necessarily pawns)

Connected passed pawns on the 6th rank beat a Rook

The more redundant two pieces are, generally the weaker they are together

A lead in development is less important in closed positions

An advantage in development leads to other advantages

Poor development is a key breeding ground for opening traps

It is usually a good strategy to put your pawns on the color opposite of your bishop

He who fears an isolated queens pawn should give up chess

Space is not an advantage unless you can use it beneficially for maneuvering and for piece play

A three-to-two majority is easier to convert into a passed pawn than is a four-to-three majority

Plan your action on the side of your pawn majority

A central pawn majority favors the attacker

The fewer pawn islands you have the stronger the structure is

The square in front of the backward pawn is the main factor

Having a rook on the seventh rank is worth about a pawn

It is best to leave active pieces where they are

The initiative is above everything

Tactics flow from superior positions

Only calculate when it is essential

Bishops gain in strength as the endgame approaches

Calculate the moves that are forcing and tactical first

The player with an advantage must attack

Only the player with the initiative has the right to attack

If an attack can succeed with pieces alone, then leave the pawns where they are

It is usually better to have the rook in front of the queen when playing on an open file

If there are no weaknesses, you do not have an attack

Queen exchanges are usually better for the player who is attacking on the queenside

Take the minimum risk and use the maximum in economy to stop an attack

Only defend against direct threats

Bishops and knights rarely coordinate well with each other

A sudden change into an endgame can throw an attacker off his game

Three useable diagonals are worth a pawn

Plans are usually made for just a few moves at a time

Any imbalance should give the stronger player an edge

Wing pawns become more valuable relative to central pawns as material diminishes

There is no room for mistakes in a king and pawn endgame

It is usually a mistake to move a pawn on the side where your opponent is attacking

Try to meet short-term threats with long-term moves

The first player in an open position to control an open central file will generally get the initiative

It is usually wrong to remove a piece from an open file to avoid exchanges

Play where you have the advantage

You can usually allow weaknesses in your position in return for good piece activity

The move g3 is usually a more weakening move than h3

A weak square for one player is potentially a strong square for the other

You cannot consider the white and black squares in isolation when analyzing a position

Color Complex weaknesses are not as important when the minor pieces are gone

A support point is only valuable if it is near the action

When your pieces are coordinated, they develop extraordinary power

If you have the bishop pair, put your pawns on the same color as your opponents remaining bishop

If you are facing a double fianchetto, try to close the position and gain control of the center

The knight pair is not a good combination

Never use a rook to defend a pawn

If you have a dynamic advantage, but a static weakness, it might be better to keep your queen

If the rooks cannot penetrate, it is often worth the sacrifice of the ex-change to force penetration

2011

Russell Enterprises, Inc.

Chess Words of Wisdom

The Principles, Methods and Essential Knowledge of Chess

by

Mike Henebry

ISBN: 978-1-936490-32-5

Copyright 2010 Mike Henebry

Copyright 2011 Russell Enterprises, Inc.

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any manner or form whatsoever or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Chess Words of Wisdom was originally published in 2010 by The Chess Press.

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