Why is castling so important in chess? This beginner’s guide explains the castling rules, compares short and long castling, and shows how pawn structures and defending pieces can protect your king. You’ll also discover the brilliant, yet little-known, +2 rule that will help you to attack an under-defended enemy king!
When you first started playing chess, it’s likely you focused on short term gains more than strategy. This is natural! After gaining a bit of experience, players begin to “see” their position on the board and develop strategies. A chess strategy is a set of moves advancing the player’s overall position and chance of winning the game. Strategy is important throughout the game, but it’s usually set in motion during the opening, supported or changed by tactical play in the middle-game, and (hopefully) realized in the endgame.
For newer players, chess piece values are a simple way to play better chess. You can evaluate potential moves to make sure you select one that gives you the biggest advantage or harms your game the least. When you’re still learning, this guideline can make the decisions easier and results better.
If you’re an intermediate chess player looking to win more games, learning some new chess strategies could be your golden ticket to rapid improvement. In this guide, we introduce 5 simple chess strategies, each with the potential to sky rocket your Elo to new heights!