Beginner Chess Strategy: Maximizing Opening Play

Posted on February 25, 2012 by William in Beginner's Corner, Chess Openings, General Chess Articles, Strategy & Game Review

Picture the following scenario: a chess player sits down at the board, shakes your hand and says good luck, and starts blitzing out the first 15 moves in 5 minutes even though you each have 60 minutes for the entire game. Meanwhile, you take a good 25 minutes for these same 15 moves and achieve a healthy advantage out of the opening. This same opponent probably moves this fast against everyone all the time, especially in the opening. This strategy is not very practical in standard chess, as this guy is probably losing most of his games out of the opening and therefore never even gets to use his alleged “advantage on the clock”. This rule also applies to blitz games, although to a lesser extent. Even in blitz chess time is not the only factor to consider – and spending a proportionate amount of time on the opening is going to guarantee you the best chances of winning.

Use Your Time Appropriately in the Opening

The aforementioned example is just one of the many forms in which we see the disastrous effects of underestimating the importance of an aggressively played opening. Many players will consume their time appropriately in the opening, however still fail to achieve anything resembling an initiative. This is because many beginner chess players will waste valuable time in the opening on trying to recall previously memorized variations in a certain line. Players also often waste time in the opening by going too deeply into unrealistic lines or simply put: over-thinking simple moves. So just how can we make this whole opening thing work to our advantage?

Create Threats From Move 1

In my chess lessons, I also tell my students to remember two simple maxims -
1. When in Doubt, Develop a Piece
2. When in Doubt, Make a Threat. Fortunately, it’s even easier to do both of these things simultaneously in the opening. Playing the opening like brushing your teeth (<-- ex. daily routine) will not get you the results you deserve. And spending too much time in the opening by treating it like a solvable puzzle will not work either, as most serious chess games are governed by a time limit. So the solution is simple - play aggressively from the very first move. It's irrelevant if you're playing white or black, you should still strive to develop your pieces and most importantly create threats to take the initiative. Entering a chess game with this take-no-prisoners mentality will have a very positive effect on your results, as your opponents won't have the luxury of easily taking control of the game against routine, mechanical opening play.