Commonly Used Chess Strategies

Chess is a board game that is played between two players with a chess board. The chessboard is square-shaped and contains 64 squares arranged on an 8 by 8 grid. Each player during a chess match starts with sixteen different pieces. Each player has one king and queen, two rooks, knights, and bishops, and eight pawns. Every unique piece on a chess board has unique ways of traveling up and down the chessboard. Both player in a game of chess has the goal of using the pieces to checkmate the opponent’s king. Though there is no clear distinction between them, the structure of a chess game can be divided into three stages: the opening, middlegame, and endgame.

Chess strategies are defined as setting up long-term goals for a player to advance towards victory over his or her opponent. Chess strategies contrast from chess tactics because chess tactics are short-term moves (about two or three moves), while chess strategies are selected from the opening of the game and usually end with the completion of the game. A chess strategy is usually formed after the quick evaluation of an opponent’s pieces at the beginning of the game, from pawn structure, king safety, the position of other pieces, and the control important squares on the board. He or she may also alter a strategy depending on the style of play of his or her opponent.

Chess Strategies in the Opening:
There are many different possible openings in a game of chess. The chess strategies used in openings involve the following goals:

To develop one’s pieces onto important spots on the board so that they will have a significant impact on the game to benefit the player.
Many players understand the importance of controlling the center squares of the board and the opening chess strategy of players usually involves controlling them.
King safety should also be considered during the opening. A good chess strategy is to “castle” the king at the right moment to ensure its safety for the middlegame.

Middlegame Chess Strategies:
This is the part of the game in which the most assessment takes place. The opening has already been established and long-term chess strategy plans can now be formulated. Since the middlegame is when most combinations of moves can occur, this is the phase where the most planning takes place. A “minority attack” is one chess strategy in which a player attacks an opponent’s queen side if the majority of pawns are on that side. One key chess strategy is for a player is to transform the game into an endgame by reducing the pieces on the board to a small amount.

Endgame Chess Strategies:
The chess endgame occurs when few pieces are left on the board. Pawns become more important, and in this stage, they may even become promoted to queens if they reach the 8th rank. The king also becomes more important and many chess strategies involve it moving to the center of the board so that it can attack opponent’s pawns.