The Principle of Space and the Space Count System:
Part of the Beginner's Chess Guide (Section 2)
The Principle Of Space &
The Space Count System
[Gaining a Space Advantage in the Opening]
How To Gain A Space Advantage
In The Opening Phase Of A Game
In the Opening phase of a game, it's vital you spend your time wisely developing your army.
Any reckless deviation could gift your opponent any amount of Space Advantage and, as the fighting hots up, even the slimmest, positional advantage, over restrictions in your mobility, may be costly ... For YOU.
From your very first move, all your focus should be on developing your Major- and Minor- Pieces to positions where their range of movement will be most effectively exploited ...
As for your Pawns, they should be arranged into Structures that provide both defensive cover for your King and attacking support, as your heavy-duty pieces try and find ways to penetrate the enemy's position.
Key Principle of the Opening
"Move Each Piece ONCE Only!"
The fastest way to good, solid development of your army is to move each piece ONCE, until they've all been transferred from their starting places, to locations (squares) where they'll be more effective, for the coming battle.
The ONLY times you should move a piece TWICE or more, are:
- If your pieces are in immediate jeopardy and will likely be captured on the cheap (i.e. an enemy Pawn threatens your more-powerful Bishop).
- If your opponent makes a glaring positional error that leaves material exposed to immediate capture, for little effort on your part.
Moving On: Defending Against Opponent's Space Advantage (Page 5).
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