GM Yasser Seirawan’s Chess Strategy for the Opening Phase

GM Yasser Seirawan’s Chess Strategy for the Opening Phase

Nestled throughout his Winning Chess series of books, Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan gives a rough set of 6 Rules for managing the Opening Phase.

He advises that you do the following …

1. Activate Your Troops, by moving them from their ineffective starting positions, onto squares that will make better use of their individual talents.

2. Build a House for Your King, by utilizing a combination of Pawns, a Knight and a Bishop to create a protective structure where your King will sit, until called upon to help snuff out the enemy, during the Endgame phase.

Building your King’s House is typically done in the process of clearing space, between your King and chosen Rook, ready for Castling your King.

3. Castle Your King. This will speed up the process of getting the King tucked safely away in his House.

4. Connect Your Rooks, as they become more powerful, and work more efficiently for your army, when they can see each other and work together.

Castling also speeds up the process of helping to Connect your Rooks.

5. Control the Center. This is the Chess equivalent to an army that manages to control a hill, or high ground – it makes fighting the main battle much easier.

If a player cannot dominate the Center, they’ll be forced to spend more time working their way up and down the Flanks; their opponent will be able to deal with the threats more easily and, with their Center Domination, be better positioned to mount attacks against the enemy King.

6. Obey the Rules of Strategy. In particular, avoid moving same piece twice (time is critical – for more, see the Beginners Chess Guide article about the Principle of Time).