The Opening: Claim the Center

Four squares matter most

The board has 64 squares, but the four in the middle — d4, d5, e4, e5 — are the ones fights start over. A piece standing in the center attacks more squares than the same piece standing on the edge. An edge knight guards two squares; a center knight guards eight.

Knights and bishops first

Bring your knights and bishops out before your rooks and queen. Knights jump over pawns, so they can move right away. Bishops want long open diagonals. The queen is your strongest piece — she comes out after the small pieces, not before, or she becomes a target.

Castle early

Your king is safest tucked behind a wall of pawns. Castling does two jobs in one move: it hides the king and brings a rook toward the middle. Try to castle within the first ten moves.

One pawn to the center

Play e4 or d4 first. It opens a line for the bishop and stakes a claim in the middle. Every strong player’s first move is one of these two — now yours is too.