1.

[Before discussing opening principles, I need to clarify the importance of the opening in the study of chess. The most common error that chess teachers and players make is to spend the beginning of their chess lives memorizing opening variations with which they think they can win lots of quick games. There is nothing more tempting than learning to win fast; but this is a terrible mistake. If you memorize variations, you may do well in the short run, but over time you'll falter because you're not learning the heart of chess. 

  When I began my study of chess when I was six years old, my first teacher and I spent years studying the endgame. This may sound counter-intuitive to some people because I was working on positions I may never see again; but I promise you: this is the right way to go.

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]

2.

[By studying each chess piece in isolation, I learned the power of empty space. The chess board possesses fascinating subtleties which emerge over time; and I learned the essence of the chess pieces because I studied them in positions of reduced complexity. What was important was that I was learning the principles which govern all chess positions. You may have noticed that this is the spirit of the Academy. I'm teaching you ideas that are universal to your chess experience. 

  Growing up, I was the highest rated kid in the country from the age of eight on; and all the other top players were always gunning for me. There was one coach in particular who ran the program at the school that was the main rival to Dalton, the school I attended from third to tenth grade. This guy taught his students the beyond all else. His students had countless traps memorized, and many of them were prepared specifically for my opening repertoire. Playing against these kids was always dangerous because the beginning of the game was like walking through a minefield. I often came out of the opening down a pawn or two; but I never lost one National Championship game to one of these kids. I might have been in a little trouble off the bat, but as the games progressed, I got stronger and they got weaker because I was moving towards my area of comfort, the endgame, and they were leaving their memorized openings.

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]

3.

[During my years, the Dalton team won seven national championship and I won a eight individual national titles, while our rival was usually just behind in second or third place. I would argue that it wasn't the kids who held themselves back - they were all astonishingly gifted children - but it was the shortsighted approach of their coach.

  Perhaps the most important thing about beginning with the endgame and chess principles instead of memorization is that this way you enjoy the beauty of chess without being completely focused on winning. A key component on the road to mastery is to embrace the journey as opposed to fixating on results. That way you can deal with the inevitable ups and downs of competition without falling apart. 

  The endgame is where you should focus the beginnings of your chess education, and I would recommend that soon after completing this course, you turn your attention to my endgame lessons in which I teach the essentials of this rich part of the game.

  Now, with that understanding, I would be remiss to ignore the openings altogether in this Academy, because then you'd sit down to play your first chess games and have no idea what to do. I expect I'd then get some angry letters on my website. So what we're going to do is learn some principles of opening play. I'll teach you ideas that can be applied to virtually any situation you run up against, and this way you can feel confident no matter what your opponent throws at you. 

  I want to emphasize that in this Academy we are taking our first steps to thinking about chess like a master. We are not learning how to trick a beginner. Now to the principles of opening play.

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]

4.

[I always begin by moving my king pawn out. E4. Let's say your opponent doesn't get to move. This is how you should develop your pieces. Your next move should be D4. Now this is only of course if black hasn't made another central pawn move to challenge that square. So now you're E pawn and your D pawn control this whole area of the board. This is very important, and also notice how your bishops are wide open. They can slice into the game. Your queen is open. Your knights can come out. Having your pawns on E4 and D4 gives you and excellent central control. Next I would develop my knight to F3. There's a saying in opening play: knights before bishops. So in many opening positions, you'll have a choice. You can bring out either your knight or your bishop. In those situations, usually you'll bring out your knight first. So knight F3. Next you might play bishop C4. This opens up your king to be able to castle to the king's side. Notice all the pieces are moving toward the center of the board. I'm not playing moves like knight H3. I'm playing moves like knight F3, controlling the middle. Now I might castle. My king is nice and safe. The F2, G2, and H2 pawns are in front of my king, guarding him. Very, very safe.

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]

5.

[Now, another important idea is that we don't want to advance our pawns ahead of our king, at least not too far. I often describe this creating air, as if the king can feel a draft. In other words, if I were to push these pawns, say to H4 and G4, my king would get much, much less safe, because pieces could slip in the cracks. So here my king is very safe. I have my knight out, my bishop out. Now I might bring my other knight into the game, knight C3. Now my other bishop could come out, either to E3 or F4. Next I would bring my queen, and this connects the rooks. This is a saying in development chess, connect your rooks. If I have all my minor pieces out, and my queen, and I castle, my rooks are connected. They're both ready to jump into the middle of the board, for example, D1 and E1. In general, you want rooks on open lines, so it probably, either the E file or the D file or another one will have opened up. You want to put your rook on the open file. So if the B pawn weren't there, this rook would belong on B1. If the C pawn weren't there, the rook would belong on C1. You want your rooks on open files. This is the classical developmental scheme. But of course your opponent gets to move too.

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]

6.

[Now, notice how, when I developed all my pieces, I never moved one piece twice. This is another principle of opening play. Move each piece once. You don't want to move a piece too many times. For example, I brought my knight to F3, my bishop to C4, my other knight to C3, my bishop to F4. I castled. My queen came to D2. Each piece is moved only once; and consequently, I've developed all of my pieces. If I had moved my light squared bishop to C4, or to B5 to A4 to B3, and then back to C4 again, then none of my other pieces would have been developed. A lot of people make this mistake. They focus one piece and move it over and over and over. Don't do that in chess.

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]

7.

[So let's review the principles we've talked about so far. First we control the center, moves like E4 and D4. Knights before bishops. You develop your king's side knight out to F3. Usually you'll develop the pieces on the side you want to castle on, first. Obviously, then your king can jump into safety whenever it needs to. Next move, bishop C4, into the center. You can castle away. King safety. Then you can bring your other pieces into the game, trying not to move one piece too many times. Then you can bring your queen in, into the middle.

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]

8.

[Now this brings up a really important idea. Don't bring your queen out too early. Some of you probably remember that from the movie, Searching for Bobby Fisher. I used to make that mistake. When I was a little boy, I used to bring out my queen too early. It's very tempting, because she's your most powerful piece. You want to bring her into the game fast. Let me show you why it's a mistake. Let's say you're playing white. You play E4. Your opponent plays D5. Then you take the pawn. Now, of course, you don't want to play a move like knight F3 there because then they could take your E4 pawn. There's no room for mechanical thinking in chess. They play D5 and you take it. E takes D5. Black responds, queen takes D5. Now, the black queen has come into the game too fast. Now you want to develop your pieces while attacking the queen. Chase the queen all over the board. Say you play knight C3. The knight comes into the game and the queen has to move. Let's say queen G5. Now you can bring another piece into the game and chase the queen. Knight F3. So now white has two minor pieces into the game and black's queen is running all over the place. Let's say he plays queen H6. Now stick to the principles. You can take control of the center and prepare more development. D4, opening up a discovered attack from the bishop on C1, onto the queen on H6. Let's say black plays queen F6. Now you want to keep the same thing going. You want to bring another minor piece into the game with tempo. Bishop G5. You see how all of white's pieces are coming into the game and the black queen is just being chased all over the place? After bishop G5, let's say black plays queen F5. Now, what would you do here? Bishop D3, another strong developmental move, attacking the queen. Black will run away again, queen G4. Now black's attacking our G2 pawn. It's a threat, but that's not a problem. We can simply castle. 

  Take a look at this position. You wouldn't believe how often something like this occurs. Black's queen has been running all over the place! White's developed both knights, both bishops, a strong pawn in the center, and white castled the king to safety. White has a huge advantage here because he developed with principle, while black brought out the queen to early and moved the same piece too many times. So you can see how black's problems were all based on not following the principles; and all of white's moves, which were very good, were based on following the principles. This is how you should think about chess; and this is a great way to approach the opening.

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]

9.

[Now you've heard me talk about king safety. One last point. Whenever you have a principle that you want to use, you also want to think about how to prevent your opponent from using those ideas. So you want to develop while preventing your opponent from developing. You want to bring your king to safety while preventing your opponent from castling his king to safety. You want to control the center, while preventing your opponent from controlling the center. You want to move each piece of yours once, while trying to incite your opponent into moving as many pieces of his as many times as possible. This is how it works in chess. So every principle you learn will have more than one side to it.

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]

10.

[

{B:rnbq2nr/2p1pp2/1p1p3k/p6p/3PPP2/2N1BN2/2P3PP/R2Q1RK1}{QB:Whose position do you prefer here?{W:j32g09};

White;Very good!

It turns out that white is better, because the weak king is quite important. There is no forced win, but white has a lot of factors working to his advantage.

  {W:verygood}{W:sil500}{W:j32g10}{J};

Black;That's not quite it. 

It turns out that white is better, because the weak king is quite important. There is no forced win, but white has a lot of factors working to his advantage.

  {W:notquiteit}{W:sil1000}{W:j32g10}{J}

}

]

11.

[Whenever you look at a chess position, the first thing you should do is notice the material differences. Begin with the pawns. Count them. Here you see black has seven pawns and white has six. So black's up a pawn. The move to queens. Both sides have queens. Rooks? Both sides have two rooks. Bishops? Both sides have one bishop. And knights... Here both sides have two knights. So black's up a pawn. On the other hand, white has much more development - a safer king and central control. So this position is one of trade offs - material, for time and quality - time, in this case meaning development, and quality meaning white's pieces are better placed.

{B:rnbq2nr/2p1pp2/1p1p3k/p6p/3PPP2/2N1BN2/2P3PP/R2Q1RK1}{D:8000}{H:a5b6c7d6e7f7h5}{D:1500}{N:c2d4e4f4g2h2}{D:2500}{C}{D:1000}{H:d8d1}{D:1500}{N:a1f1a8h8}{D:3000}{N:e3c8}{D:2500}{N:c3f3b8g8}{D:3000}{C}{R}{D:4500}{H:g1}{D:1000}{H:d4e4f4}{D:1500}{C}{W:j32g11}

]

12.

[

{B:rn1qk1nr/ppp2bpp/1b6/8/2BP4/2N1BN2/1PP3PP/R2QK2R w}{QB:How about this position? It's white's move. Who would you play? Black or white? 

  {W:j32g12};

White;That's right! White is better here.

  {W:thatsright}{W:sil500}

  {W:j32g13}{W:sil1000}{J};

Black;That's not quite it. White is better here.

  {W:notquiteit}{W:sil500}

  {W:j32g13}{W:sil1000}{J}

}

]

13.

[

{B:rn1qk1nr/ppp2bpp/1b6/8/2BP4/2N1BN2/1PP3PP/R2QK2R w}{V:{SAVE}Think about the themes previously discussed. What is white's best move? The relevant theme here is king safety.

  {W:j32g14};

$The best move is bishop takes F7, and after the trade - bishop takes F7, king takes F7 - white can play, for example, knight E5 check, and white has an attack against the black king, and most important, black can never castle to safety because the king has already moved. This means that the king will be stuck in an open center for a long time, and it will be hard for black to continue development because the rooks will be penned in by a king stuck on F8 or E8. This is one of the main drawbacks to not having the king castled away. The rooks aren't connected, so they can't play actively in the game. Winning chess games, as you face off against tougher opponents, isn't just about mating and winning material. Sometimes our goal is to gain a strategic advantage, like having a long-term developmental edge and a safer king. 

  {A:Lc4f7}{D:3000}{C}{R}{S:c4f7}{D:1000}{S:e8f7}

  {D:2500}{S:f3e5}{A:Ce5f7}{H:f7}{D:3000}{R}{C}{S:f7e8}

  {W:j32g15}{W:sil1000}{J}

$c4f7;Good work!

The best move is bishop takes F7, and after the trade - bishop takes F7, king takes F7 - white can play, for example, knight E5 check, and white has an attack against the black king, and most important, black can never castle to safety because the king has already moved. This means that the king will be stuck in an open center for a long time, and it will be hard for black to continue development because the rooks will be penned in by a king stuck on F8 or E8. This is one of the main drawbacks to not having the king castled away. The rooks aren't connected, so they can't play actively in the game. Winning chess games, as you face off against tougher opponents, isn't just about mating and winning material. Sometimes our goal is to gain a strategic advantage, like having a long-term developmental edge and a safer king.

  {A:Cf7e8}{W:goodwork}{W:sil500}{D:3000}{C}{R}{S:c4f7}

  {D:1000}{S:e8f7}{D:2500}{S:f3e5}{A:Ce5f7}{H:f7}

  {D:3000}{R}{C}{S:f7e8}{W:j32g15}{W:sil1000}{J};

$c Incorrect. We are looking for white's best possible move.

{W:notbest2}{RETRY};

Look for a trade of pieces.}

]

14.

[

{B:r1bqkb1r/pppppppp/nn6/4P3/2PP1P2/8/PP4PP/RNBQKBNR}{QB:It's white to move here. Who do you think is better? Click on "White" or "Black".

    {W:j32g17};

White; That's right.

  {W:thatsright}{W:sil1000}{J};

Black;That's not quite it.

  {W:notquiteit}{W:sil1000}{J}

}

]

15.

[It would be easy to think of this position as one of trade offs. White has more pawn development and black has piece development. It's important to know how to evaluate such situations. The most important issue here is quality of development. White has complete central domination and black's knights are stuck on the side of the board. So the development is not so useful. If you've focused on central control in your evaluation, then you had your eye on the ball. White is much better. One way to see this is to imagine how easily white can develop all of his pieces, while black's game is cramped and difficult to handle. Remember, when developing, we want to begin by establishing at least one pawn in the center, holding our ground.

{B:r1bqkb1r/pppppppp/nn6/4P3/2PP1P2/8/PP4PP/RNBQKBNR}{D:3000}{H:c4d4e5f4}{D:1500}{H:a6b6}{D:4000}{C}{D:4000}{H2:b5c5d5d6f6g5}{D:500}{A:Tc4b5}{A:Tc4d5}{A:Td4c5}{A:Te5d6}{A:Te5f6}{A:Tf4g5}{D:1500}{H:a6b6}{D:3000}{C}{R}{D:8000}{A:Tb1c3}{A:Tg1f3}{H:c3f3}{G:WNc3}{G:WNf3}{D:800}{C}{R}{X:b1}{X:g1}{H:d3e3}{A:Tc1e3}{A:Tf1d3}{G:WBe3}{G:WBd3}{D:800}{C}{R}{X:c1}{X:f1}{H:d2}{A:Td1d2}{G:WQd2}{D:800}{C}{R}{X:d1}{H:g1}{A:Te1g1}{G:WKg1}{D:800}{C}{R}{G:WRf1}{X:e1}{X:h1}{D:2000}{B:r1bqkb1r/pppppppp/nn6/4P3/2PP1P2/8/PP4PP/RNBQKBNR}{W:j32g18}{W:sil1000}{J}

]

16.

[Okay, let's say you begin a chess game E4, E5, and your opponent plays queen H5, bringing out the queen too early. It's a bad move that lots of beginners play. 

How can you develop a minor piece into the center and defend the E5 pawn?

{B:rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR b}{D:1500}{S:e2e4}{D:1000}{S:e7e5}{D:1500}{S:d1h5}{A:Ch5e5}{W:j32g19}{V:{SAVE}Okay, let's say you begin a chess game E4, E5, and your opponent plays queen H5, bringing out the queen too early. It's a bad move that lots of beginners play. 

How can you develop a minor piece into the center and defend the E5 pawn?;

$Nc6! Developing a minor piece into the middle of the board and defending the E5 pawn. This way you're responding to your opponent's threat and developing.

  {S:b8c6}{W:j32g20}{W:sil500}

  {D:2500}{A:Gc6e5}{W:j32g21}{W:sil1000}{J}

$b8c6;Good job! Nc6! Developing a minor piece into the middle of the board and defending the E5 pawn. This way you're responding to your opponent's threat and developing.

  {W:goodjob}{W:sil500}{S:b8c6}{W:j32g20}{W:sil500}

  {D:2500}{A:Gc6e5}{W:j32g21}{W:sil1000}{J};

$c Incorrect!{W:notquiteright}{RETRY};

Think about the specific order of developping the pieces in the opening.}

]

17.

[Now let's say white plays Bc4. What do you like for black now?

{B:r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/4p2Q/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNB1KBNR b}{D:1000}{S:f1c4}{W:j32g22}{V:{SAVE}Now let's say white plays Bc4. What do you like for black now?;

${J}

$g7g6;Good job! 

  {W:goodjob}{W:sil1000}{J};

$c Incorrect!{W:notquiteright}{RETRY};

d8e7:$c Correct! {W:goodjob}{W:sil1000}{J};

d8f6:$c Correct! {W:goodjob}{W:sil1000}{J};

Try to think of a move that will help to defend against mate.}{C}{R}{S:f1c4}{H:f7}{A:Ch5f7}{A:Cc4f7}{D:2000}{R}{C}{A:Ng7g6}{A:Nd8e7}{A:Nd8f6}{D:2000}{R}{O}{S:d8e7}{D:1000}{S:a2a3}

]

18.

[A lot of beginners try this opening out. Queen H5, bishop C4, and you see why it's threat here? White wants to play queen takes F7 check mate. This is called a fool's mate. So with black, now, you have to defend the mate. The best way is to defend the mate in a manner that will allow you to continue with your development. Here there are a lot of moves. You can play G6, blocking the queen's attack on F7, attacking the queen and also preparing what's called "a fiancetto" of the black bishop. 

  This is a fiancetto. The bishop goes to G7. Black continues in. Knight F6, for example, and then castling king's side. This is a very stable, well-protected king position. 

  If you play G6, let's say your opponent plays queen F3. Remember, no mechanical thinking. I just showed you, you want to play bishop G7 to fiancetto your bishop, but here your opponent is threatening F7 again. So you defend it. Knight F6. That knight is defended by your queen on D8. Your next move will be bishop G7. Now white's queen has moved twice in the opening, and it's exposed on F3. Black has a very good position, because white tried to trap it. Your next move will be bishop G7, castle to safety, and black has a great game. More development.

{B:r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/4p3/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR b}{D:1500}{S:d1h5}{D:1000}{S:f1c4}{D:1500}{A:Lc4f7}{A:Lh5f7}{A:Cf7e8}{H:f7}{D:2000}{C}{R}{S:h5f7}{H:e7e8}{A:Gc4f7}{A:Cf7e8}{D:3000}{C}{R}{S:f7h5}{P:BPf7}{D:9500}{S:g7g6}{D:1500}{A:Ch5f7}{Hg6}{D:2000}{C}{R}{A:Cg6h5}{D:2000}{C}{R}{D:800}{A:Tf8g7}{W:j32g23}{C}{R}{W:sil1000}{W:sil1000}{B:rnbqk1nr/pppp1pbp/6p1/4p3/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR b}{D:2000}{X:g7}{P:BBf8}{D:200}{S:f8g7}{D:2800}{S:g8f6}{D:1800}{S:e8g8}{S:h8f8}{W:j32g24}{C}{R}{W:sil1000}{B:r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/4p2Q/2B1P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNB1K1NR b}{D:500}{S:g7g6}{D:2500}{S:h5f3}{D:4500}{A:Tf8g7}{D:2000}{R}{D:1300}{A:Cc4f7}{A:Lf3f7}{D:2200}{R}{C}{S:g8f6}{D:2000}{A:Gd8f6}{D:2000}{A:Tf8g7}{D:1500}{R}{H:f3}{D:3500}{C}{R}{D:5000}{S:f8g7}{D:1500}{S:e8g8}{S:h8f8}{D:3000}{H:g8g7f6e5c6}{W:j32g25}{C}

]

19.

[In this position, you could also defend on F7 by playing queen E7. True, you've developed your queen early in the game, but your queen is much less exposed than your opponent's. Let's say that white were to play A3, a meaningless move on the side of the board, but beginners will play this way.

{B:r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/4p2Q/2B1P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNB1K1NR b}{D:2500}{S:d8e7}{D:7500}{S:a2a3}{W:j32g26}{W:sil500}{J}

]

20.

[

{B:r1b1kbnr/ppppqppp/2n5/4p2Q/2B1P3/P7/1PPP1PPP/RNB1K1NR b}{V:{SAVE}Develop with tempo. What should black play now? {W:j32g26a};

$Knight F6 is the best move, centralizing the knight and attacking the white queen.

  {S:g8f6}

  {D:3000}{A:Cf6h5}5.Qh3.

  {W:j32g27}{W:sil1000}{J}

$g8f6;Excellent work! Knight F6 is the best move, centralizing the knight and attacking the white queen.{W:excellent}{W:sil500}

  {D:3000}{A:Cf6h5}{W:j32g27}{W:sil1000}{J};

$c That's not quite it. You need to develop and force your opponent to move the way you want him to.{W:notquiteit}{RETRY};

Try to attack the white queen and develop a piece.

}

]

21.

[;

{B:r1b1kb1r/ppppqppp/2n2n2/4p2Q/2B1P3/P7/1PPP1PPP/RNB1K1NR b}{V:{S:h5h3}{SAVE}Let's say white plays Qh3. Now black can win a piece. Do you see how?{W:j32g28};

$d5, a discovered attack. The bishop on C8 goes after the queen on H3, and the D5 pawn is attacking the bishop on C4.

  {S:d7d5}

  {D:2500}{A:Cc8h3}{D:2500}{A:Cd5c4}

  {W:j32g29}{W:sil1000}{J}

$d7d5;d5, a discovered attack. The bishop on C8 goes after the queen on H3, and the D5 pawn is attacking the bishop on C4. Good work !!!

  {D:2500}{A:Cc8h3}{D:2500}{A:Cd5c4}

  {W:j32g29}{W:sil500}{W:goodwork}{W:sil1000}{J};

$c That's not the best move.{W:notbest}{RETRY};

Try to find a discovery!}

]

22.

[So white brought out his queen too early and black took advantage. Whenever your opponent plays strangely, like white did in this example, you should keep a sharp look out for his threats while playing according to the principles. Remember, stop your opponent's ideas and continue with yours.

{B:r1b1kb1r/ppp1qppp/2n2n2/3pp3/2B1P3/P6Q/1PPP1PPP/RNB1K1NR b}{D:1000}{S:h3c3}{D:500}{S:d5c4}{D:500}{W:j32g30}

]

23.

[Take a look at this position. Do you think …Bc5 or ….Ne7 is better for black?

{B:rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR b}{S:e2e4}{S:e7e5}{S:g1f3}{S:b8c6}{S:f1c4}{D:4000}{A:Nf8c5}{D:1200}{A:Ng8e7}{W:sil1000}{W:j32g31}{C}{R}{V:{SAVE}Take a look at this position. Do you think …Bc5 or ….Ne7 is better for black?; 

$It turns out that bishop C5 is best, because it develops and allows for future development.

Let's take a look at what would have with the other move.

After knight E7, black has blocked in the bishop on F8, and so the knight will have to move again to keep on bringing out pieces, and this violates the principle of moving a piece only once in the opening. 

  {D:1000}{S:f8c5}{D:2200}{A:Td8e7}{D:1000}{R}{A:Tg8e7}

  {W:j32g32}{R}{W:sil1000}{D:1000}{S:c5f8}{W:j32g33}{W:sil1000}

  {S:g8e7}{D:1500}{A:Tf8e7}{H:f8}{D:2500}{S:e7g6}{R}{C}{A:Tf8b4}

  {D:1500}{A:Td8f6}{W:j32g34}{R}{W:sil1000}{W:sil1000}{J}

$f8c5;{R}Excellent work! It turns out that bishop C5 is best, because it develops and allows for future development.

Let's take a look at what would have with the other move.

After knight E7, black has blocked in the bishop on F8, and so the knight will have to move again to keep on bringing out pieces, and this violates the principle of moving a piece only once in the opening. 

  {W:excellent}{W:sil500}{D:3200}{A:Td8e7}{D:1000}{R}{A:Tg8e7}

  {W:j32g32}{R}{W:sil1000}{D:1000}{S:c5f8}{W:j32g33}{W:sil1000}

  {S:g8e7}{D:1500}{A:Tf8e7}{H:f8}{D:2500}{S:e7g6}{R}{C}{A:Tf8b4}

  {D:1500}{A:Td8f6}{W:j32g34}{R}{W:sil1000}{W:sil1000}{J};

$c No, that is incorrect.{W:notquiteright}{RETRY};

g8e7:$c That's not quite it.

After knight E7, black has blocked in the bishop on F8, and so the knight will have to move again to keep on bringing out pieces, and this violates the principle of moving a piece only once in the opening. 

It turns out that bishop C5 is best, because it develops and allows for future development.{W:notquiteit}{W:sil500}

  {S:g8e7}{D:1500}{A:Tf8e7}{H:f8}{D:2500}{S:e7g6}{R}{C}{A:Tf8b4}

  {D:1500}{A:Td8f6}{W:j32g34}{W:sil1000}{C}{R}{S:g6g8}

  {D:1000}{S:f8c5}{D:2200}{A:Td8e7}{D:1000}{R}{A:Tg8e7}

  {W:j32g32}{R}{W:sil1000}{W:sil1000}{J};

Think about further developement of your pieces and visualize which of the two moves would cause you more trouble developping.}

]

24.

[OK, so the principles we've just discussed are all you need to know about the openings. Now let's move on to real chess.

{B:rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/32/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR}{W:j32g35}

]

