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Basic Opening StrategyGeneral Principle #5: "Castle early."
As a general rule, it's a good idea to castle early in the game, preferably on the Kingside. This principle is especially appropriate in the Open Games. (Remember that the Open Games are typically characterized by early central pawn exchanges which increase the mobility and activity of both armies, promote tactics, and facilitate attack and counter-attack, especially via the center of the board). There are a few reasons for this. First, castling tucks the King away in the corner where he's usually safer from attack than if he were to remain in the center. Examine the board below:
Black's castled King is safe from White's threats. Notice how both the King and the Rook protect the f7 square. White's Bishop and Queen pose no serious threat to that square. Also notice how the King and Knight both protect the h7 square. White's Rooks cannot make headway on the h-file. In contrast, examine the board below:
Black's centralized King is vulnerable. There are no minor pieces (that is, Knights or Bishops) nearby to help defend the Black King. Black's Kingside Rook is stuck passively in the corner, unable to join in the battle. White's Queen and Bishop threaten the f7 square and White's Rooks glare menacingly down the h-file. White's attack has a good chance of success. Second, castling helps activate the Rooks by bringing one of them closer to the center and closer to the other Rook on the other side of the board. Without castling, one of the Rooks will be stuck in the corner, making it difficult to activate. Rooks need open files before they can be activated, and the central files tend to open sooner than files on the flanks (especially in the Open Games). Third (and closely related to the previous point), castling helps to connect the Rooks; that is, to open the rank between them so that they can protect each other. Examine the board below:
White's Rooks have active posts on the central files. They also protect each other, so that if it were Black's turn and Black were to play "Rook captures Rook," White could respond "Rook captures Rook." On the other hand, Black's Kingside Rook is stuck in the corner. Because of that, Black's Rooks cannot protect each other, so if it were White's turn and White were to play "Rook captures Rook," Black would simply lose a piece. Castling Kingside is often preferable to castling Queenside, simply because the Kingside castled position tends to be more secure. Examine the board below:
White is castled on the Kingside and Black is castled on the Queenside. Notice that Black's a-pawn is undefended. The same is not true of White's h-pawn. Therefore, White's castled position is a bit more secure. Also, the Queenside-castled King is closer to the center and often sitting on an open diagonal, making him more vulnerable to attack. Of course, there are plenty of exceptions to this principle. There are occasions when the King is safer on the Queenside, or even in the center. This usually depends on what opening sequence has been played, whether or not the center of the board is open (or likely to open soon), how well-developed your opponent's pieces are, how active your opponent is in various parts of the board, etc. For example, in the Morphy game we saw earlier, Morphy didn't have to worry about castling very early because his King was never in any danger. When he did castle, it was on the Queenside, partially because it was plenty safe there, and partially because he wanted to activate his Queenside Rook to the open d-file and launch an attack. Also notice in that game that Black should have developed better and castled his King early. The Black King ended up getting stuck in the center of an open board and fell vulnerable to Morphy's devastating attack. As you become a more sophisticated player, you'll get a sense of when it's best to castle Kingside, castle Queenside, or not castle at all. Until that time: castle early, preferably on the Kingside, unless you have a clear reason not to. It will serve you well more often than not. Next: General Principles 6 & 7 & 8 Copyright 2002 S. Evan Kreider. Used with permission.
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