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Know the rules of chess: This would seem obvious. However it is surprising how many players do not know all the rules, or have holes in their knowledge. Examples: Thinking that a pawn can only promote to a captured piece. Not knowing the en passant rule. Not knowing the correct rules for castling ( the Rook *can* pass over a guarded square ) . Thinking that a "perpetual-check" is an automatic draw ( the correct rule is three-fold repetition and the rules for claiming such a draw are very specific ) . Know piece value: Because we can almost never calculate to the end of the game, we need a mechanism to evaluate the final position of a variation. The most reliable such mechanism is force; i.e. a material count that also accounts for the relative strength of the pieces. The standard for this is that a Pawn is 1, Knight and Bishop is 3, Rook is 5, and Queen is 9. Of course you must also keep track of mate and various forced draws. Evaluations of quiescent positions based on any value system for the pieces provide only a rough idea of the state of play. The exact piece values will depend on the game situation. For example, two minor pieces are better than a rook and pawn in the middlegame ( Silman ) . Two bishops are almost always better than a rook and pawn ( Pachman ) . Three minor pieces are usually better than a queen because of their greater mobility ( Silman ) . And so it goes. Know the five basic principles: Force/Space/Time/Pawn Structure/King Safety: Almost all understanding of chess play breaks down into these five categories. At least the basics of these should be understood before attempting to learn tactics. -WCT Begin learning Silman's theory of imbalances: The Theory of Imbalances evaluates chess positions based on: material ( force ) , superior minor piece ( force ) , spatial control ( space ) , control of open files, diagonals, and squares ( space ) , development ( space+time ) , initiative ( time ) , and pawn structure. Silman has changed the categories over the years. --

All pieces but the Knight move and capture on a straight line; on the ranks, files, and diagonals. They cannot move through a unit, their own or the opponent's, on that line. The pawn is the only unit that captures on a different line than it moves, and is the only unit that cannot move backward. People learn straight line movement quickly. The Knight however is a different story. It does not move on a straight line, and it can jump over its own and its opponent's units. To learn to see Knight moves at a glance, you should practice specific exercises designed for that purpose. Here are some exercises I've found that are recommended. - Crazy Chess. Capture Black pawns dropping down the board with your Knight. http://www.notdoppler.com/crazy-chess.php NOT SECURE; Requires Adobe Flash Player plugin for the browser. - All Woolum/Bruce-Albertson-style Chess Mazes for Knights. - Empty board with Queen vs Knight : Where the Queen and Knight take turns moving. The goal is for the Queen ( Student ) to capture the Knight ( teacher ) . - Empty board with Knight vs King : With student and teacher taking turns. The goal is for the King ( student ) to avoid being checked by the Knight on each move. - Empty board with 2 Knights vs King : With student and teacher taking turns : same as the above, except with two Knights. - Basic Find-the-Fork / Single-Motif tactics. - Empty board with 2 Rooks vs Knight : With student and teacher taking turns. The goal is for the student ( Knight ) to avoid being captured by the 2 Rooks. ---End Discussion---