Robert's chess principles
Chess becomes simpler when you know what to look for.
A growing library of the principles Robert teaches — short, timeless rules of thumb that hold up long after an opening line is forgotten. Search it, browse it, come back to it. Tap any principle to read the idea behind it.
Easy to apply
Organized by level
Always expanding
The IDEA
Principles, not rules
A principle tells you what to do when you have no idea what to do. Every one of these can be broken by a concrete tactic — that is the point. Learn them first, then learn when the position says otherwise.
Clear search
Foundations
Your first principles · 14 principles
F-01
Every piece gets a job
Before you move a piece twice, check whether another one is still sitting at home doing nothing.
F-02
Castle early
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F-03
Fight for the centre
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F-04
Develop before you attack
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F-05
Do not bring the queen out early
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F-06
Checks, captures and threats — first
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F-07
Count the trade before you take
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F-08
Ask what your opponent’s move does
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F-09
Trade pieces when you are ahead
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F-10
King safety comes before material
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F-11
Prophylaxis: stop their plan first
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F-12
Improve your worst piece
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F-13
A bad plan beats no plan
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F-14
Knights before bishops
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Development
Plans, structures and calculation · 14 principles
D-01
Let the pawn structure choose the plan
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D-02
Attack where you have more space
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D-03
Trade when you are cramped
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D-04
Create a weakness before you attack it
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D-05
Rooks belong on open files
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D-06
Space is only worth having if you can use it
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D-07
Do not chase pawns with the queen
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D-08
Study the position, not the opening name
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D-09
Connect your rooks
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D-10
Have a reason for every move
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D-11
When you find a good move, look for a better one
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D-12
Calculate forcing lines to the end
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D-13
Knights want outposts, bishops want diagonals
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D-14
Do not open the position for your opponent
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Mastery
Technique, timing and temperament · 12 principles
M-01
Activate the king
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M-02
Rooks belong behind passed pawns
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M-03
Two weaknesses win games
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M-04
Do not rush
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M-05
Count before you race
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M-06
Simplify to convert
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M-07
Prepare then strike
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M-08
Know when a principle stops applying
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M-09
Spend your clock where the game is decided
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M-10
A mistake is one move, not the game
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M-11
Play the position not the opponent
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M-12
Study your own losses
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