The First Move
McHenry Area Chess Monthly Bulletin
Volume 1 Number 6                                 August 2004                                             Page 8 of 13

It takes mental discipline, but you should have a checklist of important things to do before considering what move to make, and another one for after you’ve decided, before touching the piece. I call the first of these the preliminary checklist, and the second the execution checklist.

A checklist is a list of things you do the same way every time. Because it’s always the same, they become easier to remember with practice. At first it can seem like a lot of work, but it gets easier with time. Some items can be done very quickly, and other things take longer. But do them all and see the difference it makes to your games.

The checklist I use contains nine steps. As
 

you go through this checklist and answer the questions one by one, try not to think about your next move. These questions are to make you aware of the situation on the board. Once you have complete information, then you can decide what to move. Ignoring this kind of information is like playing partially blind.

1) First and foremost, ask yourself “Why did my opponent make his last move.” This is much more important than trying to think far ahead. In the openings, sometimes a sufficient answer is “Because it’s a book move.” At other times, the answer might be easy, if your opponent was forced to respond to your check or move an attacked piece. But don’t stop there. Even in the simplest cases, ask
 

yourself why your opponent placed the piece just where he did, instead of some other square. If you can understand your opponent’s plans, you can anticipate and counter them in your own plans. And if you don’t understand your opponents move, try to find out after the game. Maybe he made a mistake or wasn’t playing well. But you should have your own opinion. You should never even think about your own moves until you’ve asked yourself this question. Especially if their move surprised you, give extra effort to questioning why. Then, once you have answered it, go on.

2) Does your opponent have any immediate checks? Hopefully, in most cases your king is well protected and the