Openingtrainer development 1

Develop, develop, develop. Why does Chessto insist so much on that development? There's a good reason. Development is progress! 

In the opening position, your pieces are not very favorably positioned. It is important to change this as soon as possible. Many games are decided by one side gaining great material superiority. Yet the material balance is not the only thing that determines who is better off. It is not only important how many pieces are on the board, but also how they are deployed! 

Ideally, you want your pieces to be able to move as freely as possible. The freedom of pieces is also referred to as activity. A piece that has a lot of freedom and attacks important targets is an active piece.

Wise chess masters once said that you can tell who is in a better position if you count the number of legal moves each side can play. The more options the better! Well of course you don't want to count how many options you have every turn, but it is an important guide. This is one of the reasons why it is so smart to put your king's pawn in the center on the first move. You then get additional options for both your queen and bishop. 

In this lesson we will continue to focus on the minor pieces (bishops and knights). Your task is to come up with active moves with your knights and bishops.

What do you have to do?

Invent as many active moves with your knights and bishops as possible.