Strategy
Castle early
King safety first
The idea
Castle as soon as you can — typically by move 6-10. Castling does two things at once: tucks the king into the corner behind a wall of pawns, and brings a rook toward the center where it can act. A king in the middle is a king under threat — every opening trap targets an uncastled king.
Example 1 of 1
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Both sides ready to castle. Whoever castles first gets to safety first.
2
Try it
Your move
Castle kingside to safeguard your king.
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h