15 Oct '09 14:07>2 edits
Understanding why a general principle exists can help you determine when it can be ignored.
Knights before bishops stems from the advice to get your pieces out onto the best squares.
We know the best squares for our knights are c3 and f3 for white and c6 and f6 for black. And this
is pretty much always the case. The best square for a bishop is more dependent on what
your opponent plays.
So the knights before bishops rule is simply saying that we know where the knight should go so
lets put it there...we'll wait and see what's happening before we commit the bishop.
Also - recognising your opponents mistakes is one thing - understanding how to exploit those mistakes is another. A good way to develop both these skills is by going over your own games.
Playing out book moves can form part of learning by both memorising the lines and finding a way to understand why these are considered to be the best moves. Centuries of chess study is condensed in these openings and they are there to learn from. As recommended by another poster "Logical Chess Move by Move" has good text explanations of the reasons behind the
moves and on how to exploit and opponents mistake.
Knights before bishops stems from the advice to get your pieces out onto the best squares.
We know the best squares for our knights are c3 and f3 for white and c6 and f6 for black. And this
is pretty much always the case. The best square for a bishop is more dependent on what
your opponent plays.
So the knights before bishops rule is simply saying that we know where the knight should go so
lets put it there...we'll wait and see what's happening before we commit the bishop.
Also - recognising your opponents mistakes is one thing - understanding how to exploit those mistakes is another. A good way to develop both these skills is by going over your own games.
Playing out book moves can form part of learning by both memorising the lines and finding a way to understand why these are considered to be the best moves. Centuries of chess study is condensed in these openings and they are there to learn from. As recommended by another poster "Logical Chess Move by Move" has good text explanations of the reasons behind the
moves and on how to exploit and opponents mistake.