Building Habits rules

Chessbrah's rules for 0-500, as checked by this site on every move you play (live in Play, per move in Game review). Hard rules are about material and mate; soft rules are the habits that keep positions simple. Counts are over all your analyzed games.

Hung a piece hard298× · 134 costly · 135 games
“Do not hang free pieces.”
  • Bxb1 — This leaves your bishop on b1 to Rxb1 for free.
  • Rd4 — This leaves your rook on d4 to Qxd4 for free.
  • Rd3 — This leaves your rook on d3 to Rxd3 for free.
Left a piece hanging hard278× · 109 costly · 119 games
“Before every move, check which of your pieces can be taken.”
  • g3 — Your bishop on d3 was already hanging; Qxd3 takes it.
  • Kd1 — Your rook on a1 was already hanging; Qxa1 takes it.
  • Qxf6 — Your bishop on c1 was already hanging; Rxc1+ takes it.
Didn't take a free piece hard185× · 100 costly · 103 games
“Always take your opponent's hanging pieces.”
  • Qd3+ — Qxh5 wins a knight for free.
  • Kf8 — Nxe1 wins a rook for free.
  • f6 — Rxg5 wins a knight for free.
Missed mate in one hard85× · 30 costly · 35 games
“Check for mate in one before any other move.”
  • Nxf2 — Bxf2# was checkmate.
  • Nxe7 — Qxe7# was checkmate.
  • O-O — Qxf7# was checkmate.
Allowed mate in one hard93× · 27 costly · 56 games
“Before moving, ask what your opponent's checks would do.”
  • Rfe1 — This allows Qxg2#, checkmate.
  • Rxh6 — This allows Qg7#, checkmate.
  • Kd1 — This allows Qxf1#, checkmate.
Capture loses material hard74× · 46 costly · 58 games
“Count attackers and defenders by value, and the whole recapture sequence, before capturing.”
  • Ncxe5 — Ncxe5 loses material after the recaptures (about 2 points).
  • Nxd3 — Nxd3 loses material after the recaptures (about 2 points).
  • Nxe4 — Nxe4 loses material after the recaptures (about 2 points).
Recaptured on reflex hard27× · 8 costly · 20 games
“Don't recapture automatically: first check if something bigger is hanging.”
  • Bxb4 — You recaptured on b4, but Rxa8 wins a rook for free.
  • Qxf6 — You recaptured on f6, but Qxa5 wins a queen for free.
  • fxe5 — You recaptured on e5, but Qxg4+ wins a knight for free.
Still not castled soft70× · 19 costly · 40 games
“Castle as soon as possible.”
  • Nb3 — Move 8 and you could castle. Castle as soon as possible.
  • Nf2 — Move 9 and you could castle. Castle as soon as possible.
  • Ne4 — Move 8 and you could castle. Castle as soon as possible.
Knight to the edge soft44× · 7 costly · 39 games
“Avoid putting knights on the edge files.”
  • Nh4 — Nh4 puts a knight on the rim. Knights belong toward the center.
  • Na4 — Na4 puts a knight on the rim. Knights belong toward the center.
  • Na6 — Na6 puts a knight on the rim. Knights belong toward the center.
Knight blocks your bishop soft20× · 4 costly · 20 games
“Don't develop a knight to the second rank in the opening; it blocks the bishop.”
  • Nbd2 — Nbd2 blocks your bishop. Develop knights toward the center.
  • Nd2 — Nd2 blocks your bishop. Develop knights toward the center.
  • Nfd7 — Nfd7 blocks your bishop. Develop knights toward the center.
Pawn captured away from the center soft8× · 1 costly · 8 games
“Capture toward the center with pawns.”
  • exf6 — Capturing with the g-pawn instead would bring a pawn toward the center.
Broke the king's pawn shield soft11× · 4 costly · 10 games
“Avoid pawn captures that break up the wall in front of your castled king.”
  • gxf6 — gxf6 opens the pawns in front of your king; Qxf6 keeps the shield intact.
  • fxe6 — fxe6 opens the pawns in front of your king; Rxe6 keeps the shield intact.
No escape square for your king soft234× · 68 costly · 76 games
“Push an edge pawn to give your castled king luft.”
  • Qe6 — Your king has no escape square on the back rank. Give it luft when you have a free move.
  • Rb8 — Your king has no escape square on the back rank. Give it luft when you have a free move.
  • Qd4 — Your king has no escape square on the back rank. Give it luft when you have a free move.
Knight fork available to the opponent soft0× · 0 costly · 0 games
“Watch for enemy knights that can attack two valuable pieces at once.”
Declined an even trade softdeclined 456× · 159 were mistakes or worse
“Always trade pieces, if it doesn't hang anything else.”
Off by default in Play (toggle “Trade habit”). The engine's verdict on the moves you played instead of trading: excellent 93, good 90, miss 71, inaccuracy 70, mistake 53, best 41, blunder 35, great 3. That is the evidence for whether “always trade” would help you.