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From	Message
tipsyjourneyman 03-Dec-15, 02:58	Rule of 2 Hello folks, Tipsy here, need a little help. I seem to recall a GK high-rater telling me that f4 was a terrible move and should never be made except where necessitated in the end game. Particularly when playing the King's Pawn. I've lived by this rule and apply it also to c4, don't think I've ever died by it. On the rare occasion where I've moved f or c4 it has usually been in the early middle/late opening and completed what I call a "big wing"; a pawn chain of 4 (or more if it happens to become a chevron instead of an echelon) stretching from d/e5 back to the 7th rank. Now. Firstly. Was it any of the luminaries and regulars here at Tipsy's Place that gave me that advice? I have a feeling it was rmannstaedt, since he's ALWAYS giving me advice!   But could have been someone else. Secondly, what does everyone think of this rule of 2 (f and c pawns must move 2 in their first)? I appreciate that there might always be positional oddities and no chess player worth their salt sticks to inflexible rules, other than, of course, as White, always move 1.e4 and win by force!   What I want is a general appraisal of this rule. Me, I'm thinking it has suited me so far, might as well continue sticking with it, even if y'all end up telling me it's the equivalent of Dumbo's feather.   TJ Out.
dynamic-dv 03-Dec-15, 04:32	Well that rules out the king's gambit and the English opening straight away
tipsyjourneyman 03-Dec-15, 05:31	Deleted by tipsyjourneyman on 03-Dec-15, 05:39.
tipsyjourneyman 03-Dec-15, 05:41	Ahh bother! f3. and c3 THAT's what I meant! Claiming either c4 or f4 should never be made till the end game is just CRAZY! Fiddlesticks! Well. Now that you all actually know what I MEANT to say, perchance you could comment upon that instead of my nonsense posted earlier!
rmannstaedt 20-Dec-15, 14:59	Nope tipsy, I think I'll have to pass on that one - you didn't hear that from me. Main reason: I disagree with it.   I will go as far as to say that doing 1.f3 is probably not a very auspicious way of plaing the opening - and potentially harmful to boot - while 1.c3 seems tame and counterproductive. But that said, there certainly are many positions where doing either f2-f3 or c2-c3 - later on in the game - would be not only good but actually necessary. In general I dislike very much hard and fast rules like that. Far better, to my mind, that you understand **why** it may be harmful to move those pawns, and **when** it may be a good idea to do so anyway! So, f2-f3: The problem with moving the f-pawn is that it opens up lines of entry to the king and weakens the pawn structure around the king - both when he is in the center and when he has castled short. (If he castles long, that is no longer the case of course). It also, in the opening, may prevent your g1 knight from going to a favourable square (f3). As you do **not** want to create unnecessary weaknesses in your position - and especially not around your king - that means that you'd better have some good and sound reason for moving that pawn anyway. It could be, for instance, that you need to bolster your center, or to take away g4 from a bothersome enemy knight. In general however, you will usually be better off either leaving the pawn on f2 or going all out and moving it to f4. c2-c3: As long as White doesn't castle long, the c2-c3 move will not affect king safety at all. The major drawback of f2-f3 thus does not apply here. It still does hamper development of your knight, but on the other hand it also affords additional avenues of advance for your queen, and it will support/strengthen your control of d4. Whether you want to do c2-c3 at any given time should thus depend very much on the actual needs of the position and of how you want your pieces deployed. While White may find himself doing c2-c3 relatively rarely, the corresponding c7-c6 on Black's side of the board is a very common move in many queen-pawn openings, and the signature move in the Caro-Kann (where 1...c6 is usually the very first move Black makes!)
brigadecommander 20-Dec-15, 15:50	Rules??? Imagination is more important then Knowledge' A.E. All rules can be broken. full screen; youtu.be
baddeeds 21-Dec-15, 14:08	I agree with Janet. There are times even for General Opening where an exception needs to be made.

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