Adapted from Frisco del Rosario's
First Book of Morphy.
1 Have all your moves fit into a definite plan
2 When you are ahead in material, exchange as many
pieces as possible, especially queens (and when you are behind, don't!)
3
Avoid doubled, isolated and backward pawns
4 In cramped positions, free yourself by exchanging
pieces
5 Don't expose your king while the enemy queen is still
on the board
6 All
combinations are based on a double attack
(like
pins, forks, skewers, double checks and discovered checks)
7 When your opponent has one or more pieces exposed,
look for a combination
8 To
attack the enemy king, you must first open a file (or less often a diagonal) to
gain access for your heavy pieces
9 Centralize the action of all your pieces
10 The
best defense is a counterattack
Always
have a plan.
To
form a plan look at material, pawn structure, mobility, king safety and
threats.
Keep
your plans short.
Keep
your plans one or two moves long.
Plans
must be made for a specific reason.
Keep
your goals simple and achievable. Don't plan on capturing all your opponent's
pieces, or even two of them.
Plans
must be flexible.
All
plans will change because your opponent has plans of their own.
As
Purdy said: "Examine every move that
smites" and "Use inactive force".