ChessOps - CASTLING Development

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Castle early and generally on the king's side of the board, unless there is a special purpose for not doing so. Castling not only provides a safer haven for the king but also helps to bring the rooks into play in combination with each other. The Grandmaster Richard Reti said "you should castle when there is no better move", but many players tend to castle earlier than this remark suggests as part of a deliberate development strategy.

As a rule, when there are early exchanges in the centre it is essential to castle quickly. The Ruy Lopez (Berlin Defence) has an example of rapid White defensive castling, and in the King's Indian Variation of Reti's Opening there is immediate castling by both sides.

In descriptive notation the symbols for castling are 0-0 (on the king's side) and 0-0-0 (queen's side). Always touch the king first - under FIDE laws, if a player deliberately touches a rook and then his king, he is not allowed to castle on that side on that move but must move the rook if legally possible.