Piece-activity and development is about continually increasing the value of your pieces by giving them important roles to play. In the previous lessons we saw that material referred to the quantity of pieces. Development on the other hand refers to unlocking the potential of your pieces by positioning them in such a way that they perform useful roles.
The development objective
The development objective can be stated as:
Aim to continually increase the value of your pieces by improving the importance of their roles because well-developed pieces have more fire-power than poorly developed pieces.
Development is a team effort
When you think about improving the development of your pieces, keep in mind that pieces working together as a team are almost always more effective than a piece working alone.
There are of course exceptions. In some cases your opponent might have made a mistake that allowed one of your pieces to enter his territory and help you score a quick victory – nothing wrong with that! However, keep in mind that you should always act in the interest of the team as a whole.
Your success in your games will often depend on how well your pieces worked together towards achieving your objectives.
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