Project approval after AI review on 2 November 2026. Human proofreading is still pending.
Lesson 22
Improve your worst piece
- What you will learn
- You find the piece that is doing the least, bring it to a better square and plan the next step.
- What you should already know
- Why all your pieces should join in
- Lesson 7: All your pieces want to join in
Time: about 5 minutes
Thinking questions in this lesson
You can ask yourself these thinking questions in any position. They help you find a good move.
- Which piece could be better placed?
Step 1 of 6
Look first
A simple example from “My System”. No piece is attacked; Black has a rook, and in return you have an extra knight and an extra pawn.
Coaches say today: the piece that is doing the least is your worst piece. This is about where it stands, not how much it is worth. Ask about every piece: what is it doing right now?
Tap the piece you should improve first.
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space marks a square or removes the mark.
Choose a square from a list
Position as a list
White
- King e2
- Knight c2
- Pawn e3
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h3
Black
- King f8
- Rook d8
- Pawn f7
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 2 of 6
Decide
A good plan often has only two or three steps.
Which small plan brings your pieces safely closer to the middle, and why?
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.
Position as a list
White
- King e2
- Knight c2
- Pawn e3
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h3
Black
- King f8
- Rook d8
- Pawn f7
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 3 of 6
Try it
Improve your worst piece: bring it closer to the middle.
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.
Choose a move from a list
Position as a list
White
- King e2
- Knight c2
- Pawn e3
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h3
Black
- King f8
- Rook d8
- Pawn f7
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 4 of 6
Why does it work?
In the middle a knight reaches up to eight squares, on the edge only a few.
On d4 the knight shields your king from the rook. The rook does attack it, but the pawn on e3 protects it. Behind it your king comes to d3, closer to the middle.
If you go to e4 with the king without the knight, the rook comes to d2 and attacks knight and pawn f2 at the same time.
Key idea
If you have no clear plan, look for the piece that is doing the least and bring it to a better square, often closer to the middle.
When does this apply?
Check first whether your opponent is threatening something. You bring the king to the middle only in the endgame. The middle is not a goal in itself: from there the piece should later help where it is needed.
Step 5 of 6
New position, same idea
A second position from the same section. This time there are two good ways.
Which of your pieces is doing the least right now? Take the first step closer to the middle.
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.
Choose a move from a list
Position as a list
White
- King e1
- Knight b3
- Pawn a5
- Pawn e2
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g3
- Pawn h2
Black
- King f8
- Bishop g6
- Pawn a6
- Pawn d6
- Pawn f7
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 6 of 6
Nimzowitsch and today
Source
Nimzowitsch writes, in substance: a sensibly centralised position counts as consolidated, but even it is not entirely without danger. Centralisation is not an end in itself, but the most rational way of gathering forces for the wings. In the endgame not only the king heads for the middle, but the minor pieces too: a knight on d4 eyes both wings and restricts the enemy king. If an enemy rook is on the board, the central knight forms a protective wall behind which one’s own king can move to the centre; Dr Tartakower would call that an island of pieces. Savielly Tartakower was a chess master of that time. The formula “improve your worst piece” is a later coaching rule and does not come from Nimzowitsch. The texts are newly written for the course; both positions come from My System 6.1.
- My System, chapter 6: The elements of endgame strategy (original text not yet published)
- My System, 6.1 (in German): “Die Zentralisierung” (original text not yet published)
- Chess Praxis, 1. Centralisation (in German) (original text not yet published)
Today’s view (editorial note)
Many coaches give this rule of thumb today for quiet positions in which nothing is threatened. Better does not always mean the middle: a rook often belongs on an open file, and sometimes you exchange the bad piece. First, though, comes the question from lesson 21: what does your opponent want?