variations to which it may lead to make sure that the move is
good. As an example he offered the following opening: (1) P-f3,
P-e5; (2) P-g4. Now, he asks, should Black omit to give the
checkmate with Q-h4 because it is against the general principles
to bring out the Queen at an early stage of the game?

The shallowness of this argument is obvious. The reason for the
general rule that the Queen should not come out too soon is that
she is liable to be attacked by the minor pieces of the opponent
so that she has to move again and again and time is lost which
could be used for the development of other pieces. Of course, if
the opponent does not develop his pieces, the Queen may often
come out without danger and she may do a lot of harm before she
can be driven away.

In formulating general strategical principles it is, then,
assumed that both players will follow them, and it is taken for
granted that if one player deviates from these principles and
thereby weakens himself at some point, the other player is
expected to exact the full penalty for this deviation with any
means at his disposal. It will always be found that these means
are also indicated by the general principles if only their
meaning is intelligently applied to the position in question.

As was stated before, the point of greatest importance in the
opening is to develop the pieces without loss of time, that is,
to place them on squares where they have as much mobility as
possible without making any move which retards this development.
There are different ways in which the development may be
retarded, and which consequently must be avoided. For instance,