Originally posted by JackoThere are a few different things to consider and obviously each game is different, but in general, I think the King side castle is the best defensively.
If i have a situation where i can castle on each sdie, which is better quees side or kings side??
Thanks, David
The queen side can be good cos it brings the rook onto the important d file immediately, and so probably into play. The pawn at the edge of the board can be unprotected, unless you push it forward one, or have a knight at c3 (for white)
In certain games then, if your opponent has castled before u, then you'd have to decide if you'd get an advantage by castling to the opposite side. ie: Can u attack his king with your non castled side pawns more than he can attack you with his non castled side pawns.
I'm sure there are better resources on line than what I have explained here. Google 'exeter chess club'.
D
Originally posted by RagnorakQueenside castling used to be considered much weaker than kindside however these day thats isnt the case
There are a few different things to consider and obviously each game is different, but in general, I think the King side castle is the best defensively.
The queen side can be good cos it brings the rook onto the important d file imme ...[text shortened]... what I have explained here. Google 'exeter chess club'.
D
You need to consider a few things. Castling oppsite sides will normally start off pawn storms.
Castling queenside takes two tempi more a tempi when you move the queen out of the way and another when you play Kb1 as you often end up doing to make the kings position solid. However it could gain that tempo by getting the rook to the D file in one move. Also after 0-0 the rook on the F file normally needs to be moved costing a tempi. Evening out the tempo position between the two somewhat.
The reason why 0-0-0 is less common than 0-0 is you need to move the queen out early which is often quite bad. However there are times when it should be considered. When the opponents pieces are all swarming around the kindside 0-0-0 can get your king away from them and it will take the person maybe 15+ moves to line up their pieces up on your king again if they really want that mating attack.
You want that rook on the D file now!!
You want to pawn storm the opponents weakened kingside position ie when they have played h6 or g6.
As a general rule i will castle queenside if my opponent has castled kingside. This generally leads to a game were both sides attempt to storm their opponents castled position with pawns. When deciding whether the queenside castle is correct, one should consider who is able to advance their pawns quicker.
I very rarely castle queenside. Occasionally but not often. Mostly because of my opening choice. Playing the Queen's Gambit (or KID or Catalan or whatever) as white basically means always castling kingside (except in a few rare exceptions). Playing the Sicilian as black means the same. It's the c pawn move. Once that's gone you castle your king onto a semiopen file on the queenside. Not a good idea generally.
Personally I prefer queenside a little, but my greatest preference is often not to castle at all, which wasn't mentioned as an option!
But heck, look at my rating, what do I know?
I think a lot of people castle way too early. I like it when my opponents do that. It gives me a small target to aim for. The main reason I prefer queenside is probably because of what I've been able to do to people who castled kingside! (*insert slightly evil grin here*)