Planning: Move by Move

"First the idea and then the move!" Miguel Najdorf used to say in his habitually enthusiastic fashion; that statement is the perfect summary of planning in chess.

Planning is of crucial importance in chess and yet this is an area that has not been well discussed or explained to ambitious players who wish to improve. A very well known saying in chess is "Better a bad plan than no plan at all". Playing without a plan - effectively staggering from one move to the next - is a recipe for disaster...