Making a PlanHow to decide what to do when the opening ends and no move is forced.ChessThe standard assessment, in order.1MaterialCount it. Being a pawn up changes every other judgement.2King safetyBoth kings. This outranks almost everything else.3Pawn structureWeaknesses, passed pawns, open files. It is the most permanentfeature.4Piece activityWhich pieces are doing nothing? Improve the worst one.5Space and squaresWho controls the centre and the key outposts?THEN CHOOSEBetter structure → simplify toward the endgameBetter activity → open lines and attackWorse position → seek complications or trade attackersThe most useful single question: what is my worst piece, and how do Iimprove it? It generates a move in almost any position.Making a Planlearnposters.com
Making a Plan — printable games wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Making a Plan, step by step

The standard assessment, in order.

  1. MaterialCount it. Being a pawn up changes every other judgement.
  2. King safetyBoth kings. This outranks almost everything else.
  3. Pawn structureWeaknesses, passed pawns, open files. It is the most permanent feature.
  4. Piece activityWhich pieces are doing nothing? Improve the worst one.
  5. Space and squaresWho controls the centre and the key outposts?

Then choose

  • Better structure → simplify toward the endgame
  • Better activity → open lines and attack
  • Worse position → seek complications or trade attackers

The most useful single question: what is my worst piece, and how do I improve it? It generates a move in almost any position.

Questions about the Making a Plan poster

What’s on the Making a Plan poster?
5 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. The standard assessment, in order. Material — Count it. Being a pawn up changes every other judgement.; King safety — Both kings. This outranks almost everything else.; Pawn structure — Weaknesses, passed pawns, open files. It is the most permanent feature.; Piece activity — Which pieces are doing nothing? Improve the worst one.; Space and squares — Who controls the centre and the key outposts?. The most useful single question: what is my worst piece, and how do I improve it? It generates a move in almost any position.
Who is the Making a Plan poster for?
Making a Plan belongs to the Chess section rather than to a school year, because games is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning middlegame can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Making a Plan poster?
Assess the position first, then choose a plan from the assessment. Not the other way round. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Making a Plan belongs on the wall where that games work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Making a Plan?
Attacking the King, Bishop or Knight and Defending sit alongside Making a Plan in the Chess section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Attacking the KingBishop or KnightDefending
Is the Making a Plan poster free to download and print?
Yes. Making a Plan downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Chess section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Making a Plan poster print at?
Making a Plan is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Making a Plan loses nothing.Printing guide

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