Learning Chess: Long Live the King!
Ed Scimia
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King safety is one of the most important strategic concerns you will have to deal with while playing chess. After all, if your king is trapped, the result is disastrous - you're checkmated! With that in mind, here are a few tips for keeping your king safe - and how to take advantage if your opponent 
's king isn't.
Castling: Making a Home for Your King
If I could give just one piece of advice, one nugget of information that would help beginners last longer in their games, it would be this: castle early and often! Castling is the single most important thing you can do to make sure your king is safely placed in the opening. While there are certainly instances when your king is perfectly safe in the center of the board, it is almost always correct - especially for novices - to castle their king as early as possible.
This can be accomplished in as little as four moves. Two common sequences (from white's perspective) that allow castling this quickly are 1. e4 2. Nf3 3. Bc5 (or Bb4), with 0-0 on the following move, or 1. Nf3 2. g3 3. Bg2 4. 0-0. Of course, you shouldn't make these moves blindly; getting your king tucked away safely may be important, but it's rarely worth losing material.
So, how should you proceed if your opponent leaves his or her king sitting in the middle of the board? If you've properly developed your pieces, you should look for a way to decisively attack the enemy king. It may even be worth sacrificing a pawn or two - sometimes even a minor piece - to open up lines of attack. Keep in mind that this attack needs to come quickly, because any delay may allow your opponent to castle, making their king much harder to get to.
Keeping Your King Secure
While castling will definitely help your king's safety, he may still be vulnerable to attack if you're not careful. It is important to make sure your opponent does not open up lines of attack - files or diagonals - toward your king. If your king happens to find itself on one of these open lines, you should try your best to get him off of it, and on to a more secure square.
Castling: Making a Home for Your King
If I could give just one piece of advice, one nugget of information that would help beginners last longer in their games, it would be this: castle early and often! Castling is the single most important thing you can do to make sure your king is safely placed in the opening. While there are certainly instances when your king is perfectly safe in the center of the board, it is almost always correct - especially for novices - to castle their king as early as possible.
This can be accomplished in as little as four moves. Two common sequences (from white's perspective) that allow castling this quickly are 1. e4 2. Nf3 3. Bc5 (or Bb4), with 0-0 on the following move, or 1. Nf3 2. g3 3. Bg2 4. 0-0. Of course, you shouldn't make these moves blindly; getting your king tucked away safely may be important, but it's rarely worth losing material.
So, how should you proceed if your opponent leaves his or her king sitting in the middle of the board? If you've properly developed your pieces, you should look for a way to decisively attack the enemy king. It may even be worth sacrificing a pawn or two - sometimes even a minor piece - to open up lines of attack. Keep in mind that this attack needs to come quickly, because any delay may allow your opponent to castle, making their king much harder to get to.
Keeping Your King Secure
While castling will definitely help your king's safety, he may still be vulnerable to attack if you're not careful. It is important to make sure your opponent does not open up lines of attack - files or diagonals - toward your king. If your king happens to find itself on one of these open lines, you should try your best to get him off of it, and on to a more secure square.