Get your pieces out

In 1858, at the Paris Opera, Paul Morphy played a duke and a count who were consulting together. He won in seventeen moves, and the game is still shown to beginners today.

The lesson is not a trick. Morphy simply brought his pieces into play quickly while his opponents spent moves grabbing material and moving the same pieces twice. When the attack came, almost all of his army was ready and almost none of theirs was.

A sound habit for any game: in the opening, bring a new piece into play with most moves, and leave pawn-grabbing for later.