As a weak player (hopeless at blitz), I am eager to improve. Aside from the usual blunders, I often find myself losing due to vulnerabilities on my king side, both as white and black. I only play traditional e4 and d4 openings, almost never fianchetto my bishops, and unless there is a clear tactical advantage to castling queen side, I always castle (early in the game) on the king side.
When I study classic games, I seldom can understand the deeper analysis that determines which side of the board on which to place the king. If you have any advice on the strategic advantages of queen side castling to share, I would be most appreciative. And if this is a stupid question, please excuse my lack of knowledge. Thanks.
Castling queenside is great, if
1:There are little to black/white pawns on the queenside, and the bishops/knights are stuck on the kingside
2: Your opponent has castled kingside, and you have 2-4 pawns on your kingside, ready for marching
3:You somehow gain an advantage with your castling, like checking the king, etc.
4: If your opponent has castled queenside already, and has begun storming your kingside
Queenside castling is bad, if
1: Your opponent has most of their queenside pawns, and can storm with them, leading to open files or flaws in the pawn structure
2: Have doubled rooks on an open file/soon to be open file on the queenside
3: You have no minor pieces to protect your king on the queenside
4: Your opponent can set up an attacking combination with you castling queenside.
5: Your queenside pawn structure is horrible
This is just what i think you should look for, when castling king/queenside.
Hope it helps!
As a totally noob player I'm choosing castling side following these simple rules:
1. If I'm attacking, i'm waiting for opponent's castling and castling other side. Now i can easily use my pawns to attack enemy king's position without breaking my own defence.
2. If I'm under pressure, i'm trying to castle to the safest side. Safety may be obtained by blocked pawns structure, localisation of my own and opponent's pieces, etc.
But probably it works only vs noobs like me...
The normal thing to do is to castle king-side. This is almost never a bad idea.
The exceptions with which you want to castle queen-side more usually apply to white, but can with black as well in rarer cases. Often white wants to castle queen-side in more dynamic positions, like in a lot of Sicilians, where a king-side attack is an important part of his plan. This is much less frequently a motif in black's plans as he starts off a tempo down, but it can and still does happen.
There is also the case of the safety of the king. If there is a massive attack being launched at your king-side, you probably do not want to castle there. If you yourself have launched a massive attack on the king-side, throwing all your pawns up the board, your king is going to be less safe there.
Of utmost importance is that you keep your king safe while there is the threat of it being attacked. Before deciding where you want to put your king, first establish what kind of position you are in, whether it be a slow positional game or a very dynamic, sharp one. If it is a slow positional game you will usually have more time to decide on where to commit your king. If it is a sharp and dynamic game, you usually want to have your king in safety quickly so as not to induce an all-out attack. Think of the plans both you and your opponent may have, and then consider where it is that your king fits best, according to those plans. It may be the case that castling on either side of the board are of equal value, and then it becomes a preferential choice. It may be the case that your king just so happens to safest in the center of the board! But I would not advocate for this unless you are very very sure!
Be aware that when your opponent castles on one side of the board, if you are to castle on the other side (or vice-versa), that this is usually an agreement of a mutual attack on each others' king positions. Both white and black now are often committed checkmating attacks against each other, as this is simply the most natural and fluid plan in the position. If you see that your opponent will be faster to the punch at your king, think twice about castling on the opposite side of the board.
Also be aware that these are generalities, not rules set in stone. There are always going to be exceptions, and exceptions to exceptions. Chess is a very deep game!
Hope this helps a little.