Beginner Guide to Chess: The Rules, First Strategies and How to Practice

Chess may initially seem to be very overwhelming as you are learning two things simultaneously: the rules of movement and the reasoning of good choices. The easiest way to get better at playing it is to keep it easy, pick up the basics, go through some basic games and revisit some of the most important moments instead of committing everything to memory.

This guide is aimed at the actual beginners. It deals with the fundamentals, a practical “first principles” style of playing better and a concise training program that you can use without feeling overwhelmed.

The Goal of Chess and the Rules You Actually Need First

The goal is to place the king of the opponent under check: to place the opponent in a situation where he cannot get out of that check. All the rest, material, openings, tactics, etc., are aiming to that end.

Some of the rules are better learning early since they are encountered frequently:

• Check – it’s when your king was exposed and you needed to move him or defend fast. 
• Checkmate – when your king is under attack and there are no more legal moves. 
• Stalemate: – when the player who move can’t make any legal move with own pieces and the king is not in check (similar to draw) 
• Castling – it’s a special king-rook move, which helps in the king-safety and development (Use it early in most games after learning the rules). 
• En passant – it’s pawn capture which does not occur often, but must be learned and passed over. 

At the beginner level, it is more significant to play the legal moves with confidence than to be familiar with all the edge cases. You will learn the less frequent rules by the mere experience.

How the Pieces Move

You do not have to read pages of theory to remember the moves—all one has to do is to have a clear mental picture. Use this simple reference:

• King: one square in every direction. 
• Queen: any straight line with any number of squares (such as rook + bishop combined). 
• Rook: any amount of squares either horizontally or vertically. 
• Bishop: as many squares as you like diagonally. 
• Knight: a shape of the letter “L” (two squares in a direction, one to the side); it is able to leap over the pieces. 
• Pawn: can move one square (two squares in its initial position), can capture on a diagonal one square. 

One of the most effective methods of learning to move is to play a couple of slow games in which you speak the moves to yourself: “bishop on the diagonal”, “rook on the file”, “knight jump”. The motions cease to be abstract after playing a few games.

Five Principles That Win Beginners’ Games

The majority of beginner losses are not due to deep strategy; they occur due to preventable errors. Adhere to these five principles, and you will be beating around the bush immediately:

1. Control the center. Attempt to control central squares with the help of pawns and other pieces. 
2. Develop pieces early. Bring knights and bishops out then push the same pawn and push it again and again. 
3. Protect your king. Castle in the majority of games; you should not leave the king in the middle. 
4. Don’t hang pieces. Ask: Is this piece defended? Can it be captured?” before each move. 
5. Look for threats. Each turn, check: What is my opponent threatening me with?

When it comes to habits that will upgrade your play in the shortest possible time, the following habit should be chosen: after your opponent has made a move, what has changed? Which lines opened? Which piece became attacked? Which square got weaker?

The First Tactics You Should Learn

Short sequences that win material or deliver mate are known as tactics. Novices learn most effectively when they get to know a couple of patterns and recognize them frequently.

Start with these:

• Forks: one attack hits two different targets simultaneously (this is known to be very popular with knights). 
• Pins: a piece can never move, due it would expose something more valuable behind the piece. 
• Skewers: these are like a pin, except that the more valuable part is in the front. 
• Discovered attacks: when one piece is moved, an attack is discovered by the other. 
• Back-rank ideas: checkmates or winning tactics on trapped kings and rooks. 

There is no need to grind thousands of puzzles at once. It is preferable to do a few regularly and concentrate on the reasons behind the effectiveness of the tactic.

How to Practice Efficiently

Once you are able to make legal moves and pick out some simple tactics, you require frequent reps, and that is where chess online comes in handy when you are a beginner since you no longer have to have issues locating someone to play with or set up a board each time.

When deciding where you are going to practice, concentrate on trusted platforms and tools and not on something new. The building blocks that are provided by most major chess websites are similar: matchmaking, puzzles, and analysis. Choose one chess site that you enjoy and use it some time to be able to track your progress.

In order to play chess online successfully (rather than clicking) you have to consider each session as a mini-training loop:

• Play short series of games (e.g. 2-4). 
• Look over only the greatest turning points: an error, a missed tactic, or a failed defence. 
• Note one of the lessons you can use in the following session. 

One of the most useful attitudes is to play it like virtual chess practice, not as “pure entertainment”. When you play every online chess game with one objective (ex: “don’t hang pieces”, “castle by move 8”, etc.) you will get better much quicker than a person who plays a lot of games but does not think about them.

In case you would like to play in a more competitive setting, there are numerous platforms where constant events are conducted in the form of a live chess arena. That may be inspiring, but novices must balance arena play with slower games where players have time to think.

Lastly, keep in mind that online chess is a tool and not a shortcut. One game of chess online will not change your level, but constant repetition and little reviews will.

Endgames Beginners Should Know

You do not have to know elaborate endings, but you must learn some concepts, which determine most introductory games:

• King activity matters. In endgames the king is a powerful piece—bring him to the centre. 
• Basic pawn promotion. Train to move a pawn to the 8th rank with the support of your king. 
• Basic patterns of checkmating. Begin by the concept of checkmating with queen + king (and then rook + king). 

Endgames tend to be relaxed as opposed to tactics, yet novices lose most of their won games after rushing the pawn too quickly or having the king idle. A minor awareness of endgame turns more victories than most players anticipate.

A Simple 7-Day Beginner Plan

The following is a realistic timetable (20-30 minutes a day) that can develop the basics without exhaustion:

It should be repeated each week, but with a different focus on what you are really struggling with.

Where to Go Next

When you can stick to the five principles, not hang pieces and identify simple tactics, then you are already through the worst beginner stage. The next best thing to do there is not to memorize openings, but to develop pattern recognition by means of regular games, light practice, and tactics.

Make it simple, monitor a few mistakes that keep reoccurring and fix them individually. That is the reason why novices turn out to be confident players sooner than they anticipate.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — In the Cover: Guide to Chess Cover Photo Credit: Yorgos Ntrahas