How to Start Learning Chess?

We are witnessing an enormous number of adults delving into the world of chess, motivated by the series "The Queen's Gambit," numerous chess-related content on social media, and the overall trend of self-improvement. However, these beginners face a challenge they can't tackle on their own: How to start learning chess most effectively?

In the following lines, we will explain the fundamental principles that the so-called Adult Improvers need to adopt and apply in their game.

A chess game has three phases:

1. Opening
2. Middlegame
3. Endgame

This is similar to compositions that students write in language and literature classes, consisting of an introduction, development, and conclusion.

The introduction to a chess game is the opening. The initial part of the game is studied extensively at the master level and has a plethora of variations and sub-variations. Often, these openings have intriguing names that attract the attention of players who are either standing at the entrance or have just stepped into the world of chess (at least that is how I chose my opening repertoire when I was a beginner.). It must be acknowledged that Caro-Kann, Mar del Plata, Grünfeld Indian Defense, or the Meran Variation indeed sound exciting and challenging.

Inexperienced players fall for learning traps and tricks in the opening, believing that these flashy moves will launch them to unprecedented rating heights. Unfortunately, those who succeed in selling these inflated traps a few times quickly find themselves demoralized by experienced defeats. They can't comprehend why they can't win and crush opponents as promised by various chess YouTubers and TikTokers, who are either business-minded individuals seeking good income and not caring about the misconceptions they introduce to the understanding of the game for late beginners or complete charlatans who themselves need a chess coach but imagine they could become stars of the chess community on social media and thus escape the anonymity of their mundane lives and the fringes of society.

For a beginner, mastering the principles in the initial phase of the game is far more important than pompous opening variations.

Firstly, let's learn the division of chess pieces. Chess pieces are divided into:

• Pawns,
• Minor pieces (knights and bishops),
• Major pieces (queen and rooks), and
• King.

One should also be aware of their relative values. A pawn is worth one, knights and bishops are worth three each, rooks five, and the queen ten points. The king is not assigned a value in this manner since it cannot be captured. Beginners should memorize these values well to successfully combine and avoid losing material unnecessarily.

At the beginning of the game, it is extremely important to develop quickly, i.e., mobilize your forces. A chess game is similar to a military conflict. The general who masters the battlefield, strategic position, and fortifications, and who develops his forces faster, will defeat the indecisive opponent who hasn't figured out where to deploy his units. Then, he sends small, ineffective groups of soldiers against the superior enemy and they get destroyed.

In the opening, we have three tasks:

• Develop minor pieces to natural squares, which are squares near the central squares d4, d5, e4, and e5. Start with knights, followed by bishops, introducing at least one knight before bringing bishops into play.
• Castle the king, either on the kingside or queenside.
• Connect the rooks, usually achieved by developing the queen

There are things to avoid in the initial stage of the game:

• Early Queen moves, as the Queen is the strongest piece, and opponent pieces will develop by attacking it. Wasting time running away with the queen on the board means time that could be used to develop other pieces, resulting in a lag in development.
• Moving the same piece two or more times before other pieces are developed and before completing the three tasks mentioned earlier.
• Unnecessary pawn moves on the edges since they don't contribute to development and also weaken  one`s castle. Generally, in the opening, we move pawns to allow pieces to develop.
• Delaying castling is very dangerous, as leaving the king in the center can easily end in a checkmate or significant material loss.

Here is an example of how an unprincipled attempt to seize a quick victory via the so called Scholar`s mate gets punished by a principled player:

Paul Morphy`s famous Opera Game clearly illustrates the advantage gained by holding onto the principles of the opening stage:

Of course, these principles are general, and in specific situations, one may need to deviate from them. However, for a beginner, following these guidelines will prevent serious troubles in the initial stage of chess battles. Not only that, in games with other beginners, a player who adheres to these principles will gain an advantage early on because most of his opponents will play devoid of any chess knowledge and system, which will reflect in a higher number of victories and a growing rating.

Good luck at the chessboard!

Ostojа Simetić, chess coach, FIDE 2058