How to Improve: Beginner's Edition

     Hello everyone, I decided to create a series that serves to help everyone improve at chess. This edition will be for beginners, or players rated lower than 1000 USCF. There will be 2 more posts, one for Intermediate (1000-1800 USCF) and one for Advanced (1800+USCF).

     As a chess player who's just started to play the game, the most important thing is to grasp the fundamentals. This includes the following:

1. Endgames

Endgames are really important at all levels of chess. After all, what's the point of outsmarting your opponent in the opening and middlegame only to stumble when you're up a rook in an endgame? Here are some basic endgames that all beginners should know.
     1. Basic mates (Queen, Rook, 2 Rooks, Rook and Queen)
     2. Basic pawn endings (1 Pawn, 2 Pawns, Pawn on the a/h file)
     3. Basic drawn endings (Bishop, Knight, 2 Knights)

It's also important to understand basic endgame concepts such as:

     1. Opposition

     2. Stalemate

Chess.com has some great lessons on the aforementioned topics. You can also read some endgame books to improve as well!

2. Basic Chess Concepts

This may sound pretty vague, but there are a couple of basic chess concepts that all beginners need to understand in order to play chess well. Without including knowledge of how pieces move and rules of chess, here are a couple things that all beginners should understand:

1. The Center (4 squares) is generally the most important part of the board, and you should try to fight for control of it!
2. King safety is of the utmost importance - After all, your opponent is trying to checkmate your king! Make sure to castle before your king is in too much danger! (Guide to castling here)

3. Material - Know the material count of each piece to estimate the value of them!

Pawn = 1

Knight = 3

Bishop = 3

Rook = 5

Queen = 9

King = Infinity!

Use the material system to understand what pieces to trade! For instance, you would gladly trade a bishop for a rook, but not a queen for a pawn!

3. Tactics

As a beginning chess player, tactics are of the utmost importance. Games can be easily won if you spot the right tactic. Here is a list of tactical motifs that you should know!

1. Pin

2. Fork

3. Skewer

4. Discovered Attack

A good way to practice tactics is to use chess.com's puzzles feature. You can also find more problems/puzzles in a tactics book!

I hope you enjoyed this first post of my How to Improve series! Make sure to comment down below if you thought this helped you improve, or if you have a better way that I didn't include! Thanks for reading, until next time!