Improving Your Chess - Resources for Beginners and Beyond
Pandolfini's 64 Commandments of Chess...
As originally published in "The ABC's of Chess" by NM Bruce Pandolfini....
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/64-commandments-of-chess-by-bruce-pandolfini
Bruce Pandolfini Chess Books.....(primarily for beginner-novice players)...
https://www.amazon.com/Bruce-Pandolfini/e/B000APJ6YQ?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2&qid=1610817227&sr=1-2
Bill Wall's 64 Chess Principles...
http://billwall.phpwebhosting.com/articles/principles.htm
http://billwall.phpwebhosting.com/
ChessKids Academy...
Excellent introductory chess lessons for kids and beginning chess players of any age...
A link to their openings summary guide pdf which you can download...
http://www.chesskids.org.uk/grownups/openings.pdf
Chess Fundamentals - Instructive Lessons by John Bartholomew...
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=john+bartholomew+chess+fundamentals
Mark Weeks' chess site...
Lots of instructive content on chess basics for beginners and beyond...(you'll need to browse to discover it all)...
https://www.mark-weeks.com/aboutcom/caa-ltpc.htm
The Principle of Maximum Usefulness…
https://www.mark-weeks.com/aboutcom/aa06b18.htm
The Principle of the Least Active Piece...
The Best Chess Strategy (simple and powerful) - IM Igor Smirnoff...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXIfO3aKA8I
5 Most Important Principles of Attack in Chess…
Spend some time studying the following instructive game (video) with the goal of understanding the reasoning (i.e., the principles) behind each and every move White makes. Go over the game as many times as it takes (slowly, frequently pausing the video to think about the position and the possible moves) until you understand White’s decisions…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPlzkrBzlko
'Kestony' YouTube...
Instructive videos...principles, strategies, tips...
https://www.youtube.com/c/Kestony/videos
https://www.chess.com/member/kestony
'Hanging Pawns' YouTube...
Instructive videos, well presented, on every facet of the game, for every chess player...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkJdvwRC-oGPhRHW_XPNokg
'Jim's Chess Channel' YouTube...
Instructive videos.....particularly on openings...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChSqcu-VJQSLfQes1vlGL5g
'ChessEdge' YouTube...
Instructive videos focusing on chess fundamentals for the improving chess amateur...
https://www.youtube.com/user/BKKaye
ChessCafe.com articles archive...
A gold mine of instructive articles about chess, openings, book reviews...etc...includes Dan Heisman's instructive 'Novice Nook' articles...
https://web.archive.org/web/20140714190611/http://www.chesscafe.com/archives/archives.htm
Instructive Chess.com lessons, blogs, forum threads...
Note: you may need to subscribe to Chess.com's "Diamond' membership level in order to view Chess.com training/instructional videos in their entirety...
https://www.chess.com/article/view/study-plan-directory
https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-10-most-common-mistakes-among-chess-beginners
https://www.chess.com/blog/Cherub_Enjel/1-how-to-understand-everything-in-a-chess-game
Chess Opening Principles....how to begin a chess game....
I highly recommend as a first book on opening play for every beginner-novice "Discovering Chess Openings" by John Emms. Its focus is specifically and exclusively on opening fundamental principles, treating some openings only insofar as they serve to illustrate the principles under discussion. This is the best book for learning the basics of the opening phase of the game in general, i.e., how to play (and not play) the opening...
http://www.chesscentral.com/chess_strategy_a/201.htm
http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-principles-of-the-opening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ugDFOoevyI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbD_jtRCAsA
https://www.chess.com/article/opening+theory
Chess Openings Wiki...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_opening
A popular site with an innovative, interactive approach to chess instruction - on every aspect of chess, including openings - is Chessable. I recommend to check it out....some of the courses are free...
https://www.chessable.com/?page=landingpage
Chess Openings Resources for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/openings-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond
Endgame fundamentals....
The most important fundamentals for the beginner-novice to study in chess are: Tactics, Endgame and Opening Principles....while the last of these is certainly important to understand and to become skilled at, you can never study too much of the first two of these. That is, time spent studying and improving your tactical and endgame skills will accrue more to your chess success and rating than focusing primarily on learning specific openings.
Unfortunately, endgame proficiency is probably the most neglected part of the game (at all levels of chess). However, without an adequate understanding of endgame fundamentals, you will likely end up losing many games that you otherwise could have won (or drawn). The first three endgame techniques to become acquainted (and skilled) with are pawn endings, the 'Opposition', and basic rook endings.
I recommend to supplement the following endgame lessons with the book "Endgame Workshop" by Bruce Pandolfini. It focuses on basic endgame fundamental principles, including detailed coverage of the three techniques mentioned above.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_endgame
Complete Guide To Chess Endgames on SimplifyChess.com...
https://simplifychess.com/chess/complete-endgame-guide.html#h.6aiyulkb8me3
John Bartholomew's Endgame Tutorials and 'Endgame Bootcamp' on Chessable...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLl9uuRYQ-6MDzm-bs8kbyHdYEmRGUauot
https://www.chessable.com/endgame-bootcamp-with-john-bartholomew/course/33597/
Introduction to 'Opposition' - to access the following web page click on (chess)...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_(chess)
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=opposition+chess+endgame
'Opposition' tutorial on 'Jim's Chess Channel'...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBqSAgsTqDY&list=PLPaM3qJ0ieXsZkPDAwkiT4jtV5MWGQXEI&index=4&t=0s
'Opposition' tutorial by 'Hanging Pawns'...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoZPZdnYYk8&list=PLssNbVBYrGcAcadywNlkAGpO1-kLfy0y2&index=2&t=0s
King + Pawn endings on 'Jim's Chess Channel' (4 parts)...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiaGte1CRnM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3QRTpIC9GQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBqSAgsTqDY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3dfayNstrQ
King + Pawn endings by John Bartholomew...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLyRWZPXUzI
Many Instructive Endgame tutorial videos, including pawn endings, by 'Hanging Pawns'...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLssNbVBYrGcAcadywNlkAGpO1-kLfy0y2
More endgame principles for beginners...
https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-principles-of-the-endgame----for-beginner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mhLQOZKVQs
Rook & Pawn Endings...
Other than King + Pawn endgames, Rook endgames are the most common and important to learn. The most important rook endgame techniques to learn first are the Lucena Position (aka 'Building a Bridge'), checking distance, and Philidor Draw. It will initially take some time and effort to become fluent with these, but the work you put in will pay off over the long term of your chess career...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYY0JCuAlY
Lucena Position - 'Jim's Chess Channel'...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3mgvsmMu6o&list=PLPaM3qJ0ieXsZkPDAwkiT4jtV5MWGQXEI&index=22&t=0s
Lucena Position - 'Hanging Pawns' channel...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOVCZbJAdTU&list=PLssNbVBYrGcAcadywNlkAGpO1-kLfy0y2&index=11&t=0s
Philidor (Draw) Position - 'Jim's Chess Channel'...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzq4dCrxWs8&list=PLPaM3qJ0ieXsZkPDAwkiT4jtV5MWGQXEI&index=23&t=0s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hMvGvaJ9LQ&list=PLPaM3qJ0ieXsZkPDAwkiT4jtV5MWGQXEI&index=24&t=0s
Philidor (Draw) Position - 'Hanging Pawns' channel...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qftbzl1dZws&list=PLssNbVBYrGcAcadywNlkAGpO1-kLfy0y2&index=10&t=0s
John Bartholomew's video tutorials on basic rook endgame technique...checking distance, Lucena & Philidor Positions, etc...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xk56Rt-7Rs&list=PLl9uuRYQ-6MDzm-bs8kbyHdYEmRGUauot
Pawn Play and Structures...
According to the famous quote by Francoise Andre Philidor (1727-1795), considered by many to be the best chess player of his time, "Pawns are the soul of chess".
Pawn structure is one of the most important aspects of chess to learn well - especially as it essentially provides the road map for how to plan in the opening and middlegame, and also many times in the early endgame as well. An excellent introduction to the topic is presented here...
The Complete Guide To Pawn Structures...
https://simplifychess.com/pawn-structures/complete-guide-chess-pawn-structures/index.html
Chess Books on Pawn Play and Structure - for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/chess-books-on-pawn-play-and-structure
Positional Chess, Planning and Strategy...
Positional chess is about the cooperative placement and activity of your pieces and pawns with a view toward accomplishing a specific goal, be it offensive or defensive. Positional chess concepts and techniques are integral elements in conceiving and implementing plans and strategies, and are essential if your goal is to play chess at higher levels. If you have acquired at least a basic level of proficiency in the areas I have recommended earlier - tactics, endgame and opening principles - but still feel stuck at your current level, it may be time to consider incorporating positional chess concepts into your knowledge base. Here are some thoughts, examples and suggestions along these lines...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_strategy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBZL_uUX-7E
https://mark-weeks.com/aboutcom/ble26pos.htm
https://www.mark-weeks.com/aboutcom/aa03k01.htm
https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-play-positional-chess
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1015488
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1013545
Good Positional Chess, Planning & Strategy Books for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/introduction-to-positional-chess-planning-strategy
Play Longer Time Controls...
For many at the beginner-novice level, speed chess tends to be primarily an exercise in moving pieces around faster than your opponent while avoiding checkmate, in hopes that his/her clock runs out sooner than yours. Or being lucky enough to notice and exploit your opponent’s blunders before they exploit yours.
The point is, there is little time to think about what you should be doing.
It makes sense that taking more time to think about what you should be doing would promote improvement in your chess skills.
An effective way to improve your chess is therefore to play mostly longer time controls, including "daily" chess, so you have time to think about what you should be doing.
This is not to suggest that you should necessarily play exclusively slow time controls or daily games, but they should be a significant percentage of your games, at least as much, if not more so than speed games which, while they may be fun, do almost nothing to promote an understanding of how to play the game well.
Here's what IM Jeremy Silman, well-known chess book author, has to say on the topic...
https://www.chess.com/article/view/longer-time-controls-are-more-instructive
And Dan Heisman, well-known chess teacher and chess book author…
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627052239/http:/www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman16.pdf
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/dan-heisman-resources
and the experience of a FIDE Master...
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/how-blitz-and-bullet-rotted-my-brain-don-t-let-it-rot-yours
Chess Databases Online......several that I especially like...
https://old.chesstempo.com/game-database.html
https://database.chessbase.com/
Rules of Chess....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_chess
http://main.uschess.org/content/view/7324/28/
http://www.fide.com/fide/handbook?id=124&view=article
**********************************************************************************************************
For more articles on other chess topics, including more helpful chess resources and book recommendations, be sure to check out my Chess.com blog.
**********************************************************************************************************
