A blog for all Chess beginners

If you just got into the great game of chess, but lessons are too expensive, here are 10 things to remember when playing chess.

1: Learn The Way The Pieces Move. Each chess piece can move only a certain way. For instance, a pawn moves straight ahead but can only attack on an angle, one square at a time. A knight’s move is L-shaped. This is the only piece that can jump over other pieces.  Bishops move at an angle but can move more than one square at a time. They like long, open diagonals they can control.  The rook (castle) can move only in a straight line but can go forward, back or to the side. They like to have control of open flies, or being on the 7th rank (or the 2nd, if playing black) to gobble up any pawns that are still at their starting square. The queen, the most powerful piece, can move in any direction for any number of squares, but not two directions in one move. And the king moves at a stately pace — as a king should — one square at a time in any direction on the chess board.

2: Open With a Pawn. Move the pawn in front of either the king or queen two squares forward. (Only on its opening move can a pawn move two squares.) This opens pathways for your bishops and queen to enter the game. They move on an angle and can’t get out onto the field of battle if pawns are in the way. Taking control of the center early can produce a winning middlegame and endgame. 

3: Develop Your Minor Pieces Early. Before even thinking about releasing your queen onto the board, you need to develop your knights and bishops. Having extra space than your opponent might be hard for them to have some proper development of their pieces. 

4: Watch Your Back! And front! When it’s your turn, always think to yourself, “What did my opponent’s last move do? What is he up to?” Is he laying traps to capture your pieces? Then decide on your own plan. Always look at all your possibilities. Look at moves that would capture your opponent’s men or threaten his king first. But always double-check your moves before you play them. Ask yourself, “Does my move leave something unprotected?”

5: Don't Waste Time. You don't want to waste some of your moves attacking the opponents pawns or pushing yours when they are not passed. 

6: Castle Early. Now, what do I mean by that? Here, this is a fairly even opening. Watch what happens by castling. 

Now look! Castling is the only time you can move 2 pieces at once. Your rook will give protection to your d4 pawn and get your king safe. Here's a saying you should remember: "Castle early, Castle often."

7: Attack in the "Middlegame." After you’ve brought all your knights and bishops into the game and castled (these moves are your “opening”), the middlegame begins. In the middlegame, always be on the lookout for ways to capture your opponent’s men. Take any chess piece that your opponent doesn’t protect. But look at what will happen to your piece if you take his — will you get picked off? Always be looking for ways to move lots of your men into position to attack the enemy king.

8: Lose Pieces Wisely. You’ll take some of your opponent’s pieces. Some of your pieces will be taken. You must figure out what is and isn’t a good swap in chess. Use these points to figure out whether you’re making a good move if you’re going to lose one of them: Queen: 9 points | Rook: 5 points | Bishop: 3 points | Knight: 3 points | Pawn: 1 point. So don't save a pawn over a bishop!

9: Don't play too fast. If you see a good move, wait about 2 or 3 moves and try and look for a better one. Chess is a game of patience, and you need to be patient when attacking. 

10: Win The Game. After you and your opponent swap pieces and you’re down to just a few men, the endgame begins. Now the pawns become more important. If you can advance a pawn to the farthest row away from you, that pawn becomes a queen. A big success! Let your king attack, too, as long as he stays out of reach of your opponent’s remaining pieces — especially the queen — and does not let himself to be checked. Your king is said to be in check when your opponent threatens to use one of his pieces to capture the king on his next move. If your king is checked and you have no way to remove the threat — it can’t run away, you can’t capture the opposing piece that has him in check and you can’t block the check by moving one of your own pieces — the game is lost. Checkmate! If you checkmate your opponent before he checkmates you, then you win!