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Every time I blunder or make a mistake, it's usually because I didn’t follow these tips. You might already know them, which is great, but whenever I stop playing chess (I've been playing since I was a kid but not continues) for a while and back again, I tend to forget these important tips again and again—so I thought I’d list them down! THINK BEFORE YOU CASTLE "Get your king to safety by castling early, ideally before move 10." BUT..BUT sometimes castling can create weaknesses, especially if your opponent has already developed their pieces for an attack. So, yes, castle in the early game, but think first, don’t do it right away just because it’s a popular tip. While castling is important for king safety, blindly castling without considering the position can lead to trouble. Castling into an attack or doing so too early without proper development can create weaknesses. Sometimes, delaying castling or even leaving your king in the center temporarily is better. For example, why would you castle king side if it's already under attack? although one could argue that it's players fault for not developing early, but there are aggressive players that will attack in early moves. There are two types of possible attacks on your castled king: It may seem like your planned castled position will be under attack, but if your opponent proceeds, they will actually lose material. Your planned castled position will genuinely be under attack, and your opponent might sacrifice a piece to trap and checkmate you. So watch out for that. Remember, castling puts your king in safety, but it also locks your king in place. This means your king is safe but also somewhat trapped within your castled position. If your castled side is already under attack, there’s a chance you could become trapped and get checkmated. CASTLED KING As much as possible, avoid opening up your castled king in the early or middle game. Remember, once you opened your castled like by moving up a pawn, you create a weakness. Ideally, save that for the near endgame, but of course, there are exceptions. Sometimes it’s better to open up your castled king to launch an attack or set a trap for your opponent. Just ask yourself: Is it worth it?  KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE FINALIZING A MOVE What does my opponent want? Is this a trap? (look out for fork, pin, or sniper bishop) As possible, avoid moving the same piece twice in the opening so you wont lose your tempo. If I move this piece, will it be safe? Does it have a defender?  Will this move create a weakness? If so, is it worth it? If I move this piece, will my king be safe or in check? Do you really need to ask yourself these questions every time you plan a move? Yes. It might seem like a waste of time initially, but most of your blunders or mistakes likely happened because you failed to consider one of these critical points. Over time, these questions will become a second nature to you, and your mind will automatically evaluate them as you play. PICK YOUR FAVORITE OPENINGS FOR WHITE AND BLACK (PERSONAL OPINION) When you're new to chess, it's better to focus on mastering a single opening for white and one for black, rather than using a variety of openings in every game. By doing this, your memorization and analysis will concentrate on those specific openings. Over time, you'll become familiar with the common moves, mistakes, and better alternatives, enabling you to improve faster. Since you're repeatedly playing the same openings, you'll likely encounter similar positions in future games. This gives you an advantage, as you'll already know the best moves to play, based on past experience. In contrast, using different openings every game can overwhelm your memory, making it harder to recall key positions and lessons. Start by exploring various openings for both black and white, then pick your favorites. For example, most of my games feature the Four Knights Game as white and the Sicilian Defense as black. These are my favorite openings, and focusing on them has helped me steadily improve my understanding of their positions and strategies. Each game reinforces my memory and analysis, making it easier to learn from mistakes and blunders. Once you've gained confidence and familiarity with your chosen openings, you can gradually branch out to similar ones. For instance, while I usually play the Four Knights Game as white, I sometimes switch to the Ruy López for variety, as it's closely related to my preferred opening. But remember, this is just my personal opinion, if your brain can handle many openings and remember all of their mistakes, blunder, better moves with your each game, then maybe that's better for you. Personally I don’t have a great memory, so concentrating on just a few openings made learning more manageable. REVIEW YOUR GAME This might seem obvious, but you will never truly improve if you only keep playing without reviewing your games. Since you're already on Chess.com, take advantage of the review and analysis features after each game. Look at your mistakes, blunders, and any missed checkmate opportunities. Improvement comes from learning what went wrong and how to avoid the same errors in the future. You will never improve if you will just keep playing without reviewing and hoping that you will get better just because you played a lot of games.