Chess for beginners

Many beginners make the mistake of trying to memorize a ton of opening theory. Learning openings isn't bad per se, but it is unlikely they will encounter the exact lines they memorized. They will be better off trying to understand the common ideas of the opening, or just by following chess opening principles so they don't need to memorize any lines at first:

https://www.chess.com/blog/KeSetoKaiba/opening-principles-again

If someone wants other advice, I'd be happy to tailor something more to them, but following chess opening principles is one good tip for beginners

Improving Your Chess - Resources for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/improving-your-chess-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell

Improving at chess is usually not easy. If you can afford few lessons, I would advise getting a coach. I can teach you how to think during the chess game. After that, your progress is inevitable.

If you can't afford any lessons, here is the excerpt from very good article on how to improve:

Play a lot, analyze your games, and primarily study tactics. Your knowledge of openings, endgame, middlegame, etc. will come from analyzing your games and going over grandmaster games. Only study one of those specific topics if it is clear you are specifically losing because of that topic.

Source: https://www.gautamnarula.com/how-to-get-good-at-chess-fast/

Here is the great YT series from my channel to learn from as well: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUrgfsyInqNa1S4i8DsGJwzx1Uhn2AqlT

Good luck either way!

+1 that learning opening lines is a waste of time for beginners. I learned (ish) London for white and Pirc for black and played them against everything and it got me to 1500. And by learned, I mean I learned the squares that the pieces were meant to go to, and that's it. I also often deviated from them if it seemed appropriate. Below that level (and probably higher) it honestly doesn't matter- follow principles, don't hang anything, survive the opening then play chess.

If you focus too much on openings, even if you learn them really well, you won't be putting your attention where it matters and when you hit a ceiling you'll hit it hard as there will be some huge gaps in your play. Go to YouTube and type in Good Chess Habits, watch some videos. Don't develop bad habits you'll struggle to undo later (including overreliance on openings).

What is some advice you have for beginners?