How to begin in chess.com Lesson 2

♟️ Beginner Lesson 2: Opening Principles Hi everyone 👋, thanks a lot for your support on my first post! Many of you asked for the next lesson, so here it is. Today we’ll learn how to start a chess game the right way. 🔑 The 5 Golden Rules of the Opening Control the Center Push pawns to the middle (e4, d4, e5, d5). The center squares give your pieces maximum power. Develop Your Pieces Bring knights and bishops out early. Avoid moving the same piece twice in the opening unless necessary. Castle Early Get your king safe, usually kingside. Don’t leave your king in the center for too long. Don’t Bring the Queen Out Too Soon She’s strong, but can be chased around by small pieces. Connect the Rooks After developing, link your rooks so they protect each other. 🎯 Beginner Challenge Play 3 games where you follow these 5 principles. After each game, ask yourself: Did I fight for the center? Did I develop all my pieces? Did I castle on time? Don’t worry about memorizing fancy openings yet — just build good habits and the rest will follow!

With my recent experience it's good to wait until the opponent castles to see what side they end up with. To have the rook on the same opposite side on the corner than the opponent's king. It makes the side attack check mate easier with more assisting pieces. If the kings are castled both on the right side for example it's harder to attack. What are your thoughts on this? Castle early or wait to see what the other does first? Naturally gotta try to prevent rook & king knight forks too if a knight goes to an early rampage and castling early helps as one method to prevent that. Sooo there's probably many options depending on the situation.

That’s a really insightful question 🙌 and you’re absolutely right — castling is one of those moves that looks “simple” for beginners, but in practice it’s very situational. Here’s how I’d break it down for your Chess.com post reply or even to include in a future “Lesson 4 or 5”:

⚖️ Castling: Early vs. Waiting
Why Castle Early (Beginner-Friendly Rule)King Safety: The number one reason. If your king stays in the center too long, it becomes a target for open files and diagonals.
Piece Development: Castling connects your rooks faster and improves coordination.
Avoid Tactics: Early castling often prevents nasty forks (like you mentioned — knight forks on king and rook).
For most beginners → castling early (usually kingside) is the safer default.

Why Wait Before Castling (Advanced Idea)Flexibility: Like you said, sometimes it’s better to see which side your opponent castles to decide your own plan.
Opposite-Side Castling Attacks: If they castle kingside, and you go queenside, pawn storms can become very effective.
Pawn Structure: If you’ve already pushed pawns in front of one side, castling there could be unsafe.
This requires more experience, because waiting too long can backfire if the center opens suddenly and your king is exposed.

General Guideline for Beginners
If you’re new: castle early, don’t overthink it.
Once you’re more comfortable: pay attention to the pawn structures and your opponent’s choice of side.
Always ask: “Is my king safe here?”
 
✅ So my answer: For beginners → castle early. For experienced players → adapt based on position. Both ideas are valid, but king safety must come first.

Lesson 3 posted

I used to castle early but then I noticed after switching method that I win more often by castling later. Could this also be that the more experienced players get confused more likely if the gameplay doesn't go like the usual strategies? Because they probably have a strategy to all the common strategies. But yeah depends on the opponent and game style for sure. The thing about chess is that it's unpredictable. Even with knowing all the basics there can come an opponent who scrambles things up completely. So one thing is not to fall into confusion with unfamiliar tactics. Then other things like time management comes in handy. Or freestyle experience. Think too long in a scramble game and you loose.

Thanks for all the tips/info. Very helpful and insightful! Gotta keep learning, but not forget to practice scrambled games with freestyle or weird chess variations in Lichess, also to keep the fun of the game alive.

You should also put why this rule is good to note and when it could be ignored or if it can be ignored at all