Whether you just learned how the pieces move or you’ve played a few online games, improving at chess can feel overwhelming at first. But don’t worry, here are 7 simple and powerful beginners tips that will help you start winning more games and enjoying chess even more.
Control the center
In order to win the game you will need to dominate and control the center of the board. You do this by having your Pawns move into squared e4, d4, e5 and d5. This create space for your stronger pieces to move around.
Develop you strong pieces early in the game
Get your army mobile from the beginning. Your Bishops and Knights are an important part of your center position. Get them into the game as early as possible and have them support your center. Try not to make any unnecessary move like moving the same piece twice. That is a waste of opportunity in the early game.
Don’t bring your queen out too soon
Keep your Queen in a safe place and only us her when you see opportunities or have the space to move around without getting stuck on the board. You do not want to make her a target and lose her. In dense board she can easily get stuck and being cornered by a Knight and Bishop combination.
Castle early in the game
Castling your king early in the game is a massive opportunity. This gives your King additional protection with adjacing Pawns but also puts both Rooks together potentially supporting each other on your backline on tour side. Make castling part of your plan of attack where you enable your Rooks to be part of the attack or defense abd putting them in the open instead of stuck behind some difficult moving Pawns.
Think before every move
Unfortunately this is an underrated part of Chess with beginners. Thinking ahead can be challenging but absolutely needed to improve your game. Think about a plan you have in mind early and adapt to that as you go. Every move whether that is your or that of your opponent think about:
- Why did my opponent move this piece?
- Is it threathening any of my pieces?
- Is that piece covered enough so I don’t have to move it?
- Did my opponent’s move make any of his pieces vulnerable that might be an opportunity for me?
- Will my move put pressure on his pieces?
- Can I force a check on his King to keep control and momentum?
- Which of my piece need additional support?
- What could the next move be of my opponent if I move this piece?
- What do I want to achieve with this move?
Run through a couple of these questions before you make a move, take your time and don’t feel pressured.
Practice basic tactics
Practice, practice practice. Learning new techniques will develop your skills. You do not have to play games in order to do that. You can also solve Chess puzzles and read articles. We have a free online course for you here at Chessnologic but also some puzzles you can work with to improve your games. You can find them here.
Analyse Your Games
Whether you have won or lose evaluate your game and try to understand what you did well and what you could have done better. Most online chess website and analytical tools that can help you with that. After a game always think about which mistakes you have made and try to better understand how you could have prevented them.
Starting with chess can be easy but to get to a point where you win regularly might require you to practice a bit. Often when you gain techniques, tactics and knowledge you will see that you will enjoy the game more and the games will go better. You do not have to memorize every single chess opening but by applying these beginners tips you will be able to speed up your progress in no time. This will make your chess experience more fun and satisfying even if you loose.