Mastering chess is a long process, and will take you several years, but you don’t have to be a master to win at chess almost every time if you understand the mechanics of the game. By learning to spot certain moves and read your opponent, you can learn to effectively protect your King, attack your opponent’s and come out as the victor almost every time.
Winning As a Beginner
Understand the value of each piece and protect them accordingly. Obviously, your King is the most important piece on the board, since you lose if it's taken. However, the rest of your pieces are not easily dispensed cannon fodder. Based on the math and geometry of a chess board, certain pieces are always more valuable than others. Remember these rankings when taking pieces. You do not, for example, want to put a high-value Rook at risk just to take an opponent's Knight.
- Pawn = 1 point
- Knight = 3 points
- Bishop = 3 points
- Rook = 5 points
- Queen = 9[1]
- Chess pieces are sometimes referred to as "material." You want a lot of high-quality material to win each game.
Understand the goals of a good opening move. Chess openings are the first couple of moves in the game, and they will determine your general strategy and positioning for the entire match. Your goal when opening is to develop, or move off of the starting squares, as many strong pieces as possible. There are several key considerations in a good opening:[2]
- Move your pawns toward the center of the board, while opening up your stronger pieces for easy movement. The most common yet very efficient path would be to move the king's pawn 2 paces forward and then the queen's pawn forward 2 paces, if it is not at risk after the opponent makes his move. This opening develops bishops, increases castling speed and with the right moves forms a defensive but less offensive fortress.
- Your opening moves will also be dependent on whether you are black or white. Since White moves first, you'll want to move in on attack and try and control the game. Black should hold back and wait a bit more, letting white expose themselves with a mistake before attacking.
- Never move the same piece twice, unless it gets in trouble and could be taken. The more pieces you can move, the more your opponent needs to react to you.
Think 4-5 moves in advance, using each move to set up more complicated attacks. To win at chess, you need to be constantly thinking a few moves in advance, setting up longer, more complicated attacks to outfox your opponent. Your first move is about setting up the rest of the game, leading to your first attack or controlling certain sections of the board. The best way for a beginner to learn how to plan ahead is to practice some common opening combinations:
- The Ruy Lopez is a classic opening to get bishops out and attacking. Move your King's Pawn up two spaces, then your Knight up F3 (as white). Finish by pushing your King's Bishop all the way until it is one space in front of the opponent's pawn.[3]
- The English Opening is a slow, adaptable opening. Move the C2 pawn up 1, then follow with the G2 Pawn to free your King's Bishop (if black moves to the center) or the Queen's Knight, (if black moves along the sides).[4]
- Try the adventurous King's Gambit. Used by Grandmasters from Bobby Fisher onward, this exciting opening can put beginners off-balance early. Simply move both King Pawns (E2 & F2) up two spaces with the opening move. Black will frequently attack early, feeling like they have you opened up, but your pawn wall will quickly cause them problems.[5]
- Try the Queen’s Gambit to control the center of the board. White move the Queen’s Pawn to d4 drawing out black’s pawn to d5. White typically retaliates with Bishop’s Pawn to c4. This maneuver brings the game out to the center and opens up the lanes for your Queen and Bishop to move.[6]
- A good defense to a Queen’s Gambit is the French Defense. As black, start by moving your King’s Pawn to e6. White will typically then move his Queen’s Pawn to d4, allowing you to retaliate with your Queen’s Pawn to d5. You’ve now opened up a path for your Bishop to attack. If White takes your Queen’s Pawn at e6, he leaves his King exposed, so he may move his Knight to c3. You can now move your Bishop to b4, pinning the Knight.
Try out the four move "Scholar's Mate" to win the game almost instantly. This trick only works once per player, as a savvy chess player will spot the move and get out of the way. That said, Scholar's Mate is a great way to catch a beginner opponent off guard and snag the game from them quickly.
- As White: King's Pawn moves up 1 (E7-E6); King's Bishop to C5; Queen to F6; Queen to F2.
- As Black: King's Pawn up 1 (E2-E3); King's Bishop to C4; Queen to F3, Queen to F7.[7]
- Countering Scholar's Mate: Pull your Knights out as blockades if you see Scholar's Mate happening-- chances are good they won't sacrifice a Queen just to take your Knight. The other option is to use a nearly identical move, but instead of pushing your Queen up, leave her back on E7, in front of your King.
Control the center squares to control the game. Your biggest concern when playing chess is controlling the center tiles, specifically the four in the very middle. This is because you can attack anywhere from the center of the board, allowing you to control the pace and direction of the game. The Knight, for example, has eight potential moves in the center of the board, but only 1-2 on the edges. There are two general ways to do this.
- Supported Middle is when you move slowly into the center of the board with several pieces. Knights and Bishops support from the fringes, able to move in and take pieces if you get under attack. In general, this slow development is more common.
- Using the Flanks is a very modern style of play that controls the middle from the outsides. Your Rooks, Queen, and Knights run up both sides of the board, making it impossible for your opponent to move into the middle without being taken.
Develop your pieces one at a time. Once you’ve made the opening moves, it’s time to start developing an attacking position. You want to give each of your pieces the best possible square to move to, getting pieces off of the starting squares.[8]
- Unless you are forced to, the best method is to move your pieces in turn. Don’t move the same piece twice unless you must defend it from an unexpected attack or make a vital attack.
- You don’t have to move each piece, however. Advancing all of your pawns won’t help you win as it breaks down a vital line of defense protecting your King.
Learn to castle. Castling is when your hop the King over a Rook, effectively using the Rook to form a wall against attack. Above the King you still have a line of pawns protecting you as well. This is an incredibly effective tactic, especially for beginners learning the game. To do it:
- Clear the path between your King and Rook by moving the Bishop and Knight (and potentially Queen). Try to keep as many pawns as you can in place. You can do this on either side.
- In the same turn, move the Rook and King together, where they meet, swap their positions. So, if you're castling on the King's side, you would end up with the King on G1 and the Rook on F1.[9]
- Note that the King and the Rook can not have moved once before castling. If they do, the move is no longer allowed.
- Part of what helps you to win at chess is your ability to read your opponent without letting him read you. Don’t begin your move until you are sure it the right move.
- You want to be thinking several moves ahead at all times. This means knowing where each of your pieces can move in any situation and being able to predict how your opponent will react to your moves. This skill isn’t always easy to gain and will take practice.