How To Learn Chess as a Beginner
Chess is a fun game and a great mental workout
Have you ever thought about learning chess? You’ve probably seen the game. Maybe you’ve learned how the pieces move and played a couple of games. Maybe you, like many others, have watched The Queens Gambit and been inspired.
Chess is not something you master quickly. If a beginner goes up against someone who knows the game well, they’d probably lose 10 out 10 times. Great players could beat 10 beginners at the same time while blindfolded. Learning chess goes way past learning the rules.
Chess is a game of mind against mind. Who knows more about strategy and tactics? Who can predict further? Who can take in the most amount of information? Who can think better under pressure? Apart from picking sides, there’s no luck involved. White has a slight advantage over black because the white pieces always move first.
Beyond the basic rules, there’s a universe of knowledge. There are hundreds of different openings, many tactical and strategic patterns, and deep endgame theory. There are even entire books written about pawn structures.
It’s very easy to get overwhelmed by everything there is to learn if you want to become a chess master. Someone like Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, or Ding Liren (the current top 3…
