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Chess Basics
Chess from the first square: how every piece moves, what check, checkmate, and stalemate look like, castling, en passant, and promotion, opening principles, four first openings, middlegame sense, endgame fundamentals, and an annotated game to close.
Chess Basics teaches the board, the moves of every piece, check and checkmate, special moves, opening principles, first openings, middlegame sense, and endgame fundamentals, ending with a full annotated beginner game.
Course contents
Work top to bottom β the sidebar is the course. Topics later in the list assume the ones before them.
Start Here
Start: The Board and Squares β―How Each Piece Moves
Start: Pawn β―Piece Values and Trading
Start: Piece Values β―Check, Checkmate, Stalemate
- Check
- Getting Out of Check
- What Checkmate Looks Like
- Stalemate
- Draws: Insufficient Material, Threefold, Fifty-Move, Agreement, Perpetual Check
Special Moves
Start: Castling and Its Rules β―Notation and Rules of Play
- Reading and Writing Algebraic Notation
- Touch-Move, Clocks, and Time Controls
- Etiquette, Resigning, Draw Offers
Opening Principles
- Control the Center
- Develop Your Pieces
- King Safety and Luft
- Don't Move the Same Piece Twice
- Don't Bring the Queen Out Early, and Connect Your Rooks
First Openings
- The Italian Game
- The London System
- The Ruy Lopez, Overview
- The Queen's Gambit, Overview
- Openings to Avoid as a Beginner
Middlegame Sense
- Good Pieces vs Bad Pieces
- Open Files
- Outposts
- Weak Squares
- When to Trade in the Middlegame
- Pawn Structures, First Look
Endgame Fundamentals
Start: King Activity β―Play a Full Game
- An Annotated Beginner Game
- The 10 Most Common Beginner Mistakes
- Thinking Habits: Slow Down on Captures and Checks
- Where to Play and Practice Next
Start with the board and the pieces
Chess Basics opens with the board itself, the names of squares, and the starting setup, so a complete beginner can set up a game with confidence.
Each piece then gets its own lesson, with its moves, its captures, and the squares it can reach.
The piece lessons cover
- Pawn moves, captures, and promotion
- Knight jumps and central squares
- Bishop diagonals and colour
- Rook files and ranks
- Queen movement in every direction
- King movement and safety
Learn how games are won and drawn
Check, checkmate, and stalemate are taught as three distinct endings, with positions that show exactly how each one looks.
Draws are covered in full, from too little material to threefold repetition, the fifty-move rule, agreement, and perpetual check.
The rules lessons also cover
- Castling and its five conditions
- En passant captures
- Promotion and underpromotion
- Algebraic notation
- Touch-move, clocks, and time controls
- Etiquette, resigning, and draw offers
Build sense for the opening, middlegame, and endgame
Opening principles come before named openings, so the Italian Game, the London System, the Ruy Lopez, and the Queen's Gambit are learned as examples of good principles rather than lines to memorise.
Middlegame sense covers good and bad pieces, open files, outposts, weak squares, trading choices, and pawn structures at a first look.
Endgame fundamentals cover
- King activity
- Opposition
- Key squares
- The square rule
- Pawn races and promotion races
- Passed pawns
Play a full game with better habits
The course closes with an annotated beginner game, the ten most common beginner mistakes, and thinking habits for captures and checks.
A final lesson points to where to play and practice next, so the course ends with a plan rather than a stopping point.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know any chess before Chess Basics?
No. Chess Basics starts with the board and the setup, and every piece gets its own lesson before any strategy is introduced.
What is the difference between checkmate and stalemate?
Checkmate means the king is in check with no legal answer, and it wins the game. Stalemate means a side has no legal move and is not in check, and it is a draw.
Which openings does Chess Basics teach?
Chess Basics teaches the Italian Game, the London System, the Ruy Lopez at overview level, and the Queen's Gambit at overview level, plus the openings a beginner should avoid.
Does Chess Basics teach tactics and checkmate patterns?
No. Chess Basics points forward to the Tactics course for winning patterns and to the Checkmates course for mating patterns, and it stays focused on rules, sense, and fundamentals.
How long does Chess Basics take?
The course has 52 short lessons, most lasting four minutes, so it can be worked through in short daily sessions.
What should I do after Chess Basics?
Play slow games, solve puzzles, review your losses, and then move to the Tactics course to learn the patterns that win material.
Next steps
- Chess Tactics β― β Learn the patterns that win material, from first winning ideas to game-deciding attacks.
- DSA Beginner β― β Build step by step thinking habits with data structures and algorithms, in the same short lesson style.