chess instructions for beginners

Chess Instructions how you can improve

This section is addressed to beginners in chess who want to improve steadily and gain a 'decent' level of play. So, if you are a beginner, who knows the rules of chess and the relative value of the pieces, these chess instructions are for you.

The way up to the rank to the level of an intermediate player is not hard.  We are confident that you will enjoy following these instructions and reading the materials we recommend here.

Instructions for chess openings

To play well in the opening is a must.  How can you play a good middlegame if the start leads a bad position?  You have to choose the systems you feel comfortable with and understand their principles.  Our advice for you is to get a material with clear explanations on all the variations and give you the plans for the middlegame.  A very good opening material is:

• Complete Chess Opening Repertoire for beginners

Instructions for the middlegame

To play well in the middlegame, you have to learn the basics of chess strategy and tactics.  The following chess books will help you much.  You do not need more, just read them very carefully.

• Logical Chess - Move by Move by Chernev
• Game of Chess by Tarrasch
• Winning Chess Tactics by Seirawan
• The Complete Chess Training Program - very good because of its annotations, explaining you step-by-step all the ideas. Good both for tactics and strategy!

Instructions for the endgame

Study the endgame!  This is very important!  All the other phases of the game will become more understandable if you know how to play the endgame!  You have to practice with different positions, to thoroughly understand every author's explanation, and to solve on your own some problems.  The recommended chess endgame book for you is:

• Improve Your Endgame Play by Flear

Chess Instructions for the general understanding of the game

Use the real chess board and pieces and follow the games given in a book.  Try to think about the purpose of every move.  Do not pay particular attention to the complicated variations; just replay the games.  Studying the games of a grand master who plays more strategically helps more for your level than sharp games.  We recommend the following books:

• Understanding Chess Move by Move by Nunn
• Three Hundred Chess Games by Tarrasch

other chess instructions and tips for you

• If you find some good materials on the Internet, print them out as you have to move the pieces with your own hand on a normal board as much as you can.  The use of a computer for chess must be minimized.
• Play games on free Internet servers, but do not play too much.  Our recommendation is to spend for this a maximum of 25% of your time allotted for chess.  After you improve your knowledge in chess by studying, you will have more success.  Do not play games with less than 10 minutes initial time.
• Avoid playing chess with your friends who do not study chess and are weaker than you.  You will never learn anything from them.  Play against better opponents!
• Play in official tournaments, but do not lose your confidence if you lose many games.  You are just in the beginning and you must earn playing-experience in official contests.  After the tournament, analyze all your games (you can help with your computer, but only after you try on your own first).  Write up a notebook of your games (or you can keep a database in your computer).
• You will find our Chess Training Program very useful.  We explain the basics of chess strategy in an understandable manner, with annotated games and quizzes.

Chess Instructions

We hope that in a short time you will be reading carefully our chess instructions for intermediates on how you become an advanced player.  However, for now, we recommend you to follow just these chess instructions.  Good luck!