So you have just figured out how to move all of the Chess pieces and how to set up the board in the correct way. Now you want to take your first shot against someone and see how you match up. Hopefully you plan on play chess games with people around the same level as you because getting destroyed in your first game might be demoralizing. What follows are some basic Chess strategies that will hopefully make your experiences better.
I know that my first times playing Chess were against the person that taught me. Obviously he was well ahead of me in skill level and beat me on a regular basis for quite awhile. If you are like me you won't let that stop you. Personally I wanted to get better so I could return the favor to him one day. The intricacies of the game quickly took hold of me because of what I was watching him do only made me want to figure out how I could do that.
Hopefully you are not easily discouraged because Chess is a game of wonder and a well played game can be replayed through and broken down like a work of art. Okay so my first games were far from works of art but I learned from each beating. The first thing I learned, besides that I needed to get his king, was that what I was doing was not working. I was near mindlessly moving pieces in an effort to get to his king. I thought I was using strategy but I really wasn't thinking more than a couple of moves ahead.
So my chess tactics for beginners the first thing you need to understand is the playing area. The important part of the board that you want to concern yourself with before you make any attempts at your opponents king is the center of the board. There are more advanced strategies that actually give up part of the center but trust me as a new player you want to focus your time on fighting for every square in the center of the board. The four main squares are the ones in front of each sides king and queen. More specifically the squares those pawns land on when you move them up 2 spaces.
The reason I say disregard any other strategy is because you need an objective as you are starting out and there is no better objective than that. You may have noticed in other games you played that maybe you felt confined and that you couldn't move as freely as you would like. I would say that was probably a result of your opponent having total control of the center or at least a good portion of it. As you go forward in games and continue your fight for control of the center I think you will find other strategies coming to mind and you will see yourself developing an even more creative approach in your overall game play.
Eventually I got to where I could record my games and after the games I would go over each move my opponent made and each one that I made to discern his strategy and to figure out just what I was really thinking...if anything.
I hope these ideas serve you well, but keep in mind these were just some chess strategy for beginners and if you discover your love for Chess has grown I'm sure you can find a multitude of Chess opening strategies, gambits, etc. online and certainly the library has many books on the subjects of Chess strategy. In the meantime fight for the center and don't let up!!
Every chess player takes their "first steps" in the opening stage. Here's what we recommend to get confident & put your best foot forward in every game:
1. Memorize the Principles of the Opening
Every chess-player must understand these key ideas before being able to play a decent opening. Even without knowing any theory or specific Best Chess Openings variations, following the principles and guidelines found below will have good results in most amateur games.
2. Apply the Principles in Practice Games
At this point a best chess player should start playing games, always evaluating their play after move 10 and asking themselves whether or not they have followed the principles in the article from Task #1. Games should be played as often as possible. We believe that at least 100 practical games (either e-chess or live chess) -- taking the time to make an evaluation as to whether or not you followed the "rules" of the opening after move 10 -- will be required to reach the 1400 level; however, a player should continue this practice until 1400 is reached, no matter how many games it takes.
3. Learn a Few "Tournament" Chess Openings
Experienced chess players tend to play a specific set of prepared openings. Though this list expands as a chess player improves, it isn't necessary to know every opening line at the start. For now, understanding a select few openings (or at least knowing enough to recognize them in your own games) is good enough! Every competitive chess-player will eventually choose an "opening repertoire," but before that, every chess-player should know the following openings by sight. It isn't critical at this time to worry which variations/moves you choose once you follow the links below; simply explore & enjoy reviewing a few games by master players of the past:
4. Watch these Video Lessons for Practical Review
Enjoy these video lessons, all of which contain vital principles and good lessons about the Best Chess Books. Take notes, and perhaps watch your favorites more than once to ensure you absorb the ideas!
5. Read these Articles for Practical Review
Grandmaster Gregory Serper's column (Tactics from Move One) is full of sound opening advice & instructive games. We have selected a few that we felt were most appropriate for players of this level.
International chess champion Magnus Carlsen leaned over the 12th chessboard in a long line of half-played games at the Marshall Chess Club in New York City. He stared down at the pieces for a few seconds before swiftly moving a pawn forward. In that short time span, Carlsen's brain racked through thousands of previously played Best Chess Games, Best Chess Moves and choices. He subconsciously sifted through patterns and strategies learned from countless books and lessons to make a snap decision. Years of practice will do that to you.
"The thing that helps you improve the most is just playing, practicing, playing tournament games, playing games online," Carlsen told Mic. "Practice is your intuition, practice is your calculation, practice is everything."
Carlsen, 24, has the highest chess ranking ever recorded. He has remained the world No. 1 ranked chess player since 2011, won the World Chess Championship in 2013 and is the youngest chess player ever to win those titles. While Carlsen's achievements are exceptional, he's not the only one whose brain has benefited from playing chess.
Studies show that the brains of people who play chess are significantly different than an average brain. For example, grandmaster chess players have more activity in their frontal and parietal cortices, areas of the brain that focus on problem-solving and recognition. Children who took chess classes for 18 weeks had higher IQ scores afterward.
Much more than a simple pastime or diversion, chess provides numerous benefits to our cerebra. Here are some of the most impressive:
1. Playing chess at a young age can help develop advanced math and critical thinking skills.
Studies show that playing chess as a kid has a high positive correlation with academic achievement. In one study, researchers found that students who were taught how to play chess were more academically advanced overall, especially in math, spatial analysis and nonverbal reasoning ability.
2. Chess can shrink your brain — which is actually a good thing.
In a study where researchers scanned the brains of elite chess players, they found that these players actually had smaller brains than the non-elite players — and that's not a bad thing. As Christian Jarrett writes in Wired, their research suggests that areas of brain shrinkage "can be a sign of neural efficiency and a reflection of behavioral expertise" as opposed to a negative result. Bigger is not always better.
3. Advanced chess players use both sides of the brain.
Scientists analyzed patterns of the brains of elite chess players and found that more advanced chess players used both sides of the brain while making decisions during games. By exercising both sides of the brain, players are using the more visually focused right side to recognize patterns from games past and the analytical left side to decide what is the best logical move. This exercise strengthens both sides of the brain, making the player a more advanced and adept thinker.
4. Chess teaches you to think in patterns.
In 1996, researchers Fernand Gobet and Herbert Simon analyzed then-world chess champion Garry Kasparov while he played a simul, a series of chess games played at once. In the study, they concluded that Kasparov relied on "memory and access to memory through recognition of clues" in order to play and win multiple games at once. Grandmaster chess players who practice and play consistently are able to recognize patters on the chess board and use those patterns and memories from previous games to play Best Chess Tactics.
5. Playing chess teaches you how to think like a computer.
Matthew Berland published an article in the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University concluding that people who play strategic board games, like chess, train themselves to think more like computers. Berland finds that playing Best Chess Strategy games requires people to engage in "computational thinking," where "players follow a set of relatively uncomplicated rules with a few decision points for which players have voluminous data."
6. Expert chess players are expert problem solvers.
In a study conducted by researchers at the University of Konstanz in Germany, researchers found that grandmaster chess players use the frontal cortex of the brain when making Best Chess Moves in a chess game. The frontal lobe is an area of the brain associated with problem-solving, suggesting that these players were drawing on previous memories to recognize patterns and make decisions. In comparison, the amateur chess players used the medial temporal lobe of the brain, an area focused on learning new long-term memories.
7. Playing chess at an older age can help prevent Alzheimer's disease.
In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that people over age 75 who play chess or other strategic board games have less of a chance of developing dementia or other memory loss conditions.