Learn chess from the start, at any age

Step 1: The rules from the very beginning

1. Lesson 1: The board and its squares

   You can find every square on the board by its name.

2. Lesson 2: How the pieces move

   You know how each piece moves and captures.

3. Lesson 3: Check, checkmate and stalemate

   You recognise a check and can tell whether a game ends in checkmate or in stalemate.

4. Lesson 4: Three special rules

   You use three special rules: castling, promotion and en passant.

5. Lesson 5: What is under attack?

   Before moving, you check which pieces are attacked and save a hanging piece.

6. Lesson 6: Delivering a simple checkmate

   You give checkmate in two moves with king and rook or king and queen.

Step 2: Getting out of the opening well

1. Lesson 7: All your pieces want to join in

   In the opening, you bring your pieces into play one after another.

2. Lesson 8: Why the middle of the board matters

   You recognise the four squares in the middle and occupy one with a pawn.

3. Lesson 9: A move can gain time

   You develop a piece and attack an opponent’s piece at the same time.

4. Lesson 10: A safe king

   You bring your king to safety and develop a piece at the same time, ideally by castling.

Step 3: First ideas from Nimzowitsch

1. Lesson 11: Clear paths for rooks

   You recognise an open file and put a rook on it.

2. Lesson 16: The pawn with a clear path

   You recognise a passed pawn and can create one.

3. Lesson 17: A knight stops the pawn

   You put a piece directly in front of an enemy pawn to stop it.

Games to play through

• Nimzowitsch – Alapin, St Petersburg 1914

  Black grabs a pawn with the queen while the other black pieces stay at home. White brings one piece after another into play and gives checkmate in the end.

• Nimzowitsch – Salwe, Carlsbad 1911

  In this game White occupies the square in front of a black pawn and holds it with one new piece after another. In the end a bishop blockades the black passed pawn.

How to learn best

• Learn in short sessions of about a quarter of an hour.
• Set the positions up on a real board if you have one.
• After the lessons on the rules, play a few complete games, on a board or on screen.
• Progress stays on this device. You do not need an account.