[Event "Beginner: Curriculum <--- START HERE: Introduction"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/Ztgx3vJq/MtdR3swx"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/jomega"]
[ECO "B01"]
[Opening "Scandinavian Defense: Mieses-Kotroc Variation"]
[UTCDate "2017.11.21"]
[UTCTime "14:35:25"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ [Last Modified: 12/29/2020]
This is a chess course that starts at the very beginning; assuming you know little about the game. But even those who know practically nothing about the game have beliefs about it. They typically believe some of these:

- chess has a complex set of rules that are too difficult for me to learn,
- chess can only be played by people with special mental abilities,
- chess is for men,
- chess is for old people,
- chess is for young people,
- chess requires being able to calculate long move variations, and
- chess is very boring to play and even more to watch.

I think all of these are false. I've never had anyone quit learning chess because the rules were too complex. "Special mental abilities"?? No; again, not in my experience. Age is not a factor in learning or playing chess. My current chess class has more women than men, and they are all having fun and doing well. Being able to calculate long move variations is definitely not required; though it is a skill that can be in your chess toolkit. Much more important is learning how to avoid unnecessary calculation so that your time can be better spent. Finally, there are so many ways to play chess and chess variants that if you find chess boring, I tend to think that you have not explored the options available.

(to continue press the right arrow key or button) } 1. e4 { How should you learn chess? Well that depends on your goals for chess. Maybe your goals include some of these:
1. Achieve a 1600 ELO rating. [ELO will be explained in this course. It is a single number that attempts to represent your chess skills.]
2. Be able to play chess with your spouse, or friends. Have an enjoyable game for both players with a balanced number of wins/losses/draws.
3. Be able to play chess with your children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren. Have an enjoyable game for both players and not be checkmated in a handful of moves.
4. Be able to teach your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren chess. Know all the rules and be able set new goals.
(to continue press the right arrow key or button) } 1... d5 { Goals 2, 3, and 4 all require learning the rules of chess. But what does that really mean? I've seen estimates that an adult can learn the rules in 4-8 hours. However, can they then play a legal game of chess without a computer or person pointing out any illegal move attempt? I doubt it; and in my teaching experience the answer is a resounding "No."
It will probably take an absolute beginner, months to get to the point where they can play without making illegal moves. If this is your situation, my advice is to not concern yourself with how long this takes. If you have a mentor/teacher, they will help you play legal games. If not, enter the moves into a computer program set to player vs player mode, and the program will not let either side make an illegal move; or just play against the computer.
This beginner course studies will help you learn the rules. These studies have links to Lichess "Chess Basics" and other web resources for learning chess.
(to continue press the right arrow key or button) } 2. exd5 { As you go through this beginner course you will learn how to not be checkmated in a handful of moves. However, having a balanced number of wins/losses/draws against your opponents depends on your and their chess strength. We will discuss this in the course, assuming that balance with those opponents is one of your goals.
As for the goal of achieving a 1600 ELO rating... Such a rating would mean that you would have an 85% chance of winning a game against an average tournament chess player! That is a lofty goal for an absolute beginner. The average adult would probably need 5 years of study and practice to reach that level of chess strength.
(to continue press the right arrow key or button) } 2... Qxd5 { Keeping in mind that people will have different goals for chess; this series of studies for the absolute beginner presents the rules first, but starts immediately laying the foundation for playing well.
(to continue press the right arrow key or button) } 3. Nc3 { You may be able to decide if this series of studies is of interest and help to you by looking at the Course Objectives.
See Course Objectives here:
https://lichess.org/study/Ztgx3vJq/RZcaax2Q
(to continue press the right arrow key or button) } 3... Qc6 $4 { I hope you find this series of studies for the beginner useful.
The position we have now reached, with White to move, is from a standard opening. However, Black has just blundered. If you have finished the Beginner Foundation studies, see if you can find the best White move - otherwise continue to the Prerequisites.
Here is a link to the Foundation Study:
https://lichess.org/study/CcsmiWgH
Here are links to studies for this position:
Hide next move method
https://lichess.org/study/CDWqao5S
Interactive lesson method
https://lichess.org/study/ya0U7aAC
Here is a link to a table of contents for this course:
https://lichess.org/study/otqEtXkg } *