Top 10 Tips For Beginners In Chess
By: Pranshu Srivastava
Tags: Chess, Tips, Endgame, Beginner, Improvement

Since the release of the Netflix original, The Queens’s Gambit, there has been an unprecedented surge in the number of people logging on to chess websites to play the game. Thus, I decided to write this article to help out people just starting out so that they don’t make rookie mistakes. So here they are:

Solve puzzles- Almost every chess website that you go to has puzzles to practice. Solving those puzzles as a beginner really helps you to develop a feel for the pieces and improve your tactical skills. Analyze your games- One of the most important mantras to improvement in chess is analysing your games. Analyze your games even if you won them. You will find many mistakes and blunders that you may have committed but did not notice. Analysing your games also gives you ideas that you might use the next time you are in a similar position. Play longer time formats- Even though blitz and bullet may seem more fun and interesting, playing the longer time formats is what will improve your intuition and understanding of the game and hence make you a better player. Once you think you have reached a good level, you can start playing the shorter formats. Watch the games of masters- Looking at the games of masters gives you a great insight into the game and it teaches you a lot like coordinating your pieces and starting an attack on the opponent or finishing the game off. Study the endgame- You can play the opening and middle game based on your intuition but the endgame requires intricate manoeuvring and some important concepts which need to be studied. That is why it makes sense to study the endgame. Play pragmatically- It is important to know all the basic rules in chess, but when you are in a game and you feel that a particular rule doesn’t make sense in the position then you should definitely go for something out-of-the-box, something that you think makes sense because all the rules in chess come with a lot of exceptions and therefore it is important to know them but when in a game, it is important to play pragmatically. Don’t waste a lot of time on the opening- Learning a few openings is one of the first things you do when starting out. But some people try to emulate the masters and spend a lot of time analysing the openings. However, unless you are rated above 2000 there is no need to spend a lot of time on the openings. Rather you should spend that precious time in studying endgames and analysing positions of the middle game. Pay Most Attention To Your Middle Game- The one thing that separates an intermediate player from a novice is how they play the middle game. It is certainly one of the most important aspects of the game and improving your middle game can drastically increase your rating. Play Resourcefully- One of the most common mistakes that beginners usually do is that they don’t use all of their pieces to their full potential and thus they are not able to use the advantages that they gain in the game. Therefore it is very important to place your pieces on active squares and increase their activity. Don’t Play For Cheap Tricks- At the beginner level, almost every player will fall for any trick you throw at them like the Scholar’s mate. But to grow as a player, it is important to play a proper game and defeat them with your technique. Tricks can be used once in a while but most of the times you should focus on playing with proper technique.

Extra Tip- It is important to have confidence in your self and in your game and play right till the very end because many players(even top grandmasters) fail to convert winning advantages many times and end up drawing the game (or even losing it in some cases).