Chess & Strategy: The Guide for Chess Beginners
If you have not studied chess extensively before, you may well feel overwhelmed by all the strategic and tactical possibilities in the game. That is not unusual: after White and Black have made one move each, there are already 400 possible legal move sequences from the starting position. After both players have made three moves each, there are 119,060,324 legal move sequences. These figures count move sequences rather than necessarily distinct positions, because different sequences can sometimes lead to the same position. Many of these legal possibilities are also not strategically sensible, but the numbers still illustrate the enormous complexity of chess.
To illustrate that complexity in practical play, one famous endurance record was set in December 2021 between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi. After nearly eight hours, Carlsen won after an incredible 136 moves, making it the longest game in World Chess Championship history. This was specifically a World Championship record, not the record for chess games overall. Many practical chess games fall somewhere in the range of 30 to 50 moves, although the actual length varies considerably depending on playing strength, time control and type of game.
The scale becomes even more striking when considering all possible game progressions. Claude Shannon famously estimated the game-tree complexity of chess at roughly 10^120 possible games. This is a rough estimate intended to illustrate the enormous size of the chess search space, not the number of variations contained in one average game. A complete brute-force analysis of chess therefore remains computationally impractical, and chess has not been solved. Computer chess has nevertheless become an important field in its own right, with powerful chess engines also competing against one another in dedicated engine tournaments.
But to bring some order into this extensive game, I would like to show you some basics below that will simplify the game and help you make decisions about your chess moves. Even though there seem to be countless ways to move your pieces, there are also a few sensible and fortunately understandable principles that make it easier to get started with chess strategy and tactics. These so-called chess opening principles create a basic strategic understanding of the game for beginners and provide first approaches for making purposeful moves. The goal is to help you protect your king more effectively and create pressure against your opponent's king with manageable effort.
The prerequisite for this guide is an understanding of the basic rules of chess. If you have not yet internalized them, feel free to read my chess rules. These cover all the movement patterns, rules and special rules you need to know to start playing.
Already familiar with the rules and ready to learn your first chess strategies and tactics? Then here are six essential chess opening rules for beginners.
Opening Rule 1: Occupy and Control the Center
Controlling the center is one of the most important principles of chess opening strategy. The central squares give your pieces greater mobility and influence over both sides of the board. For example, if you manage to establish your pawns in the center early and support them successfully against threats, you can increasingly turn your attention to the flanks with your minor and major pieces (bishops & knights / rooks & queens).
Here is an example of an aggressive chess strategy with a pawn attack on the center. Black must decide whether to take the pawn on d4 or rather provide additional support for his own central pawn. Both approaches still leave White several possibilities to maintain or reinforce influence in the center.
If your opponent gives up too much control of the center, the defense may have to respond both to your central influence and to pressure you create on a chosen flank. This can give you greater freedom to concentrate your pieces in the area where you want to attack, while your opponent may have to defend several parts of the board. A good way to learn different methods of fighting for the center is to study chess openings. These show you different variations that have been extensively analyzed over the years and give you a feel for typical positions and ideas after the first chess moves.
Opening Rule 2: Avoid Unnecessary Pawn Moves
Pawn moves are crucial for controlling the center, opening lines and shaping the structure of your position, but too many unnecessary pawn moves in the opening can lead to significant disadvantages. Pawns are extremely important strategically, yet their movement is limited and, unlike the other pieces, they cannot move backward. Every pawn move therefore changes the structure of your position permanently and also uses a tempo that might otherwise have been used to develop a knight or bishop.
This does not mean that you should avoid pawn moves whenever possible. Pawn moves can be necessary to defend important squares, respond to threats, support your center, prepare pawn breaks or create room for your pieces. The key chess opening principle is to avoid making several pawn moves without a concrete purpose while your other pieces remain undeveloped.
After establishing a useful pawn structure, bring your minor pieces into play and build a coordinated position. Once your pieces are developed and you are ready to attack, you can consider how additional pawn moves can support your plan. At this stage, it is often easier to judge whether your pawns can support your stronger pieces, because after a few more moves you will have a clearer picture of both your own tactical possibilities and those of your opponent.
Opening Rule 3: Develop Your Pieces
As already mentioned, develop your knights and bishops efficiently once you have established influence in the center with your pawns. It is often advisable to bring knights and bishops into play early, since knights can directly support important central squares while bishops can exert influence along diagonals once the necessary lines have been opened.
The following is a look at a Spanish chess opening, also called the Spanish Game or Ruy Lopez. After the white knight develops and attacks the opponent's pawn in the center, White develops the bishop to b5 and puts pressure on the opponent's knight on c6.
Get your rooks ready to participate as well, often with the help of castling as described below, and be careful about bringing your queen into the game too early. The queen may be the strongest mobile piece on the chessboard, but that also makes it an attractive target. If it ventures too far from the rest of your position without a concrete reason, your opponent may gain valuable tempi by attacking it while developing other pieces.
Piece development is not completed according to one rigid formula. In general, however, a well-developed opening position has brought the relevant minor pieces into useful play, secured the king when appropriate and prepared the rooks and queen to participate effectively in the next phase of the game.
Opening Rule 4: Move Only Once with Each Piece if Possible
The priority in the opening is usually to get as many useful pieces into play as efficiently as possible. If you repeatedly move the same piece without a concrete reason, you spend additional tempi while other pieces may remain undeveloped on the back rank. During that time, your opponent can develop more quickly and claim important tactical or strategic squares.
It can be helpful to think of development as a race for activity: if one player spends too much time on unnecessary repeated moves, the other may complete development earlier and gain the initiative. However, the principle is not absolute. Regardless of which chess strategy or tactic you follow, moving the same piece several times is perfectly justified when there is a concrete reason, such as responding to a threat, winning material, creating a tactical opportunity or improving a badly placed piece.
For the same reason, avoid attacking too early merely for the sake of attacking. At the same time, you do not need to defend every developed piece automatically. What matters is that your pieces are tactically safe and that you recognize genuine threats from your opponent. This prevents your opponent from exploiting weak points or disrupting your development with tempo-gaining attacks. Once your position is stable, your king is reasonably safe and your pieces are active, you can look more deliberately for weaknesses in your opponent's position and consider how to begin your attack.
Opening Rule 5: Castle Early When It Is Safe
Castling is one of the most important special moves in chess. It moves the king and a rook in a single turn and often serves two useful purposes: improving king safety and bringing the rook closer to active central files. Castling can reduce the king's exposure in the center and also helps prepare the rooks to become connected once the remaining pieces between them have moved.
Here is the continuation from the example diagram of opening rule 3 (Spanish Game). After Black moves his bishop to c5, White immediately castles. White now has influence in the center, pressure on the opponent's knight and a safer king. All this has happened after only seven individual moves in the illustrated sequence: four by White and three by Black.
If you forgo or delay castling in an open position, your king may remain vulnerable to attacks through central files, diagonals or either flank. Bishops and other long-range pieces can become particularly dangerous as lines open. This does not mean that every position requires immediate castling, but beginners should have a concrete reason for leaving the king in the center.
Your right to castle is permanently lost if your king has already moved. The right to castle with a particular rook is also permanently lost if that rook has already moved, even if the king or rook later returns to its original square. By contrast, pieces standing between the king and rook, or attacks on the squares the king occupies, crosses or moves to, only prevent castling while those conditions exist.
Delaying castling can also make it harder to coordinate your rooks, since they may have to become active by other routes and can remain obstructed by undeveloped pieces or pawns. There are nevertheless legitimate chess strategies in which the king remains in the center for longer or castling is delayed because the position makes this advantageous. Such decisions are based on concrete strategic considerations rather than merely trying to confuse the opponent. As a general rule for beginners, aim to castle reasonably early when the position makes doing so safe and useful.
Opening Rule 6: Don't Position Your Knights at the Rim Without a Reason
The great and unique advantage of the knight is its ability to jump over pieces. No other standard chess piece has this tactical movement pattern. However, this advantage comes with a limitation: unlike bishops, rooks and queens, knights cannot travel over long distances in a single move.
Here, too, we see a continuation of the already familiar Spanish Game. Black has now also castled and White plays his knight on h4. White still has the option on f5, but Black can deny access to f5 with a suitable pawn move, while the white bishop on b5 can also be challenged in subsequent play. If the game then shifts away from that side of the board, the knight on h4 may have difficulty contributing effectively.
In direct comparison with the bishop, rook and queen, the knight does not have a straight-line range. Instead, it makes fixed L-shaped jumps and therefore needs several moves to cover large distances. Every knight move also changes the color of the square on which the knight stands, which is another characteristic to consider when calculating its route.
If you position your knight at the edge, it will generally control fewer squares than it would from a more central position. For example, if the game shifts to the other flank, the knight may become almost inactive or require several moves before it can influence the other side of the chessboard. This is why keeping a knight reasonably central is a useful chess principle for beginners. However, a knight on the rim is not automatically badly placed: an edge square can be completely justified when there is a particular tactical or strategic reason for using it.
These six rules are, of course, only a rough first orientation for understanding chess strategies and applying chess tactics successfully. They are opening principles rather than rigid laws, because concrete tactical and positional considerations can make it correct to break them. To internalize what you have learned, you should do one thing above all: play.
You can do this on renowned chess portals like www.lichess.org or www.chess.com. Play against other players and play against chess engines. Analyze your games and identify your blunders.
I wish you a lot of fun in the game, much success and rapid progress in learning.
See you soon.
Stefan
FAQ: Chess Opening Principles and Fundamentals for Beginners
What should beginners focus on during the opening phase of a chess game?
The main goals in the opening are to control or influence the center, especially the squares e4, d4, e5, and d5, develop your minor pieces (knights and bishops) to useful squares, and ensure king safety, often by castling. Good central control usually gives your pieces greater mobility and can restrict your opponent's options. These are guiding principles rather than rules that must be followed regardless of the position.
How does the "En Passant" pawn capture rule work?
En Passant is a special pawn capture that can occur when a pawn moves two squares forward from its starting position and lands directly next to an opponent's pawn. If that two-square move passes over a square that the opposing pawn could have captured had the pawn advanced only one square, the opposing pawn may capture it "in passing" on the immediately following move. If the opportunity is not used immediately, the right to make that particular En Passant capture is lost.
What is the difference between "Check" and "Checkmate"?
"Check" means that the king is currently under attack by one or more of the opponent's pieces. The player whose king is in check must make a legal move that removes the check. "Checkmate" occurs when the king is in check and no legal move can remove the threat, whether by moving the king, capturing the attacking piece or, where possible, blocking the attack. Checkmate ends the game immediately.
Why is castling important for chess beginners?
Castling is unique because it moves the king and one rook as part of a single move. In many openings, it serves two useful purposes: it can move the king away from the more exposed center and bring the rook closer to active central files. It can therefore help beginners achieve two important opening goals efficiently. However, castling should not be automatic; the safety of the position on the chosen side should always be considered.
What are the standard point values for chess pieces?
While the practical value of a piece can change depending on the position, commonly used approximate relative values are: Pawn (1 point), Knight (3 points), Bishop (3 points), Rook (5 points), and Queen (9 points). The King does not have a normal exchange value because it cannot legally be captured; the game ends when a king is checkmated. Knowing these approximate values can help beginners judge whether exchanges are materially favorable, although positional and tactical factors can make a nominally unequal exchange worthwhile.
