Learn to play chess the basics of the chess game.  How to teach a child to play chess - video course for children and their parents

Garry Kasparov once called chess a torture for the mind. But people have been addicted to this game for at least one and a half thousand years. It is firmly entrenched in the culture of mankind and develops tactics, logic, strategy, combination vision, and visual memory. For beginners, they have created many applications where you can learn chess almost from scratch, practicing directly on your phone. Perhaps with them you will reach the highest level of skill and be able to play chess blindfolded. And then one day you will break the record of the Hungarian player Janos Flesz, who, with his eyes closed, won 32 out of 52 games that were played simultaneously.

Chess tactics for beginners

ChessKing developed it based on Sergei Ivashchenko’s book “Textbook of Chess Combinations”. 1275 training exercises on twelve topics. Practice all of them at once or choose in the settings and work on a specific direction: learn to make a double check, checkmate with a queen, “eat a knight” and master other game moves. Go through those exercises where you made a mistake before. The difficulty of the tasks is calculated from ten to ninety.

While you are solving the problem, the computer will tell you how correct your move was in a particular situation. There is a step-by-step game analysis function. The program is designed simply and tastefully. Half a million downloads. Rating 4.7.

Chess training - from simple to complex

Another educational application from ChessKing, where beginners are offered to learn how to play professionally and become a 2nd category chess player. The course covers 100 chess topics. From easy ones (board, simple endings) to levels that open after learning the basics (exploiting opponent's mistakes, short games and traps, etc.). The program has hints. The application has more than 500 thousand downloads. Rating 4.6.

Chess strategy for beginners

The program positions itself as a course for those who are familiar with the rules, but do not know the basic techniques of the game. Here you can learn the basic laws of the endgame, basic tactics. All topics were studied by chess masters. The exercises are divided into levels, so you can constantly hone and improve your skills. The appendix contains five blocks of theory and practice, each with several subtopics: the laws of pawn endings, the fight for the center and others. The application has one hundred thousand downloads. The average rating on the Market is 4.6. The downside of all applications from ChessKing is that part of the course is available only on a paid basis.

ChessCoach / Chess coach

“Challenges” are divided into three levels: easy, medium and difficult, with 10 exercises in each. The section is updated daily. Every day you are awarded ten coins for entering the game. You can spend them on hints, one costs five coins. You can earn another +1 coin by solving a challenge problem within 30 seconds. There are checkmate and checkmate training – they offer checkmate tests in one, two, three or more moves. There are nine types of training in the “Middlegame” section: double strike, destruction of defense, trap, perpetual check and others. All of them are also divided into levels. The app has ten thousand downloads. Rating 4.2.

Chess for kids – Play & Learn

To study here, you need minimal knowledge of English. Although it’s not difficult to figure out what’s what without them. The application was developed by the creators of the popular chess website Chess.com.

At the initial stage you will have to solve simple but also difficult puzzles. Registration is required for further training. You can also play with robots of different formats and take hints. There are funny videos for 1-7 minutes on chess pieces, basic moves, capturing enemy positions, building defense, attacking and other useful techniques. The video here has been prepared for beginners, intermediate and advanced levels, choose the one that suits you.

Free 8-Queen app

Chess players consider 8 queens a useful platform for learning and understanding the geometry of the chessboard. The rules are as follows: all the queens are placed on the board so that they do not attack each other. It may seem simple at first glance, but a beginner will have to carefully place each piece so that it does not intersect in positions with the previous ones and leaves free cells for the next ones. The hardest part is finding a place for the remaining queens. This teaches you to calculate your moves. This kind of training will also help the player in the future to see long moves and understand where chess may be in danger. The program has a time counter and incorrect moves are highlighted in red.

Knight move: puzzle

Colorful design of the program. The training begins with small platforms, tips on how to complete the tour. The task is to collect all the coins by making knight moves. At first the game is played only on a green field, then stones appear. You can only step on a green tile twice, otherwise it will collapse and you will lose. You can place your horse on the stones as much as you like. Gradually, the area of ​​the board increases and its shape changes. As the complexity of the levels increases, the user learns to calculate the knight's moves in advance and plan the game.

Defense move

The game has three sites: Forest, Playville and Magic Tree. The last two locations will open after completing all stages of the Forest. But winning is not easy, you need to think through every step in order to prevent your opponent from kicking you off the board. Already at the third initial level, new figures are added, the game becomes more complex and interesting. You can cancel moves and look at the solution to a level if you were unable to complete it. In the settings - turn off sounds or change the type of game.

A minor minus is that the program is apparently poorly translated from English - the training tasks are written with errors, but this does not affect the understanding of the essence. An application with funny chess characters, pleasant background sounds, and unusual design will definitely appeal to children and adults. User ratings are as follows: gameplay, graphics – 4.5, controls – 4.4.

Tiny Battle Chess Free

Amazing fantasy game with 3D graphics. Here you can switch difficulty levels, select figures - orcs, zombies, people. And also look at the opponent’s standard moves - the computer at the initial levels quickly displays strong pieces, so often, for example, a knight can be killed with a pawn already on the 4th-5th move. Due to the brightness and realism of the battles, the game is interesting to children who are just learning chess and do not linger on boring simulation programs. Over a million downloads. Rating 4.3.

One-move

The interface is very simple. You immediately get into the game, solve the problem - you need to checkmate in 1 move. There are 150 exercises in total, with seven attempts for each. The correct move is highlighted in green, the wrong move is highlighted in red. There are no hints here, and the tasks are not easy; some of them will take you more than a minute to think about.

The application has only three buttons: settings, information, next task. The information contains your results. In the settings, you can enable screen locking using a game - choose how many tasks you need to solve to unlock the phone, set the number of attempts, and the time interval before locking.

Chesify: scanner, analysis, game

The application can scan positions on the chessboard from another device or media: computer screen, tablet, phone or photo, book. Several engines are offered for game analysis (mainly they differ in speed). You can see how the scanned game is played by the computer - this way you can see possible strong moves. That is, the program will give you tips for a real game with an opponent.

For those who want to learn chess, this is an excellent opportunity to analyze any variants of the game, learn to see moves for themselves and predict their opponent’s plans. There is also a chess clock for one and two players. Database with scanned boards.

Ratings: 4.5 for gameplay and graphics, 4.4 for controls.

Chess puzzles

The program offers you to raise your level of play by solving chess puzzles: 150 simple, 100 normal and 50 difficult problems. For example, checkmate in one, two or moves. There are hint functions and move undo functions. Using them, you can learn to analyze your mistakes, chess placement, and combinations yourself. There are daily puzzles across three levels. There is also a simulator, it gives 1400 points, points are deducted for each wrong step. You need to play with both white and black at once. The application has been downloaded by more than one million people.

Chess problems, tactics

Another application where tasks are collected. Standard mat exercises in one, two, three moves, several selections of tasks for training a double strike combination. To run the program, you will have to load the general database, then the task data by groups. It’s a little inconvenient, but if you have the Internet, the issue can be resolved in just a minute. It is better to download all the necessary sections at once. The interface is simple, but unusual; there are only three buttons in the menu.For those who don’t pay attention to minor inconveniences, one and a half thousand tasks of different levels await you, on which you can hone your skills. The tasks you have completed are highlighted in green, the remaining ones are highlighted in red.Gameplay and controls were rated 4.4, graphics - 4.5.

Magnus Trainer

Training for beginners and experienced players from the best chess player in the world, Norwegian Magnus Carlsen. The program will immediately test you with a few simple questions to tailor the course to your level. The difficulty can be changed in the settings at any time. Only at the first stage there are 29 steps. Thirty more - on the next ones. There are also basics with descriptions of chess moves. The sections include tactics, basic skills, strategy, opening, endgame, calculation and highlights of the author’s games. The lessons are based on famous games of professional players of past years and even centuries. The author on the board shows strong moves and those that threaten your pieces.

Disadvantage: descriptions are in English. You can improve your foreign language or use a translator.

Learning to play chess means learning to think strategically. Agree, a useful skill not only for a commander, but also for a modern manager or businessman: a person who works in multitasking mode, makes decisions independently and plans his activities. Military principles also apply in peacetime.

It is not without reason that among popular books about business is often listed “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese treatise that introduces the reader to the basics of military strategy. Strategic thinking is something without which business success is impossible. Chess teaches strategic thinking.

Learn the basics

By the basics we mean the general rules of the game: what is the goal of the game, how the pieces move, how a capture occurs, how check differs from checkmate, etc.

Of course, in order to learn how to play, it is not enough to learn the rules. If you know how this or that piece moves, how short or long castling is done, this does not mean that you are a worthy opponent. After all, all this is just a means to achieve a goal. If a businessman knows how to transfer money from account to account, sign contracts and arrange meetings, does this alone make him a good businessman? The responsibilities of a manager and a performer should not be confused. You are at the chessboard - first of all, a leader, the one who solves the assigned problems.

However, learning the basics is necessary, especially for a beginner. Carefully read the rules of this ancient game and learn the terminology. This advice applies not only to chess, but to any business in general: it is important to know the “legal field” in which you have to work. Knowing the means opens up prospects of opportunity.

Solve chess problems

Fortunately, today there are a great many of them on the Internet. In the age of high technology, even your computer can generate such problems. But give preference to original tasks developed by living people. They are made with soul and contain their own interesting twist. Start with what is simpler: one-move and two-move problems. For example, “checkmate in one move”, “draw in two moves”. Don't be fooled by the apparent simplicity. Sometimes they are not so easy to solve, especially for a beginner. Later you can move on to really difficult three- and four-move problems. It is important to train yourself to look for a solution in everything and accept every situation played out on the board as a task.

Strategy is more important than tactics

It is quite easy to distinguish a person who has just started playing chess from an experienced player. A beginner does not think globally, habitually solving problems “here and now.” He is not yet able to build a unified strategy of action, preferring to rush between solutions to situational (i.e. tactical problems) that are not connected to each other by a single goal. A beginner does not know how to sacrifice pieces, organize traps and diversionary maneuvers.

Once the basics have been mastered, move on to studying the principles of the chess stages: opening, middlegame, endgame.

So, in the initial stage, it is important to ensure the development of the pieces: all the forces you have must be brought into play, which in the future would allow you to make the most of their potential. It is also important to gain control of the center, something that is so often overlooked by new players. The one who controls the center controls the game, which means he dictates his own rules. Do not forget about ensuring the protection of the king, as well as creating positions unfavorable for the enemy. You can learn about all this from the so-called “debut books”, practical articles and guides - there are a great many of them on the Internet. Pay attention to the book authored by G.M. Lisitsin’s “Debut Repertoire of a Chess Player”, as well as manuals created by the great grandmaster of the 20th century Anatoly Karpov, but you shouldn’t limit yourself to just one thing. Study, compare, use.

Play regularly

Make it a rule to play at least one game a day. Without regular training there will be no experience, without experience there will be no mastery. Who you play with is also important. Try to invite worthy opponents to the game; you don’t need to increase your own self-esteem at the expense of weak players. Chess should become your habit: a good end to your working day, or, on the contrary, the beginning of it. Fortunately, the development of chess programs contributes to the convenience of modern players: it is not necessary to carry a chessboard with you everywhere, and your opponent can always be found online.

The computer is the most worthy opponent for a beginner

Because it teaches you how to solve long-term problems. The machine is a good tactician, capable of calculating every subsequent move until checkmate. The chess program does not suffer from inattention and does not act to the detriment of its interests. Outplaying her in situational battles is very
almost impossible. Therefore, in order to win a computer, you need to learn how to build truly insidious long-term traps and implement them so quietly that even the depth of analysis of the machine would not be enough to reveal your plans.

The main task of the machine is to gain an advantage on the board, primarily tactical. Therefore, when playing with a machine, you will learn to create the illusion of your opponent’s superiority. Your attacks will become truly unexpected, and therefore devastating for your opponent’s plans.

In addition, such programs are based on openings and endgames, and this is another opportunity to learn how to strategically outplay the enemy’s standard plans.

Analyze chess games of great grandmasters

Analyze every move written in the text. Why did the player walk like that? How else could he have acted? Is this move part of the scenario of the defense being played, familiar to you, for example, from a book of openings? Or, on the contrary, does the move seem unexpected, if not eccentric?

Analysis of games will allow you to develop a critical attitude towards the game. You will learn to objectively evaluate certain situations and explain to yourself not only your own actions, but also the actions of your opponent.

Unfortunately, today you can no longer find as many books on the analysis of chess games as before. Those books that still appear on the shelves suffer seriously in terms of quality. Often chess codes are written in them with annoying typos. Sometimes there are so many of them that it is almost impossible to restore the party. Therefore, it is better to completely abandon modern printed publications. They are simply not worth the money they are sold for. On the Internet you will find all this absolutely free.

Today the child's interest is the computer. But adults strive to raise a thinking person out of a child. And this is possible with the use of model games, one of which is chess, which helps train the mind and intelligence. By playing chess, the child learns to reason logically, control actions, predict the opponent's reaction, and compare. Many children who know how to play chess from an early age go on to become respected and successful people. So, how to teach a child to play chess from scratch?

At what age should you start learning to play chess?

Any child can be taught to play chess. This requires patience and creativity. In order to give your child the first lessons, it is enough to have minimal experience yourself. The child is allowed to have his first acquaintance with the board and pieces at the age of three. At this time, the baby already speaks, knows a decent number of words, knows how to move, draw, sculpt, and shows interest in the world around him, quenching it in games.

Remember that your main goal is not to raise a future champion, but to instill interest in a game that is useful for development. Organize classes in a friendly atmosphere, do not demand too much. Give your baby rest and active warm-up every half hour. To teach a child to play chess, you should firmly understand the topic of the introductory lessons.

First lesson

  • Explain that the chessboard represents a battlefield and the pieces represent a toy army. List the names of each piece to your child, starting with the “infantry” - pawns. Let him practice placing them on the board in a line, using the second and seventh horizontal lines on each side. Show your child how a pawn moves and defeats other pieces.
  • Play a game with your child using only pawns in the game. The goal of victory is to “eat” the enemy’s pawns or quickly reach the opposite horizontal line. From such a trial game it will be clear whether your child likes the game or not.
  • Explain to your child the names and capabilities of the remaining figures. The main one is the king, the strongest is the queen, and somewhat weaker is the rook (there are two of them). Knight and bishop are paired. Demonstrate how these figures move on the board.



Second lesson

  • The child arranges the figures independently. If in doubt or makes mistakes, provide help. Explain that the queen must be placed on the field according to its color.
  • Now remind your child of the rules of the game, re-name the pieces with him, their rules of moves and capabilities in battle.
  • Introduce your child to the concepts of “checkmate” and “checkmate”, demonstrate the simplest options for each situation. At the same time, try to explain to your child that victory does not depend on the number of pieces, but on a successful move or combination thereof.
Third lesson
  • The child must confidently repeat all the material covered. If it's wrong, correct it. Explain the movements of the rook, display the positions when it is used to declare mate in one move. Give your child the opportunity to do everything several times on their own.
  • Using the same principle, tell us about the elephant - how it walks and fights.

In this article we will try to analyze and give a plan on how to learn to play chess from scratch? If you are just starting your journey as a chess player, then it is very important to consistently start diving into the basics. Now we will give a small plan for learning initial skills. If you master these skills, you will be able to play your first game in just a few days.

So, let's start with what a beginner needs:

1. Place the chess in the starting position. For more details, see the article on how to correctly place the pieces on the board. We give below the starting position in a chess game. Remember two basic rules:

  • White pieces are placed along the first vertical (on the side of the board all verticals are labeled from 1st to 8th)
  • When arranging, remember that the Queen loves her color. The white queen is placed on a white square. The black queen is placed on black.


2. It is necessary to remember how chess moves. You need to spend very little time on this. We discussed this in detail in the article how chess pieces move. It is very important to remember that a pawn that reaches the end of the board is transformed into any piece except the king. Most often, instead of a pawn, a Queen is placed on the board. Because it gives a big advantage in the game and, as a rule, leads to victory.

3. You need to remember how the pieces are cut. The main rule is this: if your piece cuts an enemy piece, then the enemy piece is removed from the board, and your piece is placed in its place (on the same cell).

4. It is necessary to understand what Shah is. Check is an attack of a piece on the enemy king. It is important to remember one of the basic rules of chess: if the king is in check, then you must remove the king from attack with your next move. If the king is in check, then other pieces cannot be moved (until the king leaves the check).

5. It is important to understand what Mat is. Checkmate is a type of check from which it is impossible to hide, that is, no matter where the king moves away, check will also be declared, or there will be nowhere to go. Checkmate is the goal of the party. The one who declares checkmate in a chess game is the winner. Checkmate is a prerequisite for victory. Also, you can win if your opponent admits defeat, that is, tells you that he is giving up.

Learn these five points and you will be able to play your first game.

In our video you will learn all the basic rules of chess in just 5 minutes.

How to teach a child to play chess?

There is only one way to teach a child to play chess - you need to arouse his interest.

This is quite simple to do; you need to regularly play chess in front of your child, that is, by example. You need to play so that he can see how much you like the game. He will definitely come up and ask what kind of game this is and ask you to teach him. Next, you need to give in to your beloved child in order to arouse excitement in him. The main thing is to play with your child so that victories do not come too easily, and sometimes it is even better to win. It is important to keep your child interested in the game.

If you understand that your child has talent and a strong desire to grow, then be sure to start training him either with a good coach or in an online school. A talented child needs precise teaching methodology. Chess reveals a child's intellectual potential very quickly.

How can an adult learn to play chess?

To learn to play chess as an adult, the easiest way is to find a mentor or take courses with a clearly structured methodology. This will allow you to quickly understand the basics of chess. If you study according to a specific methodology, then there are no options - you will start winning very quickly. We wrote the study plan above. Start playing.

You will enjoy chess immensely when you win your first game.

How to learn to play chess well?

It is important to understand that chess is a sport, and to succeed in any sport, systematic training is very important. Therefore, you need to play regularly. At least several times a week. If you just play a lot, you will become a strong player very quickly.

To play chess well, it is also very important to solve chess problems. They develop the speed of calculating options. You will begin to see many moves ahead and will be able to navigate any chess position very easily.

The page presents a selection of chess lessons that will allow you to learn the basics of the game and learn how to start and finish a chess game correctly. The beginning player will learn effective attack techniques to gain an advantage over his opponent and finish the game in his favor.


The first training video talks about the basics of the game, about the main points that allow you to start playing chess. The rules for placing pieces on the board and the rules by which the pieces move are explained. The student who watches the video develops concepts of check and mate. Particular attention is paid to king castling, its rules, types and features.


A story about the strategy and tactics of playing chess, explaining these concepts and the difference between them. The question is raised about combining and calculating possible moves and ways of developing events on the chessboard. The value of game pieces is compared. The second part of the video talks about the most important part of the tactical game: pairings of pieces.


This lesson talks about another tactical technique in the game: enticement. The purpose of enticement is to force the opponent with his piece to occupy a field that is advantageous for you, and not advantageous for himself. The issue of sacrificing a piece with subsequent obtaining a qualitative advantage and inevitable checkmate is considered. The concept of “double check” is explained.


Another method of correct tactics: distracting the enemy figure. The player forces the opponent to move one of his pieces to the square he wants (usually sacrificing his piece in the process), thereby gaining either a significant qualitative advantage or ending the game by attacking the king and checkmate. Attention is paid to the “window” technique for perfect castling.


Studying the most powerful attack tool - a double strike, which completes the intended combination and leads to a quantitative advantage over the opponent. A double strike is a successful combination of the two above-mentioned tactics: distraction and enticement, ending with the creation of a “fork”.


The concept of “check” is examined in depth. The implementation of the “double check” and “open check” is studied, in which the opponent loses a piece or loses the game, forcing the king away from the blow. It tells about the “mill” technique, which includes a sequence of “double checks” when winning a material advantage.


The tactics of an “open attack” are considered, where when attacking an opponent’s piece, it becomes possible to improve the material (quantitative) situation by capturing a more significant opponent’s piece, or by winning the game.


The lesson is devoted to the rules for deploying pieces into an advantageous position at the beginning of the game. The basic rules for playing openings are considered to gain an advantage and capture the central part of the board. The basic principles for a successful start to the game are given: maintaining the tempo, early castling, developing minor pieces and others.


The basics of the endgame are considered - the completion of a chess game with a material advantage of the player over the opponent. It tells you which pieces can checkmate a lone king. The technique of checkmate in the presence of a king and queen is studied.


Continuing to study the endgame - a successful completion of a chess game in the presence of a king and a rook with the opponent’s lone king. The basic principles of the technique of such a checkmate, the correct placement of the figures are considered, and possible errors are pointed out.