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10 Tips to Become a Chess Champ

chess player looking at board

If you want to be a chess champ, it’ll take lots of learning and lots of practicing. Here are 10 tips to get you started:

LEARN THE CHESS MOVES

Each chess piece can move only a certain way. For instance, a pawn moves straight ahead but can only attack on an angle, one square at a time. A knight’s move is L-shaped. The bishop moves at an angle but can move more than one square at a time. The rook (castle) can move only in a straight line but can go forward, back or to the side. The queen, the most powerful piece, can move in any direction for any number of squares, but not two directions in one move. And the king moves at a stately pace — as a king should — one square at a time in any direction on the chess board.

OPEN WITH A PAWN

Move the pawn in front of either the king or queen two squares forward. (Only on its opening move can a pawn move two squares.) This opens pathways for your bishops and queen to enter the game. They move on an angle and can’t get out onto the field of battle if pawns are in the way.

GET THE KNIGHTS AND BISHOPS OUT

Before you move your queen, rooks or king, move your knights and bishops toward the center of the chess board. You want to get these pieces out from behind the pawns so they can attack.

WATCH YOUR BACK!

And front! When it’s your turn, always think to yourself, “What did my opponent’s last move do? What is he up to?” Is he laying traps to capture your pieces? Then decide on your own plan. Always look at all your possibilities. Look at moves that would capture your opponent’s men or threaten his king first. But always double-check your moves before you play them. Ask yourself, “Does my move leave something unprotected?”

DON’T WASTE TIME

Don’t make too many moves with your pawns or try to pick off your opponent’s pawns.

“CASTLE” EARLY

Castling is a move that allows you to move your king to safety and bring your rook into play. Once all the squares between your rook and the king are unoccupied you can move the king two squares toward the rook while the rook moves to the square on the the king’s other side. If your opponent neglects to castle, you might be able to launch an attack on his king. This is the only chess move in which more than one piece may be moved in a turn.

ATTACK IN THE “MIDDLEGAME”

After you’ve brought all your knights and bishops into the game and castled (these moves are your “opening”), the middlegame begins. In the middlegame, always be on the lookout for ways to capture your opponent’s men. Take any chess piece that your opponent doesn’t protect. But look at what will happen to your piece if you take his — will you get picked off? Always be looking for ways to move lots of your men into position to attack the enemy king.

LOSE PIECES WISELY

You’ll take some of your opponent’s pieces. Some of your pieces will be taken. You must figure out what is and isn’t a good swap in chess. Use these points to figure out whether you’re making a good move if you’re going to lose one of them:

  • Queen: 9 points
  • Rook: 5 points
  • Bishop: 3 points
  • Knight: 3 points
  • Pawn: 1 point

So is it a good idea to lose a bishop to save a pawn? No!

DON’T PLAY TOO FAST

If you see a good move, sit on your hands and look for a better one. Patient thinking is the key to chess success.

WIN THE ENDGAME

After you and your opponent swap pieces and you’re down to just a few men, the endgame begins. Now the pawns become more important. If you can advance a pawn to the farthest row away from you, that pawn becomes a queen. A big success! Let your king attack, too, as long as he stays out of reach of your opponent’s remaining pieces — especially the queen — and does not let himself to be checked.

Your king is said to be in check when your opponent threatens to use one of his pieces to capture the king on his next move. If your king is checked and you have no way to remove the threat — it can’t run away, you can’t capture the opposing piece that has him in check and you can’t block the check by moving one of your own pieces — the game is lost. Checkmate! If you checkmate your opponent before he checkmates you, then you win!

55 Comments on 10 Tips to Become a Chess Champ

  1. looks like beginner chess?

  2. realy a gunius tips . thanks.

  3. i m not play chess very well help me

  4. this helped me

  5. When you castle your King moves behind your rook and pawns instead of being in the middle of the board so if there is an attack you can mve another piece there to help sooner.

  6. mario makers rule!!! // September 2, 2015 at 1:51 pm // Reply

    this a great help but i thought for the pawns if you get them to the other side you get to take a piece your opponent took out

  7. nice tips but need to show some picture with it

  8. Same here, gr

  9. Im bad at chess so this helped

  10. I don’t lyk 2 castle keeping king on corner is trapping ourselfs

  11. castle is a rook not bishop

  12. Wackywacky :-) // August 14, 2015 at 5:53 am // Reply

    I’m not really good at playing chess I just know how to play (self-taught) so I looked up for some tips thanks but I already know half of all the tips

  13. Not bad

  14. NEVER OPEN WITH THE PAWN ABOVE THE BISHOP THAT ISN’T ON THE QUEEN’S SIDE, if you are playing a person who know what they are doing they could check mate you in 2 moves. google “fools mate”

  15. Nice Tips… Better then Others

  16. Googlefunk360 // August 3, 2015 at 6:51 pm // Reply

    I never castle. But I beat most oppondents in 4 moves.

  17. Good tips….

  18. trail head // July 28, 2015 at 5:26 pm // Reply

    confusing

  19. what is a castle?

  20. Not good

  21. i know all these tips

  22. i will try this

  23. Ah… nice but still better to know more tips.

  24. the minion theory // June 8, 2015 at 11:44 am // Reply

    HELPFUL(THNX)

  25. I will try this.

  26. You need three things to be a chess champion:

    1. Talent
    2. Fifteen years to train
    3. No life

  27. Barneybeatx // May 31, 2015 at 5:39 am // Reply

    Using black pieces better exchange you bishops with opponent’s knights

  28. Pretty good tips,but I know most of them. The ones I didn`t know,helpful

  29. Ridgetheninja // May 19, 2015 at 3:14 pm // Reply

    I disagree with the tip of letting pawns out first, you can do PLENTY of damage with 1 or 2 knights in the beggining

  30. I like these tip

  31. I thought the queen was 10 points.

  32. zuma fire // May 17, 2015 at 6:01 pm // Reply

    Great chess ideas for the whole nations

  33. amatur player // May 12, 2015 at 9:41 pm // Reply

    good tips… but its all about strategy… tips before game… strategy.. n win….

  34. Thanks Very Much, Am Begining To Learn The Secrets.

  35. nice bro

  36. dont let your queen go out early first and second move pawn front don’t under estimate your enemy be patient always thanks

  37. chingchignxhif // May 2, 2015 at 11:26 pm // Reply

    these tips are redundant and abhorrent

  38. it was awesome
    bt i need more

  39. westbreezy // April 15, 2015 at 1:20 pm // Reply

    Thanks I have learned some of things that I didn’t know.

  40. Thanks for these tips. I have other things that I didn’t know.

  41. COOL BOY PELIZ // April 15, 2015 at 12:49 am // Reply

    this strategies way useful in tournament i played very well

  42. They are useful. Thanks

  43. They are. Useful
    Thanks

  44. Thanks I learned a lot.

  45. thank you so much for some wise tricks..

  46. how i win in 10 min

  47. Good and helpful..thnks

  48. good to see but very difficult to do

  49. nice work it’s really useful

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