Find your way around the board
Get to know the chessboard, its squares and the language used to describe them.
THE FINDING YOUR SQUARE BOOKS · VOLUME ONE
Your first moves.
Your own journey.
Finding Your Square
Volume One: From First Move to Complete Game
Chess can feel like a world with its own language. This book is here to make that world a little more welcoming. Start with the board, discover how the pieces move and learn the rules you need to play a complete game.
Kindle ebook · Coming late 2026
Not yet available to purchase. The Amazon link will appear here when the ebook is published.
Explore the free lessons
Written by Jonathan Courtney
A PLACE TO BEGIN
You don't need to know anything about chess to begin.
Finding Your Square is written for absolute beginners, people coming back to chess and anyone who wants to feel more confident about the foundations.
There are no rating targets and no expectation that you need to become a tournament player. Take your time, revisit a chapter whenever you like and enjoy discovering how the game works.
INSIDE VOLUME ONE
From an empty board to your first full game.
Each chapter builds understanding through clear explanations and practical examples.
Meet the pieces
Learn how pawns, rooks, knights, bishops, queens and kings move and capture.
Understand the rules
Explore check, checkmate, stalemate, castling and those special pawn moves.
Play a complete game
Bring the rules together, from your first move to a legal finished game.
BOOK AND WEBSITE
One journey, two ways to explore.
The book brings the foundations together in one place, while the website stays free to use. Read a chapter, try an interactive exercise or look up a word in the glossary whenever you need it.
Learn chess. Find your place.
Finding Your Square