How to Use This Course

You don't need any experience to get started. If you already know how some of the pieces move, that's fine too. The idea is to begin wherever you feel comfortable and build from there.

I've tried to make this a course you can work through at your own pace, rather than a collection of things you are expected to memorise. Some ideas will click straight away. Others might take a few tries. That's perfectly normal in chess.

Learn, try, and think

Each lesson starts with an explanation, followed by an example or something to try. When you reach a question or exercise, have a go before looking at the answer. Getting it wrong isn't a problem; understanding why is often where the learning happens.

Don't worry about completing a certain number of lessons in one sitting. If a position makes you stop and think for five minutes, you're probably doing exactly what you should be doing.

Reading the chessboards

The diagrams show the board from White's point of view, with White at the bottom and Black at the top, unless a lesson says otherwise. You'll learn how to name squares using letters and numbers in the first chapter.

Later, you'll meet chess notation, which is simply a way of writing down moves. You don't need to know it before you begin; we'll explain it as we go.

Capture Challenges

One of the activities you'll see throughout the course is a Capture Challenge. In these puzzles, you control one piece and must capture every target on the board. Each move has to be a capture, and the piece must move in the usual way.

There may be several pieces to take, so the first capture you spot won't always be the right one. Try to picture where your piece will land and what it will be able to capture next. That's the start of thinking ahead.

Capture Challenges are training puzzles, not normal chess games. They can leave out kings and turns so that you can concentrate on movement and board vision. The usual rules of chess are taught separately.

Using the website

On the website, some boards let you move pieces, choose squares, or solve a Capture Challenge. Read the explanation first, then try the activity yourself. You'll get feedback and, for some exercises, a chance to start again or ask for a hint.

You don't need to complete every activity perfectly on the first attempt. Revisiting an exercise later can be a useful way to see how much you've improved.

Using the ebook or printed PDF

The ebook and PDF contain static diagrams instead of movable boards. When an exercise asks you to find a square or work through a position, you can point to the diagram, write down your answer, or set it up on a physical chessboard.

For Capture Challenges, try to work out the full sequence before turning to the answers at the back. If you have a chess set handy, moving the pieces after you've made your prediction can help you check your thinking.

What are we working towards?

The goal isn't to know hundreds of opening moves or to win every game. It's to understand what is happening on the board, recognise common tactics, come up with reasonable plans, and feel confident enough to enjoy playing against other people — including at a chess club, if that's where you'd like to go.

You may have an online rating goal in mind, perhaps around 1200. That's a useful milestone for some people, but ratings differ between platforms and everyone progresses at a different pace. I'd rather you finish this course feeling that you can think through a game than worry about a particular number.

So take your time, move the pieces, ask questions, and don't be afraid to make mistakes.

Ready? Let's start with the chessboard.