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How to start a chess game

Beginners lose games in the opening not because they failed to memorise a line, but because they broke one of three simple principles. Learn the principles and you will come out of every opening with a healthy position, whatever your opponent plays.

Free, no account needed. About ten minutes.

Chess opening principles: how to start a game

Three principles beat memorising openings: control the centre, develop quickly, castle early. Learn why, and practise on a real board — free.

4 exercises

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Then comes the part that actually makes you better

ChessIt is a free coach that reviews your games with a chess engine, finds the mistakes you keep repeating, and writes you a 20-minute training plan around them. It takes a complete beginner through eight phases, from Pawn all the way to Grandmaster.

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