Chess opening principles: how to start a game
Almost every beginner asks which opening they should learn. It is the wrong question. Below about 1400, games are not decided by opening theory - they are decided by whoever develops faster and leaves their king safest.
Three principles cover it. Control the centre, because pieces in the middle of the board reach more squares than pieces on the edge. Develop your knights and bishops quickly, ideally with a threat so your opponent has to react. And castle early, tucking your king behind a wall of pawns and bringing a rook into the game.
A few habits are worth avoiding just as much. Do not bring your queen out early - she is worth nine pawns and every enemy piece attacks her for free. Do not move the same piece twice before the others have moved once. And do not grab pawns while your king sits in the centre; material is worth nothing if you get checkmated collecting it.
- Control the centre - pawns to e4 or d4 do this immediately.
- Develop knights and bishops early, ideally with a threat.
- Castle within the first ten moves or so.
- Do not bring the queen out early; she becomes a target.
- Do not move the same piece twice in the opening without a reason.
- Connect your rooks - once they see each other, the opening is done.
Practise on a real board
4 short exercises. Nothing to install and no account needed — make the move on the board and the lesson checks it for you.
More about this
What is the best first move in chess?
1.e4 and 1.d4 are the two strongest and most popular first moves, because each occupies the centre and opens a line for a bishop. For a beginner, 1.e4 is usually the friendlier choice: it leads to open positions where tactics are easier to see and learn from.
How many chess openings should a beginner learn?
One as White and one against each of 1.e4 and 1.d4 as Black is plenty, and even that is optional. Understanding the three principles will take you further than memorising twenty lines you do not understand.
Why should you not bring your queen out early?
Because every enemy piece that attacks her forces you to move her again, and each of those moves develops your opponent while you develop nothing. The famous Scholar’s Mate works only against players who fail to punish exactly this.
When should you castle in chess?
As soon as it is safe, usually within the first ten moves. A king left in the centre is the single most common cause of a beginner losing a game they were otherwise winning.
Lessons are the start. The coaching is the point.
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