Chess tips by a beginner: Overcome common mistakes, improve strategy, and analyze moves step by step. Learn and grow with every game!

Beginner Problems in Chess Improvement

A chessboard where each piece is crafted from a different painting style.

Lately, I've been deeply interested in the problems faced by chess beginners. My main issue is that, while I dedicate enough time to chess, my level doesn't improve proportionally. As a beginner myself, I felt the need to focus on this topic. I believe that this effort will help both me and my readers to tackle these problems more effectively.

Inefficient Use of Time While Learning Chess

For those who want to learn chess and dedicate a significant amount of time to it, it's important to use that time in the most efficient way. The most efficient method will vary from person to person. I will try to address the question, How to Use Time Efficiently While Learning Chess?

Common Mistakes Beginners Make While Learning Chess

An ancient temple hidden deep within a jungle, where the floor is a worn chessboard, and the pieces are statues of mythical creatures, symbolizing the ancient wisdom and strategic thinking passed down through generations of chess players.

Only watching chess games or analyses is one of the most common mistakes.We can’t say that consuming chess content is useless, but when done alone, it won't contribute to improving your chess.

For example, watching grandmaster games for 5 hours does not mean you’ve spent 5 productive hours on chess. Much like a bodybuilder, you need to have a structured training program. Grandmaster games should be watched, puzzles should be solved, and openings and endgames should be studied together.

Watching Games of Grandmasters Should Not Be a Starting Point

Chess videos, puzzles, and example games by grandmasters can be analyzed by high-level players. This is because grandmasters sometimes deliberately choose not to capture a seemingly unprotected piece. They might have calculated that their position would worsen or that they would be checkmated within six moves. Sometimes, they even make moves that appear to be major blunders to lure their opponents into a trap. These moves are not recommended for lower levels. Beginners may watch these games and be impressed, but they will struggle to distinguish the fundamental reasons behind these moves.

Grandmasters generally play almost flawlessly. Watching only their games can put us at a disadvantage against novice opponents. It can cause us to be caught off guard by unexpected attacks. Even when our opponent makes a mistake, we might not know how to respond effectively.

Discover or Aim to Build Your Strengths in Chess

A celestial chessboard floating among the stars, with pieces made of glowing stardust, representing the infinite possibilities and the cosmic nature of strategy in the vast universe of chess.

To dominate the game, we must be able to control our opponent. This can only be done in an environment where we feel strong. The game won't naturally go in the direction we want.

For example, if you feel strong in rook-pawn endgames, you can force a queen exchange at the right moment to make the game easier to manage.

Or let's say that in an endgame, your king is on a more active square than your opponent's. This means that exchanging pieces will benefit you.

If you have a strong point, the earlier you discover it, the faster you will improve. If you don't have one, focusing on a specific method can be helpful. For instance, you might try to master the art of activating your rooks quickly in the game.

Improving or Exchanging a Poorly Positioned Piece

Very few beginners do this during a game. It is crucial to examine your pieces thoroughly and find a better position for a poorly placed piece.

Exchanging a poorly positioned piece

The bishop in the image is looking at the h2 square. It’s a very dangerous bishop. If I exchange it for my bishop that hasn't yet entered the game, it will be beneficial for me.

a chessboard showing that creating a safe space for bishop

creating a safe space for my bishop

The bishop on g3 in the image has no place to go. In fact, it is about to be captured. I urgently need to advance my h pawn to create a safe space for my bishop.

Which King Is More Active and Why Is This Important?

The goal in a chess match is to achieve a superior position. When you pause the game midway and exchange all the same pieces, the person who will remain at an advantage and is closer to winning the match is the one who can maintain a stronger position.

Since it’s impossible to checkmate on the first move, gradually approaching checkmate will only be possible by developing your pieces in the best possible way. If we can apply this development to every piece in turn, eventually, the piece that needs to be developed will be the king.

Having a more active king can sometimes provide you with an alternative plan that leads to victory. If queens have also been exchanged, you should start looking for a way to activate your king.

Struggling to Develop In-Game Strategies

As beginners, we lack sufficient knowledge and experience. Additionally, we can’t quickly visualize scenarios in our minds. If we are not good enough at evaluating the advantages of in-game situations, it’s completely natural for us to struggle with planning.

At this stage, we will also see another benefit of studying openings.

Another problem beginner players face is continuing a game without a plan. This gives control of the game to the opponent. Studying openings and applying them in matches will provide us with a goal from the very start. For example, the purpose of the X opening is to advance to e6 at the right moment. You will start to think about what is necessary to achieve e6. By making mistakes, you won’t repeat them in the next game. However, if we try different openings each time, our mistakes will vary, and we will struggle to remember them later.

Inability to Prioritize Move Options

When it’s our turn, the first thing we should do is try to understand why my opponent made their last move. Like other beginners, I tend to focus on a single move and forget to consider my opponent's next move.

When it’s our turn to play, the question we should ask ourselves is: If it were my opponent's turn again right now, what move would they make?

Once we find the answer, if it presents a serious threat, I need to identify my options against that move.

If I have no answers, I should examine my opponent’s weak pieces (those that are unprotected or the least protected). I need to find a target for myself.

The reason I start with my opponent is to accurately prioritize my responses. I need to check whether my opponent's threat is more serious than mine. Therefore, we should start with our opponent to use our time wisely.

A move may gain you a queen. However, if your opponent can checkmate you in the next move, gaining the queen is no longer a priority. You need to assess moves that protect your king. While doing this, the question to consider is whether it’s possible to win the queen or another piece.

Grandmasters make all these evaluations. The only difference is that they do it very quickly. Over time, we will also improve our speed.

Habits That Chess Beginners Struggle to Let Go Of

Tendency to Defend the Threatened Piece

Defending a threatened piece is only one of our options. However, beginner players often focus on either exchanging or protecting that piece. We should consider sacrificing it, advancing it, simply fleeing, or launching a counterattack as well. For example, protecting the piece may actually benefit our opponent. However, you can undermine all of their efforts by simply advancing that piece.

Among the options, eliminating the threatening piece or distracting it from its target should also be considered.

What Is Deflection?

In chess, "deflection" is a tactic in which a piece is forced to leave an important duty and move to another square. Typically, this piece is one that defends the king or another critical square, or prevents a threat.

Being Prone to Exchanging Pieces

However, sometimes simply advancing a pawn solves all problems. As you will see in the video, exchanges before the 40-second mark benefit White because their pieces are in a better position. However, by advancing the pawn, we can directly win the knight since there is not a single square the knight can move to.

How a Beginner Should Analyze a Game Move by Move

Here, our opponent plays Nc6, threatening our queen.

It’s clear that we need to protect our queen. But how can I do that?

I can simply move my queen away.
I can pin the piece that threatens my queen.
I should check if I have an opportunity for a safe counterattack with a discovered check or against the opposing queen.

1-A) If I move my queen to c3, I will lose my queen due to a bishop and king-queen skewer. This means that b4, c3, and d2 will all result in a loss of the queen.

2-A) If I move my queen to a4, I will have escaped with my queen and also pinned the knight. If I had another attacking piece nearby that could take advantage of the pin, this move would create a serious threat for my opponent.

1-B) Moving my queen to d3 seems like the most reasonable option. My opponent played Bb4, checking my king. When I block with my bishop, they exchanged it on d2. I can take this bishop:

With my king. (This won’t benefit me. Additionally, I will lose my right to castle, meaning my king will be in danger throughout the game.)
With my queen. (This will force me to move my queen repeatedly, and I will fall behind in development. Moreover, unless absolutely necessary, it's generally not wise to align my king and queen together.)
With my knight. (The ideal option, as my b1 knight will be developed. After a short castle, I will be one step closer to connecting my rooks.)

Since the knight will be pinned, my opponent will likely want to castle short immediately. I won’t be able to quickly bring a second piece to attack the pinned knight to take advantage of the pin. If your endgame skills are better, this will be a move that encourages your opponent to castle short.

I don’t have a strong counterattack move available.

Starting from the 55th second,

Should I castle short or long?

First, I tried castling long. My opponent immediately jumped their knight to b4, threatening both my queen and my a2 pawn. At first glance, this doesn’t seem like a serious threat. However, the computer indicates that I am almost in a position to lose a bishop.

When I castled short, you can see that my king is sufficiently safe. This gives me time to plan an attack.

So why wouldn't I have had time to plan if I had castled long? Because my opponent would have forced me into a defensive position. Let’s explore the reason for that.

a) The queen moved to b3, attacking the knight while also protecting my a2 pawn. My opponent responded by moving their queen to a5, threatening my a2 pawn.

I aimed to protect the desired piece with my king by moving it closer. However, their bishop came to f5 and checked my king. I had to move my king to a1.

My opponent played knight to c2, checking my king again, forcing me to return to b1. Then, my opponent moved their knight to c4, checking with the bishop while also threatening my queen. This meant I would lose my queen since I first had to secure my king.

b) What if I advance the a2 pawn to counterattack the knight? (between 01:20 - 01:50 in the video): we continue to play as my opponent desires, leading to a material loss.

c) After a mistake like castling long, the computer's suggestion is to play knight to h4, directly giving up the pawn. This yields the best result, and at higher levels, it represents a significant loss. After that, my opponent will create threats, and the white pieces will struggle to respond.

However, if we castle short, all problems would be resolved.