Chess for total beginners

Name: Chess for total beginners
Rating: 4.4 (89 reviews)

From learning the moves, to checkmating, to tactics and strategy

Created byKatie Kormanik

Last updated 11/2025

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

Make legal moves
Annotate entire games
Recognize check and checkmate
Recognize tactics such as forking, skewering, and pinning
Checkmate in winning endgames
Employ good opening, midgame, and endgame strategies
Advance a pawn to the back rank with king and pawn against king
Gain the know-how and resources to continue advancing your chess skills
Hear perspectives on chess from GMs and IMs
Calculate several moves ahead
Play and enjoy the game of chess!

Course content

6 sections • 51 lectures • 1h 29m total length

Welcome!2:41
PLACEHOLDER
Interview with WIM Karina Vazirova: Why learn chess?2:34
Karina Vazirova explains how chess sharpens critical and analytical thinking and helps you think systematically. The game supports legal research, technology collaboration, and builds global friendships through travel.
Squares on the chess board1:25
Learn to read and notate chess moves by identifying squares on an eight by eight board, naming each square by column A–H and row 1–8, with white and black orientation.
Write the name of the square
Chess pieces0:35
PLACEHOLDERS
Which piece is it?
Notating moves3:36
PLACEHOLDER

a. This is important to learn at the beginning so that you can follow games, and understand what I mean when I say, for example, Nd4
Notate the move (white side)
Notate the move (black side)
Notating a game1:53
Learn to notate an entire chess game with a standard notation sheet for tournaments. Display white on the left and black on the right, with each pair as one move.
Download notation sheets0:03

Knight1:08
Placeholder
Knight moves
Bishop0:48
PLACEHOLDER
Bishop moves
Rook0:41
PLACEHOLDER
Rook moves
Queen0:33
PLACEHOLDER
Queen moves
Interview with WGM Jennifer Shahade: Why is the queen the most powerful piece?1:14
Jennifer Shahade explains why the queen is the most powerful piece and how she symbolizes femininity in chess, inspiring more women to play and pursue checkmates.
King1:02
PLACEHOLDER
King moves
Pawn2:03
PLACEHOLDER
Pawn moves
Check3:58
Learn how the king is placed in check, how to get out by capturing, blocking, or moving, and why checkmate ends the game in chess for total beginners.
Find check
Calculate two moves ahead
Play a game vs. the computer!0:17

What is checkmating?4:13
Placeholder
Is it checkmate?
Find checkmate (mate-in-one)0:32
Find checkmate (mate-in-two)
Checkmate with a queen and a rook2:18
Placeholder
Practice checkmating with a queen and a rook0:24
Checkmate with two rooks1:32
Placeholder
Practice checkmating with two rooks0:20
Checkmate with a king and a queen3:05
Placeholder
Practice checkmating with a king and a queen0:21
Checkmate with a king and a rook6:25
Placeholder
Practice checkmating with a king and a rook0:21
Checkmate with a king and pawn4:49
Placeholder
Practice checkmating with a king and pawn0:20
Interview with WIM Karina Vazirova: How did you get good at chess?0:48
Karina Vazirova explains how early street chess games with local hustlers in Russia built her competitive edge, fueled by the fun of the sport and ice cream rewards.

Intro to openings2:13
Master the opening basics: develop pieces and control the center in the first ten moves, with e4 as white and e5 as black responses, knights and bishops development, and castling.
White opening: e44:17
White opens with e4 and develops knights and bishops, while Black replies e5. The f7 pawn becomes a focal point for forking the queen and rook, with early castling.
Try e40:03
White opening: d45:46
Explore the white d4 opening and the Queen's Gambit, where white sacrifices on c4 to control the center, develop pieces, and navigate key tactical versus strategic ideas.
Try d40:03
Black opening: e4 e51:58
Explore black openings from the black perspective, starting with e5. Learn to develop knights and bishops, contest pawns, and decide whether to take on e4 or castle early.
Try e4 e50:12
Black opening: e4 c54:40
Explore the sicilian defense: black counters e4 with c5, creating dynamic, tactical positions. Develop pieces and activate the queenside bishop as both sides seek king-side attacks.
Try e4 c50:12
Black opening: d4 d53:55
Discover black's solid response to white's d4 d5, including queen's gambit ideas, c6 and bishop activity, and a tactic that traps the white queen after a knight fork.
Try d4 d50:12
Play a real game!0:22

Interview with WGM Jennifer Shahade: How strategy & tactics relate to real life0:50
Explore how chess tactics, such as checkmates and using the queen, contrast with long-term strategy and piece placement, and see how these concepts mirror life planning and preparation.
Tactics2:13
Explore chess tactics and strategy by analyzing positions, envisioning moves ahead, and using sacrifices to gain an advantage, including a queen sacrifice leading to checkmate.
Find the tactic
Practice tactics0:05
Strategy6:05
Develop long-term strategy by positioning pieces for future attacks, using safe knight squares, bishop on c4, and rook battery, while preparing passed pawns; study endgames to sharpen these strategies.
Practice the endgames0:06
Improve your tactics and strategy0:08

Using chess engines for analysis2:48
Learn how to use chess engines to analyze positions, set up positions on chess.com analysis board, and interpret engine scores to identify the best moves and who is winning.
Interview with WIM Karina Vazirova: How can I get better at chess?1:14
Master the basics, how to move the pieces, and core techniques; pair with an online coach 1–2 hours weekly to learn openings, tactics, and strategies, and practice online.
Conclusion0:48
Build your chess foundation with resources for practicing strategy and tactics and pattern recognition, plus sign-up access to one-on-one tutoring and guidance for online play, tournaments, and new course content.
Resources and links1:33

Requirements

A willingness to sit and think!

Description

Hi there! I'm Katie, and I've been playing chess since I was 4. I started competing in tournaments when I was 7, and at one point I was one of the top 100 women in the US. I haven't actively played since 2011, at which point my rating was 1850, but my love of chess still lingers and I think everyone should at least know how to play. This course goes beyond simply teaching how the pieces move. You'll build the foundation for continuing your chess career, if you so choose.

This course breaks down the game step-by-step, from teaching you the rules (how pieces move) to basic strategy (where to move your pieces) to how to improve (with practice positions and resources for learning more). If you watch all the videos and complete all the exercises, you’ll not only be able to play a game (the short-term goal); you’ll be able to continue learning and playing chess on your own. In a few weeks, you’ll probably be able to beat just about anyone off the street!

Besides instructional videos and exercises, this course also has interviews with the following amazing professional women chess players:
• WGM Jennifer Shahade
• WIM Karina Vazirova
...with more coming soon!

A one-time purchase will give you lifetime access to all the new content in the course. Hope you enjoy!

Who this course is for:

Anyone who wants to learn how to play chess
Anyone who wants to finally beat their grandpa
Anyone who travels and wants to find a community wherever they go

Chess for total beginners

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Chess pieces and notation7 lectures • 13min

How pieces move9 lectures • 12min

Checkmating13 lectures • 25min

Opening12 lectures • 24min

Tactics and strategy6 lectures • 9min

Continue your chess4 lectures • 6min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: