The Easy Way to Learn and Win at Chess

Let's start our journey by learning about the most important piece, the king.

Even king needs a queen, and she's the most powerful piece in chess. Let's see why.

The rook is one of the hardest workers in a chess game. His movement is easy to understand, but mightily important.

Used effectively, bishops can slice and dice. Let's see how they are different than rooks.

Mastery of the knight is sure to keep your opponents unbalanced. Let's check out the only chess piece that doesn't move in a straight line.

One famous chess quote is that "Pawns are the soul of chess." Their power may be limited, but there's so many of them, you can't afford not to use pawns well!

Now for your first of three "special moves" in chess. The little guy becomes the hero -- watch and see how pawns can turn into queens!

Time to learn the starting positions of all 16 members of your army. You can't be a chess master if you don't place the pieces in the right places!

Chess players speak a special language. But you can master it in a few minutes. Watch and see how to use thoses letter and numbers that surround the chess board.

Next to winning the game, the ability to notice and execute captures is the next most important skill in chess. Watch and see how each piece captures and how to notate them!

What happens when the king is in danger? It's half way to "checkmate" but let's instead just learn about "check."

The only time in chess where you are forced to do something is when someone places your king in check. Do you know the three ways to get your king to safety?

So what happens when a king is in check but can't get to safety? That's finally how a game of chess is won. Time to learn all about "checkmate."

While most chess games take dozens of moves, can you believe that it's possible to checkmate in two moves? Watch and see how!

Stalemate is an alternate way for a game of chess to end -- it usually means one side has made a big mistake! Watch and learn how to avoid stalemate when you're winning, but how to go for it when you're losing!

There's other ways a game can end in a draw (tie) besides stalemate. Watch and learn four other ways to make a draw!

Can you ever move two pieces in one move? Yes, if you learn how to castle! Watch and learn the second special move of chess, and learn how to get your king safe in the process!

Now comes the third and final special move in chess. It's also the trickiest and most misunderstood, not to mention hard to pronounce! Watch and learn to say and do "en passant!"

Now that you know every legal move of chess, we begin the discussion of how to find the best move. That can mean a wide range of choices, but this video will get you started choosing moves like a master.

Here's our first full-length chess game, where we see the reasons for some opening moves, and how to watch out for your opponent's ideas too!