You can only get good at chess if you love the game. You need to be endlessly fascinated with chess and see its infinite potential. Enjoy the adventure. Losing doesn't matter. Every game should teach you something.  Ensure to play people better than you and be prepared to lose. The more you learn, the better chance you have of winning.

Love the game

Don't feel that you have to set out all your pieces. Start with the pawns, then add the pieces. Understand how a pair of bishops can dominate the board, or the rooks can take paws in the endgame, and why the queen and knight can work together so well. Once you know the basics, use online resources to play and help analyse games. Find human opponents too. If you become really serious, join a chess club in your area.

The beginner

Find a player you like and follow their career. For example, Bobby Fisher played clear and understandable. Other legendary figures include Morphy, Alekhine, Capablanca, Tal, Korchnoi and Shirov. If you want to start playing over-the-board tournaments, you need to join the chess federation in your country. You will get a rating after playing a certain number of official games.

Study the games of great masters of the past

<figure><picture itemprop="contentUrl"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/70d7930cdf193843990345e5ace05688b0b46a89/0_162_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=4d63be5e89f2edbd5bdec8c0ec0218e4 2040w" media="(min-width: 1300px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 1300px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/70d7930cdf193843990345e5ace05688b0b46a89/0_162_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=24eaaa959fd835a1c564a80194ec960b 1020w" media="(min-width: 1300px)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/70d7930cdf193843990345e5ace05688b0b46a89/0_162_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=23f1b424d8a156fc7eef737e58af2b00 1880w" media="(min-width: 1140px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 1140px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/70d7930cdf193843990345e5ace05688b0b46a89/0_162_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=71d7b0613c7f35d87ebdf080715fbbaf 940w" media="(min-width: 1140px)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/70d7930cdf193843990345e5ace05688b0b46a89/0_162_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=0f233ec9b8cde2dfd0519dbf3a689fde 1400w" media="(min-width: 660px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 660px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/70d7930cdf193843990345e5ace05688b0b46a89/0_162_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=53618b2d849cf16975044639cbf642d4 700w" media="(min-width: 660px)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/70d7930cdf193843990345e5ace05688b0b46a89/0_162_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=66cb7cd74870c52308160dd46898b3e5 1290w" media="(min-width: 480px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 480px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/70d7930cdf193843990345e5ace05688b0b46a89/0_162_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=3d2f9ca6cefe94ff28f91ef2a07d7dfe 645w" media="(min-width: 480px)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/70d7930cdf193843990345e5ace05688b0b46a89/0_162_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=e35f22a6f032a96f66db26a254d10600 930w" media="(min-width: 375px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 375px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/70d7930cdf193843990345e5ace05688b0b46a89/0_162_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=bf4ffa2f5df287c8334b97defa216771 465w" media="(min-width: 375px)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/70d7930cdf193843990345e5ace05688b0b46a89/0_162_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=e35f22a6f032a96f66db26a254d10600 930w" media="(min-width: 320px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 320px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/70d7930cdf193843990345e5ace05688b0b46a89/0_162_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=bf4ffa2f5df287c8334b97defa216771 465w" media="(min-width: 320px)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/70d7930cdf193843990345e5ace05688b0b46a89/0_162_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=e35f22a6f032a96f66db26a254d10600 930w" media="(min-width: 0px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 0px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/70d7930cdf193843990345e5ace05688b0b46a89/0_162_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=bf4ffa2f5df287c8334b97defa216771 465w" media="(min-width: 0px)"><img alt="Anya Taylor-Joy as Beth Harmon in the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit." src="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/70d7930cdf193843990345e5ace05688b0b46a89/0_162_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=e35f22a6f032a96f66db26a254d10600" height="419" width="698"></picture><figcaption dir="auto">Anya Taylor-Joy as Beth Harmon, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Benny, in the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit. Photograph: Netflix</figcaption></figure>You don’t have to be a polymath like Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit to improve your game <img src="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/10/09/Stephen-Moss,-L.png?width=300&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=328b92e71e0d150dec1226d6fc09dae1" alt="Stephen Moss" width="60" height="60">The first thing to say about chess is that we are not all natural geniuses like Beth Harmon, the star of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/oct/23/the-queens-gambit-review-chess-anya-taylor-joy-walter-tevis-netflix" data-link-name="in body link" dir="ltr">The Queen’s Gambit</a>, who is taught the game by grumpy but lovable janitor Mr Shaibel at the age of nine and is very soon beating him.The daughter of a maths PhD, she sees the patterns and movement in chess immediately, can visualise effortlessly – being able to memorise moves and play without a board is the sign of chess mastery – and sees whole games on the ceiling of her orphanage dormitory. She is a prodigy, just like <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Queens-Gambit-Penguin-Modern-Classics/dp/0141190388" data-link-name="in body link" dir="ltr">world champion Bobby Fischer, on whom Walter Tevis based the novel</a> from which the TV series is drawn. We are mere mortals. So how do we get good?<UL><LI>First, by loving chess. “You can only get good at chess if you love the game,” Fischer said. You need to be endlessly fascinated by it and see its infinite potential. Be willing to embrace the complexity; enjoy the adventure. Every game should be an education and teach us something. Losing doesn’t matter. Garry Kasparov, another former world champion, likes to say you learn far more from your defeats than your victories. Eventually you will start winning, but there will be a lot of losses on the way. Play people who are better than you, and be prepared to lose. Then you will learn. </LI><LI>If you are a beginner, <a href="https://www.chesstech.org/2020/the-best-way-to-teach-chess-for/" data-link-name="in body link" dir="ltr">don’t feel the need to set out all the pieces at once</a>. Start with the pawns, and then add the pieces. Understand the potential of each piece – the way a pair of bishops can dominate the board, how the rooks can sweep up pawns in an endgame, why the queen and a knight can work together so harmoniously. Find a good teacher – your own Mr Shaibel, but without the communication issues.</LI></UL><UL><LI>Once you have established the basics, start using computers and online resources to play and to help you analyse games. <a href="http://lichess.org/" data-link-name="in body link" dir="ltr">lichess.org</a>, <a href="http://chess.com/" data-link-name="in body link" dir="ltr">chess.com</a> and <a href="http://chess24.com/" data-link-name="in body link" dir="ltr">chess24.com</a> are great sites for playing and learning. <a href="http://chessbomb.com/" data-link-name="in body link" dir="ltr">chessbomb.com</a> is a brilliant resource for watching top tournaments. <a href="http://chessgames.com/" data-link-name="in body link" dir="ltr">chessgames.com</a> is a wonderful database of games. <a href="http://chesspuzzle.net/" data-link-name="in body link" dir="ltr">chesspuzzle.net</a> is a great practice program. <a href="http://decodechess.com/" data-link-name="in body link" dir="ltr">decodechess.com</a> attempts to explain chess moves in layperson’s language. There are also plenty of sophisticated, all-purpose programs, usually called chess engines, such as Fritz and HIARCs that, for around £50, help you deconstruct your games and take you deeply into positions. But don’t let the computer do all the work. You need to engage your own brain on the analysis. And don’t endlessly play against the computer. Find human opponents, either online or, when the pandemic is over, in person. </LI></UL><figure><picture itemprop="contentUrl"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/263fec044683a8cbf0145065c6c630ed5c801ab4/0_141_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=620&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=65aa794ced4f37fca7a8c501ac43016d 1240w" media="(min-width: 980px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 980px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/263fec044683a8cbf0145065c6c630ed5c801ab4/0_141_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=620&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=1f93295131c5c07fcf4e39014cad7b7d 620w" media="(min-width: 980px)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/263fec044683a8cbf0145065c6c630ed5c801ab4/0_141_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=620&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=65aa794ced4f37fca7a8c501ac43016d 1240w" media="(min-width: 740px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 740px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/263fec044683a8cbf0145065c6c630ed5c801ab4/0_141_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=620&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=1f93295131c5c07fcf4e39014cad7b7d 620w" media="(min-width: 740px)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/263fec044683a8cbf0145065c6c630ed5c801ab4/0_141_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=620&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=65aa794ced4f37fca7a8c501ac43016d 1240w" media="(min-width: 660px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 660px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/263fec044683a8cbf0145065c6c630ed5c801ab4/0_141_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=620&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=1f93295131c5c07fcf4e39014cad7b7d 620w" media="(min-width: 660px)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/263fec044683a8cbf0145065c6c630ed5c801ab4/0_141_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=605&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=4c080bbcf306657cf0f634f92fbeb4fd 1210w" media="(min-width: 480px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 480px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/263fec044683a8cbf0145065c6c630ed5c801ab4/0_141_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=605&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=3cca86b9de5562bb316fcef07afee6e8 605w" media="(min-width: 480px)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/263fec044683a8cbf0145065c6c630ed5c801ab4/0_141_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=445&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=aa54c0a318e1b4b159399f3679e682d2 890w" media="(min-width: 375px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 375px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/263fec044683a8cbf0145065c6c630ed5c801ab4/0_141_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=445&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=ad8aca7136bec1054ef54f6505c52b7c 445w" media="(min-width: 375px)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/263fec044683a8cbf0145065c6c630ed5c801ab4/0_141_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=445&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=aa54c0a318e1b4b159399f3679e682d2 890w" media="(min-width: 320px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 320px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/263fec044683a8cbf0145065c6c630ed5c801ab4/0_141_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=445&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=ad8aca7136bec1054ef54f6505c52b7c 445w" media="(min-width: 320px)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/263fec044683a8cbf0145065c6c630ed5c801ab4/0_141_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=445&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=aa54c0a318e1b4b159399f3679e682d2 890w" media="(min-width: 0px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 0px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"><source srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/263fec044683a8cbf0145065c6c630ed5c801ab4/0_141_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=445&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=ad8aca7136bec1054ef54f6505c52b7c 445w" media="(min-width: 0px)"><img alt="Bobby Fischer was stripped of his world title in 1975 after he refused to defend the title due to a row over the format." src="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/263fec044683a8cbf0145065c6c630ed5c801ab4/0_141_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=445&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=aa54c0a318e1b4b159399f3679e682d2" height="371" width="618"></picture><figcaption dir="auto">Bobby Fischer was stripped of his world title in 1975 after he refused to defend the title due to a row over the format. Photograph: RFS/AP</figcaption></figure><UL><LI>Study the games of great masters of the past. Find a player you like and follow their careers. Fischer is a great starting point – his play is clear and comprehensible, and beautifully described in his famous book My 60 Memorable Games. Morphy (Harmon’s favourite), Alekhine, Capablanca, Tal, Korchnoi and Shirov are other legendary figures with whom the aspiring player might identify. They also have fascinating life stories, and chess is about hot human emotions as well as cold calculation. Modern grandmaster chess, which is based heavily on a deep knowledge of opening theory, is more abstruse and may be best avoided until you have acquired deep expertise. The current crop of leading grandmasters are also, if we are brutally honest, a bit lacking in personality compared with the giants of the past. </LI><LI>Children will often find their school has a chess club, and that club may even have links with <a href="https://www.chessinschools.co.uk/" data-link-name="in body link" dir="ltr">Chess in Schools and Communities</a>, which supplies expert tutors to schools. Provision tends to be much better at primary than secondary level, and after 11 children will probably be left to their own devices if they want to carry on playing.</LI></UL><UL><LI>If a player is really serious, she or he should join their local chess club. There is likely to be one meeting nearby, or there will be once the Covid crisis is over. At the moment, clubs are not meeting and there is very little over-the-board chess being played. Players are keeping their brains active online, where you can meet players from all over the world. That is fun, but be aware that some players are likely to be cheating – using chess engines to help them, making it hard for you to assess how good your play is. And you also get some abuse online from players who want to trash-talk. You are also likely to be playing at very fast time controls – so-called blitz chess – and that is no way to learn to really think about chess. </LI><LI>If you want to start playing over-the-board tournaments (when they resume), you will need to join the chess federation in your respective country. After you’ve played the requisite number of official games, you will get a rating – a bit like a handicap in golf – and can then start being paired with players of your own strength in matches. But until then, the key is to keep enjoying chess and searching for the elusive “truth” in a position. If you see a good move, look for a better one. You can always dig a little deeper in the pursuit of something remarkable and counterintuitive. Beauty and truth: the essence of chess.</LI></UL>Stephen Moss is the author of <a href="https://guardianbookshop.com/the-rookie-9781408189726.html" data-link-name="in body link" dir="ltr">The Rookie: An Odyssey through Chess (and Life)</a>, published by Bloomsbury<div data-print-layout="hide">Topics</div>

You don’t have to be a polymath like Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit to improve your game

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You don’t have to be a polymath like Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit to improve your game

T he first thing to say about chess is that we are not all natural geniuses like Beth Harmon, the star of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/oct/23/the-queens-gambit-review-chess-anya-taylor-joy-walter-tevis-netflix">The Queen’s Gambit </a>, who is taught the game by grumpy but lovable janitor Mr Shaibel at the age of nine and is very soon beating him.

The daughter of a maths PhD, she sees the patterns and movement in chess immediately, can visualise effortlessly – being able to memorise moves and play without a board is the sign of chess mastery – and sees whole games on the ceiling of her orphanage dormitory. She is a prodigy, just like <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Queens-Gambit-Penguin-Modern-Classics/dp/0141190388">world champion Bobby Fischer, on whom Walter Tevis based the novel </a>from which the TV series is drawn. We are mere mortals. So how do we get good?

<ul><li>First, by loving chess. “You can only get good at chess if you love the game,” Fischer said. You need to be endlessly fascinated by it and see its infinite potential. Be willing to embrace the complexity; enjoy the adventure. Every game should be an education and teach us something. Losing doesn’t matter. Garry Kasparov, another former world champion, likes to say you learn far more from your defeats than your victories. Eventually you will start winning, but there will be a lot of losses on the way. Play people who are better than you, and be prepared to lose. Then you will learn. </li><li>If you are a beginner, <a href="https://www.chesstech.org/2020/the-best-way-to-teach-chess-for/">don’t feel the need to set out all the pieces at once </a>. Start with the pawns, and then add the pieces. Understand the potential of each piece – the way a pair of bishops can dominate the board, how the rooks can sweep up pawns in an endgame, why the queen and a knight can work together so harmoniously. Find a good teacher – your own Mr Shaibel, but without the communication issues. </li> </ul>

<ul><li>Once you have established the basics, start using computers and online resources to play and to help you analyse games. <a href="http://lichess.org/">lichess.org </a>, <a href="http://chess.com/">chess.com </a>and <a href="http://chess24.com/">chess24.com </a>are great sites for playing and learning. <a href="http://chessbomb.com/">chessbomb.com </a>is a brilliant resource for watching top tournaments. <a href="http://chessgames.com/">chessgames.com </a>is a wonderful database of games. <a href="http://chesspuzzle.net/">chesspuzzle.net </a>is a great practice program. <a href="http://decodechess.com/">decodechess.com </a>attempts to explain chess moves in layperson’s language. There are also plenty of sophisticated, all-purpose programs, usually called chess engines, such as Fritz and HIARCs that, for around £50, help you deconstruct your games and take you deeply into positions. But don’t let the computer do all the work. You need to engage your own brain on the analysis. And don’t endlessly play against the computer. Find human opponents, either online or, when the pandemic is over, in person. </li> </ul>

<ul><li>Study the games of great masters of the past. Find a player you like and follow their careers. Fischer is a great starting point – his play is clear and comprehensible, and beautifully described in his famous book My 60 Memorable Games. Morphy (Harmon’s favourite), Alekhine, Capablanca, Tal, Korchnoi and Shirov are other legendary figures with whom the aspiring player might identify. They also have fascinating life stories, and chess is about hot human emotions as well as cold calculation. Modern grandmaster chess, which is based heavily on a deep knowledge of opening theory, is more abstruse and may be best avoided until you have acquired deep expertise. The current crop of leading grandmasters are also, if we are brutally honest, a bit lacking in personality compared with the giants of the past. </li><li>Children will often find their school has a chess club, and that club may even have links with <a href="https://www.chessinschools.co.uk/">Chess in Schools and Communities </a>, which supplies expert tutors to schools. Provision tends to be much better at primary than secondary level, and after 11 children will probably be left to their own devices if they want to carry on playing. </li> </ul>

<ul><li>If a player is really serious, she or he should join their local chess club. There is likely to be one meeting nearby, or there will be once the Covid crisis is over. At the moment, clubs are not meeting and there is very little over-the-board chess being played. Players are keeping their brains active online, where you can meet players from all over the world. That is fun, but be aware that some players are likely to be cheating – using chess engines to help them, making it hard for you to assess how good your play is. And you also get some abuse online from players who want to trash-talk. You are also likely to be playing at very fast time controls – so-called blitz chess – and that is no way to learn to really think about chess. </li><li>If you want to start playing over-the-board tournaments (when they resume), you will need to join the chess federation in your respective country. After you’ve played the requisite number of official games, you will get a rating – a bit like a handicap in golf – and can then start being paired with players of your own strength in matches. But until then, the key is to keep enjoying chess and searching for the elusive “truth” in a position. If you see a good move, look for a better one. You can always dig a little deeper in the pursuit of something remarkable and counterintuitive. Beauty and truth: the essence of chess. </li> </ul>

Stephen Moss is the author of <a href="https://guardianbookshop.com/the-rookie-9781408189726.html">The Rookie: An Odyssey through Chess (and Life) </a>, published by Bloomsbury

How to get good at chess

Love the game

The beginner

Study the games of great masters of the past

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