How to Get Better at Chess: Openings, Tactics and Endgames
Most people try to improve at chess from the wrong end: memorising openings. It's the most visible part of the game and the part that wins the fewest games below 1600 Elo. Down there, games are decided by hanging pieces, forks nobody saw, and won endgames thrown away because neither player knew how to finish.
This guide goes in the order that actually works: understand the opening without memorising it, drill tactics, and learn the four endgames you can't do without.
Part 1 · The opening: three principles, zero memorisation
You don't need move 12 of the Sicilian. You need three ideas.
1. Take and contest the centre
d4, e4, d5 and e5 are the centre. A piece in the centre reaches more squares: a knight on e4 covers eight, a knight on a1 covers two. Open with a central pawn (1.e4 or 1.d4) and aim your pieces there.
2. Develop, and develop fast
Get knights and bishops onto active squares before you attack anything. Two practical rules:
- Don't move the same piece twice in the opening without a good reason. Every repeat is a move your opponent spends developing something new.
- Don't bring the queen out early. She's the most valuable and the easiest to harass: your opponent develops with tempo while you shuffle her around.
3. Castle within the first ten moves
Castling does two things at once: it tucks the king into a corner and activates a rook. Most quick losses are attacks on a king still sitting in the centre when the position opens up.
A mental checklist as the opening ends: do I have a central pawn? are both knights and both bishops out? have I castled? Three yeses means you came out of the opening fine, whatever you played.
Part 2 · Tactics: where games are actually won
A tactic is a short forcing sequence that wins material or delivers mate. These four patterns account for most of the material that changes hands:
| Pattern | What it is |
|---|---|
| Fork | One piece attacks two targets at once. The knight is the king of forks. |
| Pin | A piece can't move because something more valuable sits behind it. |
| Skewer | A pin in reverse: the valuable piece is in front and moving it drops the one behind. |
| Double attack | Two threats at once; your opponent can only stop one. |
The habit worth the most rating
Before every move, ask two questions:
- What did my opponent's last move threaten? The overwhelming majority of beginner mistakes are carrying on with your own plan while ignoring that the opponent just threatened something.
- What's undefended? Scan your pieces and theirs. Tactics almost always grow out of a hanging piece or an exposed king.
It feels slow. After a hundred games it's automatic, and it's worth hundreds of rating points.
Count before you trade
Pawn 1, knight 3, bishop 3, rook 5, queen 9. Before capturing, count how many pieces attack the square and how many defend it. If you attack twice and they defend twice, the capture loses material.
Part 3 · The four endgames you must know
An enormous number of winning positions end in draws because nobody knows how to convert:
- King and queen vs king. Push the enemy king to the edge with the queen a knight's move away, walk your own king up, then mate. Watch for stalemate: no legal moves and not in check is a draw.
- King and rook vs king. The staircase method: rook and king squeeze rank by rank until the king is cornered.
- King and pawn vs king. Opposition decides it: kings facing each other with one square between them; whoever does not have to move is in charge.
- Rook and pawn endings. The most common ending of all. Golden rule: the rook belongs behind the passed pawn, yours or theirs.
Part 4 · How to actually study
- Play long games. Blitz reinforces what you already know; it teaches nothing new. Learning needs time to calculate.
- Review your losses. Export the PGN and find the exact move where the position turned. You rarely need an engine — usually you can see it yourself.
- Tactics daily. Fifteen minutes a day beats three hours on Sunday.
- Raise the difficulty gradually. An opponent who always beats you teaches nothing; one who beats you half the time teaches plenty.
A four-week plan
- Week 1: openings only. Centre, development, castled before move 10.
- Week 2: the two questions before every move.
- Week 3: the four tactical patterns, hunting for them actively.
- Week 4: endgames. Queen vs king and rook vs king until they're automatic.
Once those four weeks are habit, you'll have gone from moving pieces to playing chess. Start now against the AI and move up a level whenever you win twice in a row.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to get better at chess?
With consistent practice most beginners gain 200–400 Elo within a few months. Daily tactics and reviewing your losses are what accelerate progress the most.
Which opening should I learn first?
None in particular. Apply the three principles — centre, development, castling — and you'll reach move 10 comfortably against anything. Studying specific lines starts paying off around 1600 Elo.
Are fast or slow games better for improving?
Slow. In blitz you repeat what you already know; with more time you calculate variations and discover your real mistakes. Save fast games for practising what you've already mastered.
How do I stop hanging pieces?
Before every move, ask what your opponent threatens and which pieces are undefended. That two-second check removes most mistakes below 1500 Elo.
Is playing against a computer useful?
Yes, if you set the level right. An opponent who always wins teaches nothing; find a difficulty where you win roughly half your games, then move up.