All modules

Beginner

Chess Fundamentals

The beginner's path: how to win, opening principles, the basic checkmates, draws, tactics, and strategy. Hands-on, with engine-verified puzzles.

1. Winning the Game

What it actually means to win — checkmate — and the other ways a game ends. See checkmate and stalemate on the board, then deliver mate yourself.

2. Starting the Game (White)

The three opening principles, two reliable ways to start as White, and the trap every beginner should know.

3. Starting the Game (Black)

The same principles apply when you're a move behind: meet 1.e4 and 1.d4 with sound, easy-to-learn systems — and punish White if they overreach.

★ Checkpoint: Winning & Openings

A quick retrieval check on the first three lessons — how games end, and how to start one. No new ideas; just make sure they stuck.

4. Basic Checkmates

The mates you'll convert again and again: two rooks, king and queen, king and rook. Learn the technique, then deliver it against the engine.

5. Mating Material

Not every advantage can force mate. See which pieces can finish the job, the famous exception, and how to avoid throwing away a win by stalemate — then mate with two rooks yourself.

6. King and Pawn Endgames

The most important endgame to own: how to escort a pawn home. The opposition, key squares, and the 'square of the pawn' — learn them, then convert against the engine.

7. Draws

Half a point is sometimes the best result available. Know every way a game can end in a draw — both to claim them and to avoid them when you're winning.

★ Checkpoint: Mates, Endgames & Draws

Retrieval check on the endgame run — what can force mate, how to escort a pawn, and every way a game is drawn.

8. Piece Vision & Safe Moves

The habit that wins more games than any opening: see what attacks what, never hang a piece, and always ask what your opponent is up to before you move.

9. Tactics: Winning Material

Tactics win games. Put your piece vision to work with the four you'll use every game: take what's hanging, the fork, the skewer, and the pin.

10. Beginner Strategy

When nothing is forcing, strategy decides your move: target weaknesses, claim space, and know which pieces thrive in which positions.

★ Checkpoint: Tactics & Strategy

Retrieval check on winning material and choosing a plan — name the tactics and pick the right strategic idea.

11. Defending

Attacks get the glory, but knowing how to defend wins just as many games. Learn the three replies to a check, how to spot the one move that holds, and how to trade and tidy your way out of trouble.