Learn
Recap: a healthy opening
Get ready, then play.
Whatever your first move, the plan is the same: grab a share of the center, develop your knights and bishops toward it, castle, and connect your rooks — and don't go queen-hunting too early. Pick one 1.e4 and one 1.d4 setup you like and play them until they're automatic.
The fastest way to learn an opening is to play it. Start a game and put the three goals into practice.
- Center, develop, castle — every game.
- Knights and bishops before the queen.
- Know Scholar's Mate so it never catches you.