Through years of coaching, our chess instructors have picked up a lot of insights, especially when it comes to beginners. Being a chess instructor requires an in depth understanding of the common mistakes beginners make, and how to address them. Today, we’ll share our insights with you so you can point your ship in the right direction from Day 1. Here are the three most common beginner chess mistakes, and how to fix them.
Mistake 1: Bringing Out Your Queen Too Early
The queen has a certain allure, tempting new players to make one of the most common chess mistakes we see; developing the queen much too early in the game. Being the most powerful piece on your side of the board, it makes complete sense on the surface to get her out there and threatening pieces as early as possible. What better way to control the board than to bring the offense early, right?
The mistake that most beginner chess players don’t see is that this allows your queen to be threatened very early. Early stages of your game should be dedicated to developing a strong presence. If your queen is being threatened in this stage of the game, your turns are spent keeping her safe, giving your opponent time to take control.
Mistake 2: Forgetting to Castle Your King
As far as chess mistakes go, this one is quite common. It’s a simple idea, and that makes it that much easier to forget. Your king starts in the middle, as he should, he is the King after all! You should keep in mind though, that the center of your side of the board is wide open, and easy to target from multiple angles. Especially when you are starting out as a beginner in chess, keeping track of all the threat vectors can be overwhelming. Once you get into the habit of whisking your king away to a safe position in the corner of the board, you’ll find keeping him safe is much easier, and less of your attention is dedicated to calculating all the ways he could come under fire.
Mistake 3: Playing Without a Strategy
Picking a strategy and sticking to it really is the hardest part about picking up the game of chess. As a beginner chess player, reacting to your opponent is so much easier than forcing them to react to you. This is where an amazing chess instructor can help so much, giving players a strategy to stick to and try, even a terrible one, can be a valuable experience. Sticking to a plan gives you insights about its weaknesses, strengths, and ways it forced your opponent to react. Having a skilled teacher by your side is very valuable here, in helping you define a plan, stick to it, and learn from the results.
If you find yourself making these mistakes, you’re on the right track! Being here and identifying them is the best thing you can do for your game. For new players, chess can be as overwhelming as it is fun. If you need help getting over that initial learning phase, we have some of the best chess instructors around. Enroll in a club or private lesson, or contact us at https://www.premierchesscoaching.com/contact/