Chess
Chess keeps the mind sharp, can be played in person or online for free, and welcomes players of every age. A single game can be a satisfying afternoon.
What you need to start
- A chess set or a free app
- A willingness to lose a few games
- A basic guide to the pieces
- An opponent or a computer
At a glance
Your learning path
Three stages, taken at your own pace. Start at the top, get comfortable, then move down as you grow. There is no rush, and no wrong place to begin.
Start right here. These four videos teach you the board, how every piece moves, how to deliver checkmate, the handful of opening rules that matter, and your first simple tactics. Watch one a day, no rush, and play a few slow games in between.
How To Play Chess: The Ultimate Beginner Guide
GothamChess6 Checkmate Patterns YOU MUST KNOW
GothamChessChess Basics: Opening Principles
thechesswebsiteThe Chess Tactics Guide For Beginners: Forks, Pins, Skewers
Chess VibesOnce you know the rules and have played a few dozen games, this is where you really start winning more. These five lessons sharpen your tactics, give you a couple of reliable openings, teach the most important endgame, help you form a plan in the middle of the game, and show you how to learn from your own games.
Every Chess Tactic Explained: Fork, Pin, Skewer and More
About ChessBasic Chess Openings Explained
GothamChessKing and Pawn Endgames - GM Yasser Seirawan
Saint Louis Chess ClubThe 10 Best Chess Plans For The Middlegame
Chess VibesHow To Analyze Your Chess Games
GothamChessReady to go deeper? These five lessons build a real opening repertoire, teach positional understanding and pawn structure, cover advanced endgame technique, train your calculation and board vision, and show you how to study the games of the masters. This is the work that takes you from good to genuinely strong.
How to Build an Opening Repertoire
Hanging PawnsPawn Structure - GM Yasser Seirawan
Saint Louis Chess ClubRook & Pawn Endgames - GM Yasser Seirawan
Saint Louis Chess ClubCalculating | Chess Puzzles - GM Ronen Har-Zvi
Saint Louis Chess ClubHow To Review Grandmaster Games
ChessableWhy chess is wonderful after 50
Chess is one of the best things you can do for your mind after 50. Every game asks you to plan ahead, weigh choices, and remember patterns, which keeps your thinking sharp and gives you that satisfying feeling of always learning something new. It is also wonderfully social, whether you are sitting across a real board at a club or trading moves with a grandchild. Best of all, it never closes: with a free account you can play a friendly game online any hour of the day or night, from your favorite chair, against people all over the world or a computer set to your level.
Your first month, week by week
Learn the board and how each piece moves and captures. Do not worry about winning yet. Set the pieces up correctly (white square on your right), and play a few slow games just getting comfortable. Watch the beginner rules video and follow along on a real board if you have one.
Learn to checkmate a lone king with a queen and a rook, and practice the two-rook 'ladder' mate. Knowing how to finish a game gives you confidence. Start a free account on chess.com or lichess.org and play a few 10- or 15-minute games.
Focus on opening principles: control the center, develop your knights and bishops, and castle your king to safety early. Try not to move the same piece twice or bring your queen out too soon. Play daily and notice these ideas in your games.
Add simple tactics: look for forks, pins, and skewers on every move. Before each move, ask 'is anything of mine being attacked, and can I attack two things at once?' Do a few free daily puzzles to train your eye, and review one of your games.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Moving the same piece several times in the opening. In the opening, move each piece once to a good square before moving it again. Aim to get all your knights and bishops out and castle before launching an attack.
- Ignoring development and bringing the queen out too early. Develop your minor pieces (knights and bishops) first and castle. An early queen just gets chased around and wastes your time.
- Hanging pieces by leaving them undefended. Before every move, check whether the piece you are moving, or any other piece, can be captured for free. Make this a habit on every single turn.
- Playing without any plan. Ask a simple question each move: what is my worst-placed piece, and how do I improve it? Improving your pieces is always a good plan.
- Memorizing opening moves without understanding them. Learn the ideas behind the moves, like why you put a bishop on a certain square, instead of memorizing long lines. Understanding holds up when your opponent plays something unexpected.
- Rushing your moves, especially online. Slow down. Choose longer time controls (10 to 30 minutes) so you have time to look for your opponent's threats before you move.
Make it easier on your body
Simple ways to keep chess comfortable and safe with arthritis, low vision, or limited mobility.
- Low vision or trouble telling pieces apart. Use a large-print, high-contrast board with bold black-and-white or black-and-cream pieces. Online, both chess.com and lichess let you switch to high-contrast piece sets and large board themes.
- Difficulty seeing or feeling where pieces sit. Tactile boards made for visually impaired players have raised dark squares, and pieces that peg into holes so they cannot be knocked over. Many also mark the white pieces with a small pin on top so you can tell the colors by touch.
- Limited mobility or trouble getting out to a club. Play from your own chair on chess.com or lichess.org. You can adjust the board size on screen, play at any hour, and choose opponents at your exact level or a patient computer.
- Arthritis or a weaker grip. Choose larger, weighted Staunton pieces with a wide base. They are easier to grasp and pick up, and they stay put on the board instead of tipping over.
- Eye strain during long games. Set up good, even lighting over the board with no glare, and take short breaks. A board with a matte (non-shiny) finish reduces reflections that tire the eyes.
- Slower play or limited time at the board. Try correspondence or 'daily' chess online, where you have hours or days to make each move. You play whenever it suits you, at your own pace, with no clock pressure.
Words you'll hear
- Castling
- A special move where your king and one rook move at the same time to tuck the king safely into a corner. It is the only time you move two of your own pieces in one turn.
- Fork
- When one of your pieces attacks two (or more) enemy pieces at once. The opponent can only save one, so you usually win the other. Knights are famous for forks.
- Pin
- When a piece cannot move (or should not) because a more valuable piece sits right behind it. If it is the king behind, the pinned piece is stuck by the rules.
- En passant
- A special pawn capture. If an enemy pawn moves two squares forward and lands right beside your pawn, you may capture it as if it had only moved one square, but only on your very next move.
- Fianchetto
- Developing a bishop onto the long diagonal by first moving the knight's pawn one square (for example, bishop to g2). The bishop then rakes across the whole board.
- Zugzwang
- A situation, common in endgames, where any move a player makes only makes their position worse, but they are forced to move anyway. Being on the move becomes a disadvantage.
Where to find your people
- Local chess clubs. Most towns have a chess club that meets weekly at a cafe, community center, or church hall. Players are usually welcoming to newcomers of any age and happy to teach. Search '[your town] chess club' to find one near you.
- Senior centers. Many senior and community centers host regular chess or game afternoons. It is a relaxed, friendly way to play in person and meet others your age who enjoy the game.
- Public libraries. Libraries often run free chess meetups and keep boards on hand. Some pair it with lessons for beginners. Ask at your local branch or check their events calendar.
- Chess.com and Lichess.org. These free websites have huge, friendly communities. You can play games any time, solve puzzles, join groups, watch lessons, and chat with players worldwide, all from home.
- US Chess Federation. The national organization (uschess.org) lists affiliated clubs and rated tournaments across the country, including casual events that welcome older and newer players. A great way to find organized play near you.
Start learning Chess
Sign up for our free, friendly lessons and we will help you take the first step. Tell us where you are starting from and we will meet you there.
