Lesson 1: Start Playing Chess Without Memorising Anything ♟️

 

This 52-week programme has been created to turn chess into a steady learning habit, where each week adds knowledge, judgment, and strategic vision.If you are here, it is because you want to learn chess in a clear, practical, and uncomplicated way. Perfect: this course is designed so you can start playing from the very beginning.

2. Place the Pieces Without Studying Their Moves Yet

We are not going to study theory yet. Today, we simply want the board to be fully set up so you can start playing as soon as possible.

Back Rank: The Main Pieces

Rooks go in the corners.
Knights go next to the rooks.
Bishops go next to the knights.
The queen goes on her own colour: white queen on a white square, black queen on a black square.
The king goes next to the queen.

Front Rank: The Pawns

The 8 pawns go in front of the main pieces.

3. The Idea Behind This Course

This course is not about theory for the sake of theory. It is useful chess:

A short explanation, just enough to understand.
A clear example, using a position or a move.
A mini-mission, something you do yourself on the board.

Today’s Mini-Mission

Set up the board in the starting position.
Look at the board for 30 seconds and find the 2 kings and the 2 queens.
Find the rooks in the corners and the pawns at the front.

4. Next Lesson: This Is Where It Gets Interesting

In Lesson 2, we will start moving the pieces:

How the king and queen move.
What it means to attack a piece.
How to avoid the first typical mistake: moving without looking.

Note: we do not use the notebook in this chapter. The notebook will appear later, when we start looking at games or move sequences.

Tip: if you are following this course with a real board, leave it set up at home. You will learn much faster.