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Your First Openings · Kapilash Chess Academy

What the Opening Is For

Centre, development, king safety

In this lesson you will learn

  • The three jobs of the opening
  • How to count development
  • Why moving the same piece twice costs time
  • A simple plan for your first ten moves

Every board on this page is live. Move the pieces by tapping or dragging, click any move in the lines to see that position, and press ↺ to start again.

1.1 Three Jobs

In Chess from Zero you learned three golden rules. Now we use them in real openings. In the first ten moves you have three jobs: fight for the centre, develop your knights and bishops, and castle. A player who does all three is ready for the middlegame; a player who does not is often lost before the fight begins.

  1. Move one or two centre pawns: e4 and d4 (e5 and d5 for Black).
  2. Develop knights before bishops — knights have only one good square, bishops have several.
  3. Castle, usually on the kingside.
  4. Connect your rooks: when no pieces stand between them, the opening is over.
Diagram 1.1White to move

A model start

Both players follow the rules. Count the pieces each side brings out.

After twelve moves both sides have a centre pawn, both knights or bishops developed, and the king castled. Neither side has wasted a move. This is what a healthy opening looks like.

Diagram 1.2White to move

Breaking the rules

Here White brings the queen out early and Black develops with gain of time.

White’s queen has moved three times and is still not safe; Black has developed two knights and is ready to continue. Every move spent saving the queen is a move not spent on development.

Remember

  1. Centre, development, king safety.
  2. Knights before bishops.
  3. Do not move the same piece twice without a reason.
  4. Castle early and connect the rooks.

Exercises · Lesson 1

Every exercise has been checked with a chess engine. Find the best move or choose the right answer.

Solve these 9 exercises on the boardCreate a free account to check your moves, open hints and solutions, and save your progress.
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Exercise 1.1Question
White to move

White to move. Which first move follows the opening rules best?

Exercise 1.2Find the move
Black to move

Black to move. White’s queen attacks e5 and f7. Defend e5 and develop at the same time.

Exercise 1.3Find the move
White to move

White to move. Find the strongest move.

Exercise 1.4Find the move
Black to move

Black to move. Find the strongest move.

Exercise 1.5Find the move
Black to move

Black to move. Find the strongest move.

Exercise 1.6Find the move
White to move

White to move. Find the strongest move.

Exercise 1.7Find the move
White to move

White to move. Find the strongest move.

Exercise 1.8Find the move
Black to move

Black to move. Find the strongest move.

Exercise 1.9Find the move
White to move

White to move. Find the strongest move.