💡 10 chess tips for beginners

1. 1

   Before every move, look for checks, captures and threats

   Yours and your opponent's. This one habit wins more games than any opening.

2. 2

   Control the center

   Pawns and pieces in the middle four squares can go anywhere. Start with e4 or d4.

3. 3

   Develop your knights and bishops

   Get them off the back row in the first few moves, before moving any piece twice.

4. 4

   Castle early

   Castling tucks your king away and brings a rook into the game, in one move.

5. 5

   Don't bring your queen out too soon

   Your opponent will chase her with smaller pieces and develop while you run.

6. 6

   Protect your pieces

   Ask "what is my opponent threatening?" after every move they make.

7. 7

   Trade when you're ahead

   Up a piece? Swap pieces you're equal in, and the extra one counts for more and more.

8. 8

   Put your rooks on open files

   A column with no pawns is a highway for a rook.

9. 9

   Learn the basic checkmates

   King and queen against a king, and king and rook against a king. Without them, a won game can end in a draw.

10. 10

    Do a puzzle a dayOurs

    Puzzles train your eye to see tactics. Peabody has a new one every day.

Peabody's own ranking of the advice chess teachers give beginners, in the order it helps most. Checked 6 November 2026.

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