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CHESS 101FreeMind games

Chess 101: From the rules to your first real game

Chess for anyone 16 and over, from scratch: the rules, what pieces are worth, hanging pieces, mating with queen and rook, scanning before every move and opening on principle. Every lesson trains a named thinking habit on a real board, with puzzles from the Lichess database.

  • Beginner
  • About 7 to 9 hours
  • 8 sections
  • 38 lessons
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Course outline

  1. Section 1

    Getting started

    • Where are you now?

      Check · 12 min

    • What this course trains

      Lesson · 5 min

    • Getting around the board

      Lesson · 8 min

  2. Section 2

    The board and the pieces

    • Squares, ranks, files and their names

      Lesson · 8 min

    • Rook, bishop, queen: straight and diagonal

      Lesson · 12 min

    • The knight jumps, the king steps, the pawn advances

      Lesson · 12 min

    • Three special moves

      Lesson · 12 min

    • Check, checkmate, stalemate

      Lesson · 12 min

    • Find every check

      Practice · 15 min

    • Looking back at chapter 1

      Lesson · 5 min

  3. Section 3

    What each piece is worth

    • 1, 3, 3, 5, 9: the price list and when it lies

      Lesson · 8 min

    • Trading: gain or loss?

      Lesson · 10 min

    • Pieces left hanging

      Lesson · 10 min

    • Take the hanging piece, keep yours safe

      Practice · 20 min

    • What does that move threaten?

      Practice · 15 min

    • Looking back at chapter 2

      Lesson · 5 min

  4. Section 4

    Checkmate

    • Queen and king against a lone king

      Lesson · 15 min

    • Rook and king: slower but sure

      Lesson · 10 min

    • The back-rank mate

      Lesson · 10 min

    • Mating patterns you will meet

      Lesson · 12 min

    • Mate in one

      Practice · 20 min

    • Mate in two

      Practice · 25 min

    • Looking back at chapter 3

      Lesson · 5 min

  5. Section 5

    Scan before you move

    • Checks, captures, threats, in that order

      Lesson · 12 min

    • Three candidate moves, then choose

      Lesson · 12 min

    • The blunder check

      Lesson · 12 min

    • Scan the position

      Practice · 20 min

    • Find the best move

      Practice · 25 min

    • Looking back at chapter 4

      Lesson · 5 min

  6. Section 6

    Starting a game

    • Centre, development, castling

      Lesson · 12 min

    • Traps in the first moves

      Lesson · 12 min

    • When the opponent goes off the book

      Lesson · 8 min

    • The principled next move

      Practice · 12 min

    • Looking back at chapter 5

      Lesson · 5 min

  7. Section 7

    A whole game

    • A short game, with questions

      Lesson · 20 min

    • Mixed review

      Practice · 25 min

    • How far have you come?

      Check · 12 min

    • What you will take with you

      Lesson · 5 min

  8. Section 8

    Final exam

    • Final exam

      Quiz · 30 min

    • After the exam

      Lesson · 5 min