How to Learn Chess in One Afternoon

Yasmin Monzon
Dec 1, 2024
2 min read

Chess can look intimidating—64 squares, strange piece names, and endless strategies. But here’s the secret: you don’t need years of study to start playing. With just one afternoon, you can learn the basics and be ready to enjoy your first real game.

Step 1: Know the Goal

The objective of chess is simple: checkmate your opponent’s king. Checkmate means the king is under attack and has no safe square to move to. Everything else in the game is just the path to get there.

Step 2: Learn the Board

The board has 64 squares, alternating light and dark.
Each player starts with 16 pieces.
Always place the board so a white square is in your bottom-right corner.

Step 3: Learn the Pieces

Each piece moves in its own way:

Pawn: Moves forward one square (two on its first move), captures diagonally.
Rook: Moves straight in rows or columns.
Knight: Moves in an “L” shape—two squares in one direction, then one square sideways.
Bishop: Moves diagonally across the board.
Queen: The most powerful—moves any number of squares in any direction.
King: Moves one square in any direction. Protect this piece at all costs!

Quick memory trick: Pawns crawl, rooks run straight, bishops slide diagonally, knights jump, queens do everything, and kings shuffle carefully.

Step 4: Special Rules to Know

Castling: A special move to protect your king and activate your rook.
En Passant: A sneaky pawn capture when an opponent’s pawn jumps two spaces.
Pawn Promotion: If a pawn reaches the far side, you can turn it into any piece (usually a queen).

Step 5: Play an Opening

Don’t overthink it. Just follow this beginner’s formula:

Move your pawns in front of your king and queen (control the center).
Develop your knights and bishops early.
Castle your king for safety.

Step 6: Think About Strategy

Control the center of the board.
Don’t move the same piece over and over at the start.
Protect your pieces—avoid “free captures.”
Always ask: If I move here, what can my opponent do next?

Step 7: Practice by Playing

The best way to learn is by actually playing:

Play against a friend or a beginner-friendly app (like Chess.com or Lichess).
Don’t worry about winning—focus on remembering how pieces move.
After a few games, the rules will feel natural.

Final Thought

In one afternoon, you can go from “I don’t know how the knight moves” to playing full games and enjoying the challenge. Chess is like learning a new language—you won’t be fluent right away, but you’ll be able to “speak” enough to play, have fun, and start improving.

So grab a board (or download an app), learn the moves, and start your first game. Your journey in chess begins with just one match.