Learn chess
Learn chess, one idea at a time
Short guides with real positions. Read them here, then practise each one in Torre with Rooky.
Rules
How the pieces move and the special rules every player needs.
Castling
Castling moves the king and a rook in one turn, tucking the king away and bringing the rook into play. Learn how and when you may castle.
En passant
A special pawn capture: when an enemy pawn rushes two squares past yours, you may take it as if it had moved only one. Learn when it's allowed.
Check and checkmate
When your king is attacked you must save it. Learn the three ways out of check, and how to give a checkmate that ends the game.
Stalemate
If your opponent has no legal move and is not in check, the game is a draw. Learn to avoid this trap when you are winning.
Promotion
A pawn that reaches the last rank turns into a queen, rook, bishop or knight. Learn how promotion works and why the queen is usually the choice.
The knight
The knight jumps in an L-shape and is the only piece that can leap over others. Learn its move and why it hates the corner.
Checkmates
The patterns that finish games.
Scholar's Mate
The four-move checkmate every beginner meets, how it works, and the simple moves that stop it cold.
Back-rank mate
A castled king behind three unmoved pawns can be mated by a single rook. Learn to deliver it, and to avoid it.
Smothered mate
A knight checkmates a king that is boxed in by its own pieces, often after a stunning queen sacrifice.
The Arabian mate
A rook and knight team up to trap a king in the corner. One of the oldest mating patterns there is.
Tactics
Forks, pins and the tricks that win material.
The knight fork
One knight, two targets. Learn to spot squares where a knight attacks the king and a valuable piece at once.
Pins
A pinned piece cannot move without exposing something behind it. Learn to pin, and to win the pinned piece.
Skewers
Attack a valuable piece so that when it steps aside, the piece behind it falls. A pin turned inside out.
Discovered attacks
Move one piece out of the way and unleash the one behind it. When the hidden piece gives check, it is a discovered check.
Openings
Good first moves, a system to play and the traps to know.
Opening principles
Claim the center, develop your pieces, castle, and keep the queen home until it is safe.
The London setup
d4, Bf4, e3, Nf3, c3, Bd3, Nbd2: one calm setup you can play against almost anything.
The Fried Liver Attack
In the Two Knights Defense one natural recapture lets White sacrifice a knight on f7 and drag Black's king into the open.
Legal's Mate
Give up your queen and checkmate with three minor pieces: the most famous fake pin in chess.
Endgames
The positions every player should know by heart.
