FREE ONLINE CHESS LESSONS
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Friendly, practical chess lessons for beginners and improving club players. Learn opening principles, tactics, pawn structures, endgames, the London System for White, and the Caro–Kann, French Defence, Pirc Defence, King’s Indian Defence or Queen’s Gambit Declined for Black—all at your own pace.
Chess fundamentals
Eight Lessons
Build skills through opening play, active pieces, plans, pins, forks, basic attacks, endgames and practical thinking.
Choose a fundamentals lesson → MIDDLEGAME PLANNING · TEN-PART COURSEHow to Make a
Middlegame Plan
Use a repeatable checklist, improve your worst piece, find targets, prepare pawn breaks and build complete plans.
Choose a middlegame lesson → LONDON SYSTEM · FIVE-PART BOOKThe Accelerated
London System
Build the setup, read Black’s plans, find your middlegame direction and turn good positions into wins.
Choose one of five lessons → QUEEN’S GAMBIT · SIX LESSONS FOR WHITEQueen’s Gambit
for White
Learn the blueprint, Accepted, Declined, Slav, Exchange Variation, minority attack and practical sidelines.
Choose a Queen’s Gambit lesson → CARO–KANN · NINE READABLE LESSONSCaro–Kann
Lessons
Advance, Exchange, Classical, …Nf6, Karpov, Panov, Fantasy, Two Knights and early sidelines. Learn the plans from Black’s side.
Choose a Caro–Kann lesson → FRENCH DEFENCE · SIX LESSONS FOR BLACKFrench Defence
Lessons
Learn the central blueprint, …c5 and …f6 breaks, plus the Advance, Exchange, Tarrasch, Classical and Winawer variations.
Choose a French Defence lesson → QUEEN’S GAMBIT DECLINED · PLAYING BLACKQueen’s Gambit
Declined
Build a solid centre, develop with purpose, solve the c8-bishop and choose the right freeing break.
Read the QGD lesson → KING’S INDIAN DEFENCE · PLAYING BLACKKing’s Indian
Defence
Build a safe kingside, challenge White’s centre with …e5 or …c5 and learn when the famous kingside attack is ready.
Read the King’s Indian lesson → PIRC DEFENCE · SIX LESSONS FOR BLACKPirc
Defence
Learn the setup, central breaks, Austrian Attack, 150 Attack, positional systems and practical sidelines.
Choose a Pirc lesson → ESSENTIAL ENDGAMES · PRACTICAL SKILLSLucena, Philidor
and More
Activate the king, master opposition and pawn races, use active rooks, build the Lucena bridge and defend with Philidor.
Read the endgame lesson → EVERYTHING PAWNS · FIVE LESSONSEverything
Pawns
Learn passed pawns, weak pawns, pawn breaks, outposts, formations and practical pawn endings.
Choose a pawn lesson →