Chess is an amazing game.
Simple enough for a child to learn in a short period of time – yet complex enough to challenge the greatest minds.
How complex? Have you heard of the Shannon Number?
The Shannon Number represents all the possible move variations in a game of chess. And how big is this number? Well …
… there are more potential chess moves than there are atoms in the observable universe!
We’re going to learn how you can begin to handle this complexity. And have fun doing it!!
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1. A Brief History of Chess
Chess has been around for centuries.
A similar game, Chaturanga, existed in India in the seventh century. This game was introduced to Persia and then spread to the Arab world and to Europe.
The format and rules of chess as they are known today emerged from Europe at the end of the fifteenth century. By the end of the nineteenth century, there was standardisation of the game and universal acceptance of how it should be played.
Organised chess arose in the nineteenth century and the first universally recognised World Chess Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, claimed his title in 1886.
You may recognise the names of some of the World Champions:
- Robert ‘Bobby’ Fischer
In 1958 this US chess champion became the youngest ever chess grandmaster at the age of just 15. - Garry Kasparov
Kasparov was the player that lost in 1997 to the chess-playing super-computer Deep Blue. This victory was considered a milestone in the history of Artificial Intelligence. - Magnus Carlsen
Carlsen became the youngest player to be ranked world number one at the age of 19. He claimed the world title in 2013.
2. Why Should You Play Chess?
There is no doubt that playing chess brings many advantages.
On its simplest level it can be summed-up in the following quote.
Among a great many other things that chess teaches you is to control the initial excitement you feel when you see something that looks good. It trains you to think before grabbing and to think just as objectively when you’re in trouble.
– Stanley Kubrick
However, there is much more to it than that. Online health and wellness site Healthline identifies a number of benefits that may be summarised as follows:
- Develops perspective
Part of chess involves anticipating your opponent’s next moves. This involves looking at things from another person’s perspective and helps in exercising empathy and building healthy social relationships. - Improves memory
Although learning how the chess pieces move is pretty straightforward, learning tactics and strategy requires a certain degree of memorisation. - Enables you to enter a flow state
It has been found that chess players involved in difficult matches exhibit the same brain waves as those shown in athletes and other performers when deeply focused on a particular activity. - Elevates your creativity
A study in India involving school children playing chess concluded that playing chess develops the ability to think creatively. - Leads to better planning skills
Skillful chess players learn how to develop a plan when playing chess. Scientists have found that this practice leads to better planning skills in general. - Makes therapy more effective
Chess allows counsellors and therapists to see how their patients react to the stresses and challenges of playing a game of chess. These responses can then be discussed and evaluated. - May offer protection against dementia
In addition to the 2019 study mentioned by Healthline there has also been a study in 2023 that looked at various mental activities, including playing chess, and concluded that “… participation … in mental activities was associated with a reduced risk of incident dementia.“ - May improve the symptoms of ADHD
A study involving children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder found that playing chess resulted in a 41% decrease in inattentiveness and over-activity. - May stave off a panic attack
There haven’t been many studies in this area but one found that using a chess app on a mobile phone, with the difficulty set at a mildly challenging level, was sufficient to increase the user’s sense of calm and prevent a panic attack from developing.
In addition, there are non-health related attractions to starting chess in retirement.
Looking for an inexpensive hobby in retirement? Well, chess certainly fits the bill. You can buy an inexpensive chess board and pieces at online stores like Amazon or you can play online at one of the main sites (opening an account and playing games of chess is free – its only the additional services that have a fee associated with them).
Feeling sociable? You can play chess with friends and family in the comfort of your own home, you can play in the park, or you can play at chess clubs. You can even intereact with other players when playing online through the Chat or Messaging facilities.
3. How to Play Chess (What does the Horsey do?)
Chess is a board game for two players.
The board consists of 64 squares in an 8×8 grid. Each player controls a set of 16 pieces – one set is coloured white and the other black, in order to distinguish them.
The pieces are one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. The pieces have designated starting places on the board (see below) and set move patterns.

For a good overview of setting up the board and how the pieces move take a look at the Chess.com YouTube video below.
You’ll find it a lot easier to understand the above if you have your own board to play on.
You can either buy a physical chess board and pieces (there are lots of relatively inexpensive chess sets to try until you decide whether chess is going to be for you) or you can play at one of the online sites (the main ones are Chess.com and Lichess.org).
4. How to Really Play Chess – Tips for Beginners
When I started playing chess I set myself an initial target of reaching a rating of 1,000 on Chess.com. Well, I recently reached that rating and thought that it was an appropriate point to share my thoughts and suggestions.

I’m going to share with you what I believe to be the key pieces of information that I have learned during my journey to a 1,000 rating. I hope that it is as useful to you as it is to me.
4.1 Preparation
Be well! (always makes me think of Demolition Man when I hear that!)
If you’ve been up all night, coughing and spluttering, and feel as though you just want to curl up and die, guess what? It’s not a great time to be working on your chess development.
To play at your best you need to be well and be rested.
Warm up!
Just like your favourite sports stars, if you want to perform at your best you need to warm up. Don’t jump straight into a game – do some puzzles first to help get your brain focused on playing chess.
4.2 Openings
There are many, many openings for both white and black. Some are solid and defensive, some are aggressive and attacking, and some are just plain crazy!
It’s tempting for beginners to overly focus on openings because it seems like an aspect that always follows a certain pattern. However, I would advise you, initially at least, not to pick an opening for each colour and then try to memorise it 20 moves deep!
That way lies disappointment and frustration.
Instead, you should focus on the basic priciples of openings. These are:
- 1. Control the centre
The centre 4 squares are the key area to controlling the board and most openings are geared towards control of the centre.
We should normally aim to have at least one pawn in the centre. And have our pieces control squares in and around the centre. - 2. Develop your pieces
There are a number of things to consider here:
a) Aim to develop knights before bishops (because the former are slower)
b) Don’t move the same piece twice before all pieces are developed (obviously this may need to be ignored if there is a strong reason)
c) Try to develop with threats, if possible, in order to slow the opponent’s development
d) Develop harmoniously – don’t develop one piece by blocking-in another - 3. King safety
The king is the most valuable piece on the board and must be protected. If he is checkmated then it’s ‘Game Over!’.
This safety often (but not always) entails castling at the appropriate time. Keep in mind that castling on the opposite side to your opponent can be useful as it allows a ‘pawn storm’ attack – of course, your opponent may try the same tactic and there will then be race! - 4. Avoid early queen moves
The queen is the second most valuable piece on the board. She is very strong and beginner players often try to use this strength too early in the game and end up being chased around the board as the opponent attacks the queen whilst simultaneously developing all of their pieces.
Losing the queen early in the game is obviously a bad start. However, allowing your opponent to gain such a lead in development is also a very bad start.
Unless absolutely necessary, avoid early moves with the queen.
4.3 Middlegame
This is where your tactics training comes in handy. In this part of the game in particular you need to start making a plan – examine the board and look for your strengths and your opponent’s weaknesses.
Always be looking for chances to gain an advantage over your opponent, either in terms of material or position. Even fairly small advantages can be telling when compounded throughout a game.
You should look for opportunities on the board with a focus on the following (in this order):
- Checks
Can you check your opponent now? If not, are there a sequence of moves that would enable you to do so?
Similarly, can your opponent check you? What moves might he be planning to make? - Captures
Have you left any hanging pieces (ie ones that can be captured by your opponent without the capturing piece itself being captured)?
Likewise, has your opponent left any hanging pieces?
Are there any captures that would be advantageous to either side even if they are not hanging? - Threats
What threats can you develop? Things like discovered attacks can be very powerful.
Once you have finished your review of the board its time to come up with some candidate moves. (at least 2). You should never just go with the first move that pops into your head and play it immediately – that bus is travelling to Blunder Town!
This is an important step. As a former World Chess Champion put it:
“When you have found a good move – look for a better one!”
It’s also worth remembering that in most games there will be an endgame section after the middlegame. With that in mind, give some thought to what pieces you may choose to exchange and also to your pawn structure.
4.4 Endgame
OK, so she isn’t singing yet but the fat lady is most definitely warming up!
It is vital that you retain concentration at this stage of the game.
I’ve had a game where I was +15 up in material and, through a moment’s inattention, allowed my opponent to win by checkmate! Chess is not a game that is won by the person with the biggest score – it’s a fight to the death!
Things to focus on in particular:
- Avoid blunders
A blunder now will waste all of the effort that you have expended so far – so don’t! - Consider exchanges
If you are ahead in material then it is often a good tactic to exchange pieces as this magnifies your advantage. Think of it like this, 7 against 6 is good, but 2 against 1 is far stronger!
Don’t just make any trade though – give consideration to the activity of the pieces concerned. Does the opponent have an annoying knight on your half of the board that is stifling your progress? Well then swapping that for one of your knights that isn’t doing much would be a great trade. - Powerful Pawns
When is a pawn not a pawn? When it’s promoted!
Pawns become hugely powerful in the endgame. Most of the pieces, especially the queens, have probably gone and pawns can now be pushed in a race for promotion.
That being the case you should remember two things:
1. Rooks belong behind passed pawns – protect your pawn so that he can be promoted.
2. Try to blockade your opponent’s passed pawns. Kings and knights are often useful in this role. - Kick-ass Kings
The dear old king spends much of his time hiding away during the opening and the middlegame. But not in the endgame!
Like the pawns, the endgame transforms the king into a valuable attacking piece. Start moving him towards the centre of the board as the endgame begins (he’s a bit slow and this gives hom a good starting point!).
4.5 Throughout
- Blunder Check
As we mentioned above, there are few things more frustrating than building a lead as you enter the endgame and then … throwing it all away!
But it’s not just important in the endgame – it’s never too early to blunder (check). Try to get into the habit of doing a quick blunder check before every move. Don’t allow tunnel vision to force you to make an insta-move after your opponent’s move only to ‘see’ the mistake after you’ve finished your move.
After every move that they make, think “What does my opponent want?”
Remember the candidate move approach mentioned above – give consideration to more than one move before acting. - Checkmate Watch
Always be on the lookout for potential checkmates – both for you and your opponent.
They can happen frighteningly quickly in the opening if you don’t pay attention. Its well worth investing some time in learning some typical checkmate patterns so that you are better able to identify them in your games. (You’ll still miss some! I certainly have. But at least you should miss less.)
Try to get into the habit of thinking about your opponent’s potential escape routes if you put them in check – and block them!
And remember to avoid the dreaded stalemate. For some reason, in chess, if you have absolutely decimated your opponent’s forces and he just has his king left and no valid moves remaining then that is a draw!
4.6 Post Mortem
Win or lose (but especially when you lose) you should take the opportunity to analyse your game.
Ideally, the analysis should take place fairly soon after the game while it is still fresh in your mind and you can recall why you played certain moves at certain points in the game.
It is inevitable that you will make mistakes and lose games as you begin to learn new things. The key to improvement lies in identifying these mistakes so that you don’t repeat them.
“Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.”
Don’t obsess over small mistakes and the chess engine’s recommended ‘Best Move’ if that entails looking ahead 20 moves! Instead, focus on the major blunders or misunderstandings – things that may have cost you victory.
5. Resources
If I’d wanted to learn about chess when I was at school there were very few options available:
- Persuade my parents to drive me to the nearest chess club
- Go to the local library and find a musty old book with yellow pages (some of which would invariably be missing!)
These days the internet provides a vast array of chess resources. There are many courses on the many aspects of chess, books are easily accessible through online retailers, there are sites that provide problem-solving challenges, and there is a seemingly never-ending supply of chess videos on YouTube.
And therein lies the problem! We are overloaded with potential sources of information.
As a beginner, how do you know what is worth your time and money?
Well, based on my first 12 months of playing, and having just reached a rating of 1,000 on Chess.com, I’d like to share with you my recommendations. Give them a try – if you don’t like them there are plenty more!
5.1 Courses
Without a doubt, the single biggest contributor to my progress has been the fantastic people at ChessMood.com.
ChessMood was created by Grandmaster Avetik Grigoryan (or Avo to his friends) and has over 500 hours of courses, all created by Grandmasters. The courses range from openings for white and black to must-know endgame theory (and everything in between!).
All of the courses are good but the ones that I found to be of particular value were Tactic Ninja and Mating Matador. The former covers every tactic you could possibly wish to know, from basics like Pins and Skewers through to more advanced ones like Clearance, while the latter covers no less than 37 different types of checkmate.
These two courses alone will make you a much better player.
In addition to the fantastic courses on offer the ChessMood site also has many Blog posts that contain a wealth of information.
And there is a ChessMood Forum where you can discuss all things chess.
PS: If you sign-up to ChessMood through my affiliate link you’ll get a 20% discount!
I’d just like to take this opportunity to say ‘Thank You’ to Avo and Lily. Keep up the good work!

5.2 Books
It may just be me but, I find a lot of chess books to be pretty hard-going!
Two that I’ve found to be less hard-going, and very useful, are the following:
The Chess Player’s Bible by James Eade and Al Lawrence.
Start with this one.
This book is a good starter book, covering everything from openings to endgames. And, a rarity in chess books, it has board position diagrams that are easy on the eye!
A First Book of Morphy by Frisco Del Rosario.
This one is a good choice once you have been playing for a little while. It teaches a number of key chess concepts (spread across openings, middlegames, and endgames) using the games of Paul Morphy to illustrate them.
5.3 Problem-solving
Why is problem-solving important?
Well, it’s all to do with the way that our brains work and, in particular, how our memory works. Our memory doesn’t like learning masses of boring text – but it does like patterns. (If you’d like to read a little more about memory, try this blog post about learning the 50 US States and Capitals).
And regular chess problem-solving helps our memory to develop the pattern recognition necessary to identify the tactics that are so essential in chess.
There are 3 main sites that I use for problem-solving chess puzzles.
5.4 YouTube Videos
With YouTube chess videos there is a very broad spectrum. Some are technically strong but lack any character and so it becomes a chore to watch them. Others are quite entertaining but the content is … less technically strong.
The challenge, therefore, lies in finding an acceptable combination. These are the ones that I watch on a regular basis (listed alphabetically):
- chessbrah
Run by no less than two Grandmasters, Aman Hambleton and Eric Hansen. These guys manage to combine great technical strength with also being easy to listen to (although the background ‘music’ can be a little irritating!). Particularly recommended is Aman’s ‘Building Chess Habits’ series. - Chess Samurai
Jon Ritter is a talented chess coach who will teach you key concepts in an ‘easy to listen to’ style. - Chess Vibes
Nelson Lopez is an International Master and prolific poster of high-quality chess videos. This guy is so dedicated to explaining his moves as he goes along that he often puts himself under additional time pressure, all for the benefit of his viewers. - IM Alex Banzea
As you’ll have guessed from the title of his channel, Alex is also an International Master. Alex will educate you in chess and, at the same time, amuse you with his bizarre analogies. - sadisticTushi
Tushar Anand is both talented at chess and amusing. If I want chess content that makes me laugh at the same time I watch Tushi. He even has his own names for all of the pieces!
6. FAQ
Have I left it too late to start playing chess if I don't begin until I've retired?
No, not at all.
You may never reach the dizzying heights of being a grandmaster (but nor will most players who aren’t retired!) but you can certainly reach a decent standard.
What advantages are there to starting chess in retirement?
There are many advantages but here are just a few:
* It helps to exercise your brain. And number of studies have found that activities like chess can help prevent the onset of dementia.
* It’s social. Whether it be at home, in the park, at a chess club, or online it gives you the opportunity to interact with other people. You may even like some of them!
* It’s cheap! You can easily pick up an inexpensive chess board and pieces at online shopping sites. And the main online chess sites provide free access to the basic chess-playing part of their platforms (with paid membership fess for access to additional resources).
* It’s fun!
How do you learn how to play chess in retirement?
In the same way as everybody else!
Learning how to play chess itself is easy. The challenege lies in deciding how far you then wish to develop your game (measured by your chess rating).
The key resources are online courses, books, chess problem-solving sites, YouTube videos, and … actually playing chess. When you are a beginner the majority of your learning will take place simply by playing games of chess (and losing many of them!).
7. Conclusion
Starting chess in retirement is a fantastic idea.
Why?
Well, we’ve covered many reasons in the Why Should You Play Chess? section above but I think the main reasons are it is great fun, it’s mentally stimulating, and it gives you the opportunity to be sociable if you want to, whether that be playing physical chess at home with friends, in the park with strangers (who may become friends), or online using the Chat or Messaging features.
And starting chess in retirement doesn’t need to be a daunting task (even allowing for the Shannon Number!). Make use of the Tips for Beginners section and the Resources section and I have no doubt that your chess rating will climb. Don’t forget to check out the guys at ChessMood.
Finally, if you fancy an online game sometime you can message me at Chess.com – my username is ShouldveStuckToPoker.
This is a great Blog! Very helpful for people trying to find a new purpose after they retire! Hobbies are an excellent way to rediscover passions that bring you fulfillment in your life. Rich has become a subscriber to my YouTube Channel, Chess Samurai, and participates and shares helpful information on the comment section on a regular basis. The other channels you mentioned and recommended are also great YouTube channels to learn chess from!
Thanks very much, Jonathan, for your kind words. I find your channel to be a great source of information for learning chess (hence the inclusion in the Sources section above) and I’m confident that others will too. Keep up the good work!
I’ve always wanted to learn chess, and this makes it sound even more fascinating! The idea that it’s simple enough for a child to grasp but so complex it challenges the greatest minds is incredible.
Go for it, Ann! I’m sure that you would enjoy it.