Who this is for: you know the rules and play a few games, but pieces still disappear by accident.
Goals
- Count material (pawn 1, knight 3, bishop 3, rook 5, queen 9) and trade when you are ahead.
- Deliver the basic checkmates: two rooks, king and queen, king and rook.
- See simple tactics: forks, pins, skewers, back-rank mate.
- Follow the opening rules: take the centre, develop knights and bishops, castle early.
Weekly plan (about 3 hours)
- Courses (4 lessons): Piece values and good trades, Opening principles, Basic checkmates, then Endgame 1, Middlegame 1, Mating patterns I and Forks, pins and skewers.
- Puzzles (20 a day): themes mate in 1, mate in 2, fork, pin, hanging piece, back rank. See Puzzles.
- Games (5 a week): 10-minute rapid, rated. Pick the Play card, then review two of them.
- Bots: beat the bots just under your rating, then the ones just above.
- One opening setup: a simple one for White (for example the London System) and a simple answer to 1.e4 and 1.d4. Add it with the opening lines trainer.
How to measure progress
- Your rapid rating passes 800 and loses its question mark.
- Your puzzle rating passes 900.
- Your review accuracy is about 65 percent or better.
- You can checkmate with king and rook against a bare king without help.
Common mistakes at this level
- Taking every free pawn and falling behind in development.
- Missing a one-move threat (a fork, a piece hanging) and blaming bad luck.
- Trading when you are behind in material.
- Pushing pawns in front of your own king.
- Resigning too early or playing on in a lost game without learning from it. Review both.
Tip: before every move do the blunder check: what did my opponent just do, what can they take, what can I take, is my move safe?
Previous: 0 to 400. Next: 800 to 1200.
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