10 Beginner Chess Mistakes

There are two ways your opponent can take your queen if you move it in front of your king:

1. Your opponent can move his rook in front of your queen and pin you into position

2.Your opponent can pin your queen with his bishop.

When either of these things happen, you lose your queen, which usually means losing the game.

2. Leaving Your Rooks Open For Attack

Rooks are very powerful pieces, particularly when they work together. However, they are very vulnerable to bishops in their opening position of the game if you move the pawn in front of your knight. If you leave your rooks open, be sure to watch for attacks from bishops!

3. Moving Too Fast

When playing chess, it is important that you consider every possible course of action before making a move. Sometimes, you may think that you see something, so you move your piece very quickly, but a second later, you realize you've made a costly mistake. If you don't take a few moments to examine the implications of making a particular move, you might regret it, so think before you move!

4. Relying On Your Queen Too Much

It can be very tempting to rely on your queen too much, because it is a very powerful piece. However, your opponent can simply start attacking your queen with less powerful pieces. This gives your opponent an advantage, because while your opponent is gaining ground, all you are doing is moving your queen around the board while trying to avoid the attacks of your opponent.

5. Not Anticipating What Your Opponent Will Do

When you play chess, you might be tempted to focus only on what you will do next, without thinking what your opponent will do. In the game of chess, it is important to focus on both offense and defense. If you can't anticipate what your opponent's next move will be, but your opponent knows what your next move will be, chances are you will lose the game. Always anticipate what your opponent will do next!

6. Falling For Manipulation Moves

A manipulation move occurs when your opponent positions one of his pieces in front of the other, and at the right moment, moves that piece out of the way to do a surprise attack when you aren't paying attention. For example, if you have your queen positioned in front of your king, your opponent might position a bishop in front of his rook, and move his bishop out of the way to pin your queen in front of your king.

7. Not Looking Where The Knight Will Move Next

If you have played chess for a while, you will notice that knights are one of your opponent's most deadly weapons. In fact, it is not uncommon for knights to take out rooks and even queens. Therefore, if you see a knight nearby, make sure you know where that knight will move next, because if you don't, it might mean the game!

8. Leaving Your King Open

Anytime you leave your king open to check is a time your opponent can take advantage of you. For example, your opponent might be able to put you in check with his queen, and then your rook because of the angle. So, protect your king whenever possible!

9. Taking The Bait

Sometimes, your opponent will let you take his rook or queen for no particular reason. Well, there is a reason, and its called bait! Often, when you "take the bait", you will often find your self without your queen on the next move, or worse, you will find yourself in check mate! So before you take the bait, take a look to see what your opponent will do to you on your next move!

10. Not Learning From Your Opponents

If you want to learn how to play the game of chess, study what your opponent is doing. It really stinks when your opponent starts to take over the game, but if you can learn from your opponents, you will be better prepared for the next game, and have an arsenal of weapons at your disposal in the forms of new moves you can now use against your future opponents!