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Chess Castle12 units · 130 lessons · self-paced

Chess strategy, one idea at a time

Chess Castle starts at the very beginning, with the board and how each piece moves, and climbs to tactics, mating patterns, openings, endgame technique and practical play. Every lesson is a short run of positions to solve on a real board: you move the pieces, get told why a move works or does not, and try again.

Start learning Chess StrategySee all 12 units

What you will practise

  • Seeing the board

    Squares, files and ranks, and what each piece can reach from where it stands.

  • Tactics

    Forks, pins, skewers and discovered attacks, found in positions from real games.

  • Checkmate patterns

    The mates that come up again and again, until you spot them without counting.

  • Openings and plans

    Sound first moves, and what to do once the pieces are out.

  • Endgames

    King and pawn endings, rook endings and the technique that turns an extra pawn into a win.

Try one

From Unit 2, exactly as it appears in the app. In a lesson you would play the move on the board and hear why it works, or why not.

White to move

Checkmate in one move!

Show the answer

Rook to h8 is checkmate: the king is in check and has no way out.

The 12 units

In order, from the first step to the hardest. Each unit is a set of short lessons.

  1. 1The Board and How the Pieces Move8 lessons
  2. 2Capture, Defend, Checkmate7 lessons
  3. 3Special Moves, Promotion & Draws12 lessons
  4. 4Tactics I12 lessons
  5. 5First Openings & First Endgames12 lessons
  6. 6Tactics II12 lessons
  7. 7Mating Patterns & the Attack12 lessons
  8. 8Positional Play12 lessons
  9. 9Endgames I12 lessons
  10. 10Endgames II & Technique11 lessons
  11. 11Advanced Middlegame11 lessons
  12. 12Practical Play9 lessons

How a lesson works

  1. Step 1

    See the idea

    A lesson opens by showing you one idea, worked through step by step.

  2. Step 2

    Use it yourself

    Then it is your turn. A wrong answer tells you why, and hints come one at a time.

  3. Step 3

    Keep it

    Ideas come back in later lessons and in your daily workout, so you keep using them.

Questions about Chess Strategy

Do I need to know how to play chess already?
No. Unit 1 begins with the board and how each piece moves. If you already play, a short check lets you skip any unit you already know.
Where do the puzzle positions come from?
Many come from real games and puzzles; others are built to show one idea cleanly. Every lesson explains the idea first, then asks you to find it.
Can I play a full game?
Yes. Each unit ends with a game against a chess engine, at one of three strengths, that runs in your browser.
Do I need an account to start?
No. You can start as a guest, and your progress is kept in your browser on that device.

The other worlds

Start Chess Castle today

See further than the move in front of you. No account needed to begin.

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