Experts have been studying for hundreds of years to work out the best ways of starting battles.

They have been given names - sometimes the name of someone who used them or wrote about them, sometimes where they were first used, sometimes names that describe them in some way.

Do you want to gain an UNFAIR ADVANTAGE when you fight your battles?

Of course you do. So if you take time out to learn the best ways to start, memorise the moves, and, most important of all, UNDERSTAND the reasons for the moves, you will have a BIG ADVANTAGE over an enemy who hasn't studied them.

Before we go any further you need to understand the basic principles of starting a battle.

If anyone does anything to you that hurts you or makes you feel uncomfortable in any way don't keep it a secret. Find an adult you can trust and tell them.
***Click here to go to school and take your first lesson on starting a battle. When you've done that come back and talk to me again.

These ideas are vitally important in every battle:

1. OCCUPY THE CENTER.
2. GET YOUR FORCES INTO PLAY - ESPECIALLY KNIGHTS AND BISHOPS.
3. MAKE YOUR KING (that's you, remember) SAFE BY CASTLING.

But even more important is this:

ALWAYS TRY TO MAKE SURE YOUR ARMY IS AT LEAST AS BIG AND STRONG AS THE ENEMY ARMY.

And if you want to learn how to do this visit my friend the bully.
Before you learn some openings (as we call the different ways of starting battles) you need to take the lesson on notation if you haven't already done so elsewhere. ****Click here to take this lesson now.

Next, a lot of kids try to do something called SCHOLAR'S MATE in their first battles.

If you know how to meet it you'll get a good position but it's something you HAVE to know.

****Click here to find out about SCHOLAR'S MATE.

Then ****Click here to find out how to stop it.

Visit the MOVIE THEATRE to watch a movie about SCHOLAR'S MATE.

Once you're sure you've really understood that
****click here to learn some more useful rules about how to start your battles.
Next, a warning about Foolish Freddie, one of the soldiers in your army. Be very careful what he does at the start of the battle. *****Click here to find out why.

Visit the MOVIE THEATRE to watch a movie about THE FATAL DIAGONAL.

Now it's time to learn some real grown-up ways to start battles.

*****Click here for an introduction to some of the best openings for you to try in your battles.

Now for some ideas you can learn and understand to help you win your battles.

A very good way to start your battles is to play the moves 1. e2-e4 e7-e5 2. Ng1-f3 Nb8-c6 3. Bf1-c4.

******Click here for a very simple way to start your battles. It's easy to learn and if your opponent doesn't understand it you can score some very quick victories. This is actually called the GIUOCO PIANISSIMO, although we call the main idea behind it the DOUBLE FREDDIE.
But if your enemy knows what to do it will be hard for you to gain an early advantage playing like this.

There are two much more exciting ways of starting the game.

If Black plays Bf8-c5 on move 3 you can play the main line of the ******ITALIAN GAME (or Giuoco Piano).

And if Black prefers Ng8-f6 on move 3 you are in the ******TWO KNIGHTS DEFENCE.
Once you've mastered these openings you can move onto what many people think is the best way to start a battle.

This is the *******RUY LOPEZ or SPANISH OPENING and involves White playing Bf1-b5 on move 3.

Next, you can look at other second moves for Black such as the *******PETROFF DEFENCE where Black copies White by playing Ng8-f6 on move 2.

White also has other ways he can play on the second move. The most exciting way to start a battle is to give up a pawn or two to gain an early attack. Openings like this are called ********GAMBITS.
The openings starting with 1. e2-e4 e7-e5 are the best ways for less experienced fighters to start their battles. But as you gain more experience you'll want to try out other ways to start.

Black has other choices on his first move, for instance the ********FRENCH AND SICILIAN DEFENCES. White can also move his d-pawn on his first move. The most important opening starting with the d-pawn is the *********QUEEN'S GAMBIT.

There are also many other ways of starting a game, but these are harder to learn. You can learn about *********OTHER OPENINGS here.

That is all I can teach you now.

If you want to learn more about openings click here to download some cool OPENING BOOKS which you can print off and read for yourself.

Click here to go back where you came from.