advice on structuring learning (beginner)

My phone played up and posted before i wrote anything... I am just beginning to learn chess and want advice on how to learn. What i mean by this is; When I take up learning a sport, boxing for example, I will speak to everyone with some knowledge, ask about most important elements and then everytime i practice have a focus. Footwork, jab, first combination, etc and i have found this really speeds up my learning, as opposed to just boxing without a specific focus day by day, week by week and so on. I am lost as to how to do this for chess. As rules of thumb I understand to control the centre, develop minor pieces, castle, major pieces. What advice would any helpful of you recommend? I am currently thinking it best to maybe learn and study 1 white and 1 black opening and drill it remembering the above principles? Any alternative approaches, nuggets of advice for learning would be very appreciated!

A wise man once said that you have to play the opening like a book, the middle game like a magician and the endgame like an engine ?

You should NOT focus on learning openings, just opening principles and a few key moves. You want to know WHY you are making moves, not just memorize stuff. I believe you are right that a structured way of learning is best. There are structured materials that are available. For example the chess steps program that was developed for children but is useful for adults too.

https://www.chess-steps.com/

If you can find a study partner around your level or a bit stronger, analyze your games together.  Ask:  why did you make that move?  What was your plan?  What pros and cons did you consider?  I have found this very helpful.  If you just play and play, there's a good chance you will repeat the same mistakes.  Analyzing games, *especially losses*, helps avoid this.

Opening Principles:

1. Control the center squares – d4-e4-d5-e5
2. Develop your minor pieces toward the center – piece activity is the key
3. Castle
4. Connect your rooks

Tactics...tactics...tactics...

The objective of development is about improving the value of your pieces by increasing the importance of their roles. Well-developed pieces have more fire-power than undeveloped pieces and they do more in helping you gain control.

Now we will look at 5 practical things you can do to help you achieve your development objective.

They are:

1. Give priority to your least active pieces.

• Which piece needs to be developed (which piece is the least active)
• Where should it go (where can its role be maximized)

2. Exchange your least active pieces for your opponent’s active pieces.
3. Restrict the development of your opponent’s pieces.
4. Neutralize your opponent’s best piece.
5. Secure strong squares for your pieces.

Don’t help your opponent develop.

There are 2 common mistakes whereby you will simply be helping your opponent to develop:

1. Making a weak threat that can easily be blocked
2. Making an exchange that helps your opponent to develop a piece

Pre Move Checklist:

1. Make sure all your pieces are safe.
2. Look for forcing moves: Checks, captures, threats. You want to look at ALL forcing moves (even the bad ones) as this will force you look at, and see the entire board.
3. If there are no forcing moves, you then want to remove any of your opponent’s pieces from your side of the board.
4. If your opponent doesn’t have any of his pieces on your side of the board, then you want to improve the position of your least active piece.
5. After each move by your opponent, ask yourself: "What is my opponent trying to do?"

I'm a retired chemistry and physics teacher with an American Advanced Professional Teaching Certificate who coached a very successful high school team in the 90's and 00's.  In addition to memorizing IM Bacon's lists above, I suggest you do the modern versions of what my new players did in order to get ready for live, over-the-board (OTB) chess tournaments for teenagers and teams from many schools where I was also the U.S. Chess Federation's Tournament Director.

I suggest you download and study a free-but-excellent beginner's book called "Chess Fundamentals" by 1921-27 World Champion Jose Capablanca, one of the greatest players of all time.

The book is a reasonable approx. 122 pages and won't take forever to finish. It won't make you into a terror on the chessboard, but it will improve your play and give you a thorough introduction to all phases of the game, which would then give you a better understanding of what you need to improve from there. It's here, legally free, in algebraic notation:

http://www.sources.com/SSR/Docs/Capablanca-ChessFundamentals.pdf

Note: after doing the book, do NOT get too caught-up in openings besides learning opening principles:  recognizing tactics and their patterns is most important.  A good list of tactics and positions you should look for a here and you should memorize the several dozen examples over time and refresh your study of them occasionally:

https://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-tactics--definitions-and-examples

https://chesstempo.com/tactical-motifs.html

https://chesstempo.com/positional-motifs.html

My players did similar things and my top players were required to study Jeremy Silman's excellent How to Reassess Your Chess, 1st Ed. which was around 200 pages.  The latest, 4th Ed. is over 600 pages and unfortunately is too detailed to be of much use to any but those with lots of time and patience available.

The method works:

My team, following such a course of study plus lots of playing against other people face-to-face, won three consecutive county championships in the state's most competitive county, and 3rd, 4th, and 5th place State Scholastics Championships team trophies.  One of our players tied for 1st Place for women in the State tournament.

"... for those that want to be as good as they can be, they'll have to work hard.

Play opponents who are better than you … . Learn basic endgames. Create a simple opening repertoire (understanding the moves are far more important than memorizing them). Study tactics. And pick up tons of patterns. That’s the drumbeat of success. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (December 27, 2018)

https://www.chess.com/article/view/little-things-that-help-your-game

https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-start-out-in-chess

https://www.chess.com/news/view/a-new-years-resolution-improve-your-chess-with-new-lessons
"... In order to maximize the benefits of [theory and practice], these two should be approached in a balanced manner. ... Play as many slow games (60 5 or preferably slower) as possible, ... The other side of improvement is theory. ... This can be reading books, taking lessons, watching videos, doing problems on software, etc. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627084053/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman19.pdf
"... If it’s instruction, you look for an author that addresses players at your level (buying something that’s too advanced won’t help you at all). This means that a classic book that is revered by many people might not be useful for you. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (2015)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-best-chess-books-ever
Here are some reading possibilities that I often mention:
Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
http://dev.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Simple-Attacking-Plans-77p3731.htm
Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev (1965)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1948)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
Back to Basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233537/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review585.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-back-to-basics-tactics

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5856bd64ff7c50433c3803db/t/5895fc0ca5790af7895297e4/1486224396755/btbtactics2excerpt.pdf
Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
Chess Endgames for Kids by Karsten Müller (2015)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf
A Guide to Chess Improvement by Dan Heisman (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105628/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review781.pdf
Studying Chess Made Easy by Andrew Soltis (2009)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090448/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review750.pdf
Seirawan stuff:
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
http://www.nystar.com/tamarkin/review1.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092617/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review560.pdf

If you want a structured way of learning, I suggest you get Play Winning Chess by Seirawan.

"... 'Chess Fundamentals' ... does not deal so minutely as this book will with the things that beginners need to know. ..." - from Capablanca's A Primer of Chess
"... For let’s make no mistake, what ground Capablanca covers, he covers well. I enjoyed reading Capablanca’s presentation of even well-worn and standard positions. ...
Still, when compared with other instructional books for beginners and intermediate players, Capablanca’s Chess Fundamentals would not be my first choice. Other books cover the same or similar ground with a less confusing structure and more thoroughness. The following works come to mind as equal or in some ways superior: Lasker’s Common Sense in Chess; Znosko-Borovsky’s series of books; and Edward Lasker’s Chess Strategy. Later works that equal or surpass Chess Fundamentals would include Reuben Fine’s Chess the Easy Way and any number of Horowitz tomes.
Capablanca’s work has historical interest and value, of course, and for that reason alone belongs in any chess lover’s library. But there are better instructional books on the market. Certainly the works of Seirawan, Silman, Pandolfini, Polgar, Alburt, etc. are more accessible, speak a more modern idiom, and utilize advances in chess teaching and general pedagogy, etc. ..." - David Kaufman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20131010102057/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review564.pdf

Seirawan stuff:
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
http://www.nystar.com/tamarkin/review1.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092617/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review560.pdf

That's nice. I have Chess Fundamentals. I've read it. I've imitated it. My play is not terrible every day and my chess students win trophies. If his second book is better, get it.

Hey Andreas, 

I started leaning about a year ago. The most important thing I've found for improvement, is simply spending time with the game, but not just playing tons of games, mostly studying.

When I was golfing, my approach was that I needed to spend 70-80% of my time practicing to the 20-30% I spent playing. That got me to about 90 on the course. 

Chess seems to me to be very similar - 70-80% solving tactics, learning openings, learning piece protection in the middle game, learning checkmate patterns, reading books, etc. Then about 20-30% playing. That got me from 750 to about 1100 in blitz in the past year (nothing special, but improvement nonetheless). 

I can't speak for other people's advice, but I will say I attribute most of the improvement I've made to 2 things... 1. learning openings, and 2 solving tactics.

With openings, I figure if I can't get the plane off the ground, I'm often behind right from the start. I need an idea from the beginning, and starting to figure out what's strong and whats weak early on has at least gotten me into each game feeling comfortable, and in many cases has helped me get into the middle game about even. 

The second one - solving tactics - has helped me to see what's possible in different positions - both what I can do, and what my opponent can do. That doesn't mean I don't lose all the time in the middle game to things I missed, or make dumb moves I wish I could take back instantly, but I have definitely improved in those areas though tactics. 

I can't remember where I it was, but I saw some great advice somewhere that said something like: in chess you first need to learn how to lose, before you start learning how to win. I DEFINITELY found that to be true.

Hope some of that helps

-Cheers