The 2-minute guide to playing chess well



Trivia Genius Logo

Keep learning with

The 2-minute guide to playing chess well

Have you ever watched a chess match and felt completely bewildered at what the players were doing? How do they decide which pieces to move? How are they keeping track of everything? Are they really playing with strategy? Or are they just moving pieces around on a board?

Below, we’ve broken down chess into a few easy components you can use to improve your game.

The basics of chess

Credit: xijian / iStock

You probably know the basics of chess already, but let’s start with a quick refresher. The goal of chess is simple: Use your pieces to trap your opponent’s king. When the king is in the attack path of an existing piece, it’s known as a check. To escape, the king has to make a legal move to a safe square. If no safe moves exist, it’s known as a checkmate, and the game is over.

Easy enough to understand, though quite a bit more complicated to put into practice. Chess is believed to be over 1,500 years old, and in that time, experts have come up with one or two strategies that tend to work better than others. Let’s discuss a few of these tactics.

Basic chess strategy

Credit: ridvan_celik / iStock

First, the most important thing you can do to improve your game is practice! Try to play a game every day, if possible. Experience is the best teacher, and if you’re new, you’ll learn a ton just from playing matches more often. Of course, to really improve, you’ll need to get specific with how you practice.

Start with the opening

Credit: marchmeena29 / iStock

Everything in chess starts with the opening, so naturally, it’s a great place to start your training.

In general, start by bringing out your weaker pieces early (also known as “developing” your pieces). This means developing your pawns and knights before moving your higher-value pieces, like your rooks or queen.

Avoid moving pieces multiple times during the first 5-10 turns. In general, you’re better off developing more pieces than fewer in the interest of building attack opportunities. And definitely avoid repeats, such as moving a knight forward and then changing your mind and moving it back.

Castle your king as early as possible. This simple move involves switching the placement of your rook and king (under certain conditions). This is a great move for both offense and defense.

Build toward the center. The center of the board is the most active territory, so you’ll want to apply pressure there before your opponent does.

Work on tactical vision

Credit: Jcomp / iStock

A key aspect of getting better at chess is developing what the pros call “tactical vision.” This means being able to look at the board and quickly identify opportunities for piece development, attack, defense and danger.

It’s a broad concept that comes with experience, so beginners should start by looking for these elements one at a time.

Keep pieces safe

Credit: ivanastar / iStock

For example, it’s good practice to avoid leaving any piece “en prise” (in take). Also known as “hanging” the piece, this rule simply means don’t leave your pieces in positions where they can be taken without retribution. It sounds incredibly basic, but this is a key area where beginners struggle.

Those new to the game tend to hang pieces on nearly every turn, particularly in the later game stages where attack possibilities get more complicated. As such, a big part of beginner strategy is learning how to recognize these threats before the damage is done. When you get good at this, you’ll improve beyond the level of casual players.

Recognize common patterns

Credit: domin_domin / iStock

If you want to keep your pieces safe, you need to recognize common attack patterns. There are whole textbooks devoted to this topic alone, so here, we’ll focus just on the most common patterns you’re likely to see:

Fork: When one piece threatens two pieces simultaneously, often forcing the opponent to save one and sacrifice another.

Knight Fork: A regular fork performed by a knight. These are especially tricky to spot thanks to the way the knight “jumps” across the board.

Pin: When a piece can’t move from its position without exposing another, more valuable piece to danger. Pinned pieces are easy to attack, since they have limited retreat options.

Skewer: It’s the pin in reverse. Two pieces will be lined up vertically, with a high-value piece protecting a low-value piece. In this case, your opponent will generally elect to save his/her important soldier, leaving the weaker one open to capture.

Improving through training

Credit: ilkercelik / iStock

The only way to get better at chess is to start recognizing these patterns in games and leveraging them to your advantage. Keep this in mind as you practice.

For best results, set aside a certain amount of time each day to play a practice game, review strategies and analyze patterns. Your goal isn’t to win—it’s to review each phase of the board for these patterns and get familiar with seeing them in practice.

Over time, you’ll find that you start to notice these opportunities automatically without much effort. That’s how you improve.

And as this skill develops, you’ll be able to build on these patterns to recognize more complex sets of moves that let you play you one, two or even three moves ahead of your opponent.

That’s how you win.

Is It Time To Kill The World’s Dictators?

Is It Time To Kill The World’s Dictators?












With Power Comes Dreams And Night Terrors


Kings like all people do dream dreams

Therein their Spirit is often much troubled

Their sleep and their conscience is tainted

Yet, can a King demand to be enlightened


Leaders can summon their Magicians and Sorcerers

Yet when they stand before the throne can they see

Do they know what the King in His dreams has seen

Can the night terrors of Power ever truly be explained



Can forked tongues give enlightenment to what they have not seen


Are there truly Leaders, Magicians or Sorcerers worthy of great honor











(Philosophy Poem) Who Is Worthy To Rule Us



It is the law that ordains Presidents and High Priests

Yet man’s laws are filled with infirmities and deceit

Do our Leaders meet each morning to ask God’s will

Are our Leaders Holy, undefiled, separated from sin

Just as a Priest will fade away, so do the words of men


As a Priests oaths are Holy, should not also the words of a King

The Lord has no need to repent, can the same be said for a man

Man’s laws have never been perfect, yet they now rule over God’s

Until man annuls the grip of evil hearts, there is no justice for all

The weak are only for the profit of the rich, until the Trumpet’s call


In the Order of Melchizedek are there Leaders in the shade of His Tree

There is one High Priest not of human laws, but for everlasting peace

God’s Words are as a solid rock, yet what of these words of mortal men

New Covenants, new laws that don’t pass away, there made to bury us

Humans who wish to take the lead but what of their mercy and righteousness

(Wisdom Poem) Do Not Desire Evil, For It Will Find You In Your End



Do not play a fool by desiring the riches of an evil man

For an evil man will study your lusts and weakest defenses

With money and jewels the powerful lures you to destruction

A wise man builds his own house through wisdom and knowledge

The Righteous possess riches that the wealthy seldom understand


He who runs to do evil in their end falls into the grave and Hell’s Pit

Evil is the King who lures his own people to become cannon fodder

Leaders who go to war staying at the rear is both evil and a coward

Leaders and Kings lay lies into the ears of the poor so that they die

The Rich and the Powerful know not that Satan awaits their filthy hides


Be ware of the Powerful who set their eyes upon your wife or your children

When the Evil Obtain Power it only enhances their belief in their own ego

If your Leader is filled with themselves the poor’s pockets grow more empty

Do not cherish evil things as the Lord see’s inside the heart and Soul of all

If you desire evil rewards, Satan will own both them and your head in the end

Playing The Card We Are ‘Caste’ In Life


How does one play this little game called life

Can we compete with the cards we have been dealt

Or do we barter or mark them to increase our wealth

Hoping for better, serfdom, such a hard hand to play


Or maybe life dealt us kings with a mansion on a hill

Maybe we are blessed with queen’s smiling as the kill



Sowing your oats where you please in your life of glee



Even a princess is nothing until a queen’s crown she does fulfill


Are we and our lives nothing, discarded without a second thought

Raised to serve the aristocracy, bent backs crawling on our knees

This world’s self proclaimed royalty, their noses high in the breeze



Hillary Caught Lying About Emails To/From Director Of CIA And Secretary Of Defense!




Getty – Riccardo Savi, Ramin Talaie

According to newly released FBI investigative files, more than 1,000 emails between Hillary Clinton and Gen. David Petraeus were not among the 30,000 emails provided by the Clinton camp to the State Department at the department’s request in 2014.

moreover, as reported by Fox News Chief Intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge, Clinton directed Petraeus to correspond with her via her personal email address — the same address she used for government business during her tenure as Secretary of State.

As reported by Fox News Politics, a State Department employee discussed with the FBI how emails between Clinton and Petraeus were not among those provided to the bureau.



Clinton has claimed that she turned over all work-related emails to the State Department.

August 2015, Clinton declares “under penalty of perjury” that she turned over all work-related emails. . 

That declaration has proved to be patently false on numerous occasions.

Image Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Image Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Petraeus pleaded guilty to mishandling classified material in April, 2015 and was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine as part of a plea agreement.

The former CIA director and highly decorated four-star general admitted to sharing classified information with his biographer and mistress, Paula Broadwell. He avoided jail time because the information was never published nor released to the public.

Speaking of “released to the public,” emails recovered by the FBI and released last week appear to contradict Clinton’s recent sworn testimony about her private server.

Two Undisturbed Tombs Of Mayan ‘Snake Kings’ Unearthed in Guatemala


Remarkable Secret Tombs of Maya Snake Kings Reveal Fascinating Story

Remarkable Secret Tombs of Maya Snake Kings Reveal Fascinating Story

(Read the article on one page)

Archeologists have unearthed two un-looted Maya tombs in the Holmul ruins of Guatemala. The discoveries within the tombs connect with previous artifacts, and shed light on the famous story of influential Maya kings, whose symbol was a snake head.

The tombs were discovered 300 miles (482 km) north of Guatemala City at the archaeological site and ancient Maya city of Holmul. Both tombs date to between 650 – 700 AD, when the Pre-Columbian civilization dominated these lands, and just before it fell. Guatemala played a very important part of Maya history, however, there remain many mysteries, such as why the civilization collapsed. Researchers believe excavations of the many Maya ruins may be the key to unlocking the hidden history.

According to The Guardian , the tombs “miraculously escaped” looters’ tunnels underneath two Maya pyramids. Moreover, at the site they discovered jade-inlaid teeth, an inscribed human tibia and a puzzling, sun-god pendant.

Inside one of the tombs was found a puzzling artifact of a Maya dynasty called ‘The Snake Kings’ due to their emblem. The snake head was a symbol of the family that ruled for several generations about 100 miles (161 km) to north from the tombs in Holmul. This family of ‘snake kings’ warred with another rival family.

Tombs Filled with Rare Finds

One of the tombs was built into a pyramid, which was constructed to cover and surround the building from the fifth century AD. It contained the preserved skeleton of a middle-aged person with teeth inlays made of jade. Archaeologists were surprised to also discover what they believe is a human tibia bone with inscriptions carved into it.

Archaeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli of Boston University told the Guardian that the inscribed bone is ‘a very, very rare find” and the skeleton “could be from and ancestor or captive of war”. Tooth inlays suggest that the tomb may have belonged to someone from an elite family, as such tooth adornment was custom among Maya royalty, reports

Estrada-Belli believes that epigraphical analysis on the bone will bring even more information.

Pyramid Temple E in Nakum, Petén, Guatemala; Representational image only.

Pyramid Temple E in Nakum, Petén, Guatemala; Representational image only. ( CC BY-SA 4.0 )

The second tomb, which was discovered in a separate pyramid, also contained the skeletal remains of a middle-aged person. This tomb was decorated with jade artifacts and various vessels. What was most significant was the discovery of a ‘war trophy’ — a jade pendant with an inscription stating that it belongs to a far-away king.

The impressive jade artifact contains the name of a snake king, making it the first discovery of this kind. The inscription reads “Yuknoom Ti’ Chan, Holy king of Kaanul.” It is known that this king was a member of the mysterious dynasty, and its presence in a tomb so far from their region suggests their influence stretched farther than previously thought.

A jade Serpent Head Pendant; representational image only. Mexico, Chiapas or Guatemala, Maya, A.D. 200-900

A jade Serpent Head Pendant; representational image only. Mexico, Chiapas or Guatemala, Maya, A.D. 200-900 (LACMA/ Public Domain )

The tombs also contained also a conch shell that had been made into a scribal ink pot and artifacts made of obsidian, ceramics, shells, and jade.

The discoveries can be partly compared to the ones made on another site in Guatemala – Tikal, where the researchers found a similar carved bone that bore inscriptions of the name of a captured warrior. Rosemary Joyce, an anthropologist at UC Berkeley, who was not involved in the excavation, claimed the bones should be examined by anthropologists before confirming it is human or an animal bone.

Discovery of a Maya Mountain Spirit

The ancient site in Holmul, in the Petén Basin is one of the most fascinating places, and excavations have delighted researchers with many rich discoveries over the years. April Holloway from Ancient Origins reported in 2013 on the discovery of a massive Maya frieze at the same site:

“Archaeologists have discovered a giant Maya frieze in the buried city of Holmul in the Peten Basin region of Guatemala. It depicts a mythological setting with a ruler sitting atop the head of a Maya mountain spirit.

The frieze, which measures 8 meters by 2 meters (26 feet by 6.5 feet), is one of the best preserved examples of its kind. There are even traces of red, blue, green, and yellow paints still visible, and there are no missing parts to it, only a small faded corner which is close to the surface.”

The Maya frieze in excellent condition.

The Maya frieze in excellent condition. (Francisco Estrada-Belli photo/