The best way for a beginner to learn how to plan ahead is to practice some common openings: Your first move is about setting up the rest of the game, leading to your first attack or controlling certain sections of the board. To win at chess, you need to be constantly thinking a few moves in advance, setting up longer, more complicated attacks to outfox your opponent. Think 4-5 moves in advance, using each move to set up more complicated attacks. Keeping these principles in mind, check out the list of opening moves used by Grandmasters at modern tournaments.Many beginners make the mistake of moving their queen out early, but this can leave your queen vulnerable to attack, causing you to have to move it again and lose a tempo. Try not to move the queen out too early.The goal of a good opening is to develop your major pieces efficiently, and moving too many pawns can give your opponent a tempo advantage. The more pieces you move, the more your opponent needs to react to you. Never move the same piece twice unless it could get in trouble and be taken.Black should hold back and wait a bit more, letting White expose themselves with a mistake before attacking. Since White moves first, you'll want to move in on the attack and try and control the game. Your opening moves will also be dependent on whether you are Black or White.This formation allows you to develop bishops, increases castling speed, and forms a defensive but less offensive fortress with the right moves. The most common yet very efficient path would be to move the king's pawn 2 spaces forward (e4 for White, e5 for Black) and then the queen's pawn forward 2 spaces (d4 for White, d5 for Black), if it is not at risk after the opponent makes their move. Move your pawns toward the center of the board while opening up your stronger pieces for easy movement.

There are several key considerations in a good opening: Your goal in the opening is to develop or move off the starting squares as many strong pieces as possible. Chess openings are the first 10-12 moves in the game, and they will determine your general strategy and positioning for the entire match. Understand the goals of a good opening move.

How to win at microsoft chess titans