Your First Opening Plans
Replace random early moves with a small set of understandable opening principles.
Take this guide on its own, or follow the complete beginner pathway from the first legal move to a practical plan.
This guide
Your First Opening Plans — Simple Setups Without Memorising Long Lines
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The Complete Chesshaven Collection
- Chess Rules Made Clear84 pp.
- Your First Opening Plans88 pp.
- Tactics You Can See96 pp.
- Play with a Plan90 pp.
$63.96£54.99
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Digital PDF88 planned pages · OPENINGS · no physical item is shipped.
Simple Setups Without Memorising Long Lines
Replace random early moves with a small set of understandable opening principles.
Learn what opening moves are trying to achieve, develop your pieces with purpose and reach a playable middlegame without memorising long variations.
Eight things this guide teaches you.
- What the opening is designed to achieve
- How to influence the centre
- How and when to develop knights and bishops
- How to prepare king safety
- Which common beginner mistakes waste time
- A simple opening plan with White
- Two practical responses with Black
- How to enter the middlegame with purpose
Your First Opening Plans
An opening is easier to remember when every move has a job. Your First Opening Plans explains centre influence, piece development, king safety and coordination before introducing simple plans for both colours.
The focus is not on memorising named theory. It is on recognising what the position needs and avoiding the most common early mistakes: moving the same piece repeatedly, bringing the queen out too soon and beginning an attack before the rest of the pieces can help. You will finish with a practical bridge from the opening into the middlegame.
Eight chapters, with their start pages.
- 01What the Opening Is Forpage 4
- 02Influence the Centrepage 14
- 03Develop Knights and Bishopspage 24
- 04Prepare King Safetypage 34
- 05Avoid Common Early Mistakespage 44
- 06A Simple Plan with Whitepage 54
- 07Two Practical Plans with Blackpage 66
- 08Enter the Middlegame with Purposepage 78
Page numbers refer to the planned 88-page edition.
Visual learning made for real games.
Cover
Contents preview
Sample page
These are previews of the planned edition, not the complete ebook.
Is this the right guide for you?
Beginners who know the rules but feel lost during the first ten moves.
Children should use these guides and any online chess platform with appropriate adult supervision and privacy controls.
Learn clearly — without impossible promises.
CHESSHAVEN explains beginner concepts but does not guarantee wins, ratings or tournament results. For organised play, always check the current rules of the relevant federation, organiser or platform.
These are opening principles for beginners, not named theory or a guaranteed result. Every position is different, and a plan should change when the position changes.
Download and learn at your own pace.
Digital product. No physical item will be shipped. You should receive downloadable PDF file(s) through the store’s configured digital-delivery app after purchase. Device compatibility, download limits, personal-printing rights and refund terms follow the store’s published settings and policy.
Before you begin.
Are these guides suitable for complete beginners?
Yes. Chess Rules Made Clear begins with the board itself. The remaining guides build gradually from that foundation.
Are these physical books?
No. They are digital PDF guides. No physical product is shipped.
Do I need to understand chess notation?
No. Coordinates and simple notation are introduced visually and gradually where they help.
Will these guides improve my rating?
They are designed to support clearer understanding and practice, but no rating increase, win rate or result is guaranteed.
Are these suitable for children?
The visual explanations can suit younger beginners, but children should use the guides and any online chess platform with appropriate adult supervision and privacy controls.
How long is Your First Opening Plans?
The planned length is 88 pages, arranged in eight chapters. The contents preview on this page shows that plan.
What format will I receive?
Downloadable PDF file(s), delivered through the store’s configured system once the finished ebooks are available.
What is the refund policy?
Digital products are covered by the store’s refund policy, shown in full before checkout. Please read it on the policy page linked in the footer.
The other guides
Chess Rules Made Clear
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Your First Opening Plans
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Tactics You Can See
96 planned pages
Play with a Plan
90 planned pages