Q&A for How to Play Solo Chess

Study tactics to improve on your own. The best way to get better at chess is to study tactics as much as possible. You can find books about chess tactics that you can solve.

Play online against a computer. Sites like chess.com and Lichess.org allow you to play without having someone sitting in front of you. In addition, when you play chess on the computer, you can often save your games, so you can go back and see what you could have done differently.

Try watching videos to learn from other people's games. There are a lot of YouTube channels where you can learn amazing things about chess, and you can also find videos on sites like chess24.com. Different platforms offer different kinds of educational material, but if you find the right content, you can learn about the history of chess, pattern recognition, and more.

The middle game consists of trying to capture your opponent's pieces while protecting your own. That means you have to watch the entire board on every move. The goal is to enter the end game with a stronger arsenal of pieces than your opponent has.

No. Each player may castle once in a game.

No. You should always evaluate the move you will be doing before actually moving.

Since neither player can capture the other's king, this would be a stalemate (a draw).

It depends; bishops are stronger in end games and open position, but knights are better in closed position.

Use a bait. Baits are handy in the game -- you'll force the opponent to decide what should they protect or sacrifice; through that, since the Queen is even more important, you'll get out from captivity.

Yes. The outer files can be used very effectively, especially by the queen, rooks and bishops.

Chess games always end eventually, but it can seem like it takes forever. Two evenly matched opponents are likely to play long games with each other.

If you're playing yourself, then you'll only know through careful observation of the board and your moves. If you're playing someone else, then your opponent's expression might give away the effectiveness of your moves, giving you a clue as to whether or not your strategy was good.

It really doesn't address that question very well, does it? Playing chess against yourself is rather hard, because you can "read" your opponent's mind so well. The point of this article, however, is to discuss various ideas you should consider from each side of the board.

İf you mean at the start, it would be e-4 (pawn, white). İf your opponent plays this, then either e-5 or e-6 (pawn, black).

It depends on what you mean with that, you can castle with a king and a rook. This is done by moving the king 2 spaces and the rook next to it.

It depends. Knights are best in closed positions (when all of your and the opponent’s pieces are closed in together), but bishops, rooks, and queens are best in open positions (when the files and/or ranks are open).

If another player figures it out, s/he will do her/his best to try and stop it, and if s/he does, then you have nothing to do.

The opening typically lasts around 10-20 moves. The endgame starts whenever the queens are off the board and there are only a few pieces remaining. It's hard to estimate the number of moves for that to happen.

Yes, this is in the rules of chess. A king in check has to find a way to move out of check.

Yes. In solo chess you can do almost anything you want. The point is to learn to play well.