The quickest way to start playing chess again after 20 years is to set up a board, move each piece around to remember how it travels, refresh the three special rules, and play one gentle game against a friend or the computer. That's genuinely it. Everything else builds from there.
If you're coming back as part of a wider return to the game, our complete guide to returning to chess after decades away covers the bigger picture. Here, we'll focus on the first steps.
Step 1: Decide how you want to play
You have three simple options, and none of them is wrong:
- A real board. Best if you love the feel of the pieces or prefer to avoid screens
- The computer. Best if you want a game today with no sign-up, no pressure, and nobody watching
- Real people online. Best if you want company and variety, once you're warmed up
We suggest starting with the board or the computer for the first week. You can switch whenever you like.
Step 2: Meet the pieces again
Set up the starting position and name every square out loud if it helps. Then move each piece around an otherwise empty board and feel how it travels:
- Rook: straight lines, any distance
- Bishop: diagonals, any distance, and it stays on one colour all game
- Queen: rook plus bishop, and the strongest piece
- King: one square in any direction
- Knight: an "L" shape, and the only piece that can jump
- Pawn: forward one square (two from its starting square), but it captures diagonally
A few minutes of touch brings back more than you'd expect. Your hands remember more than your head does.
Step 3: Refresh the special rules
Three rules catch returning players out more than any others: castling, en passant, and promotion. Spend ten minutes practicing each on a real board, and write down which one you'd forgotten. We go through all of them in the chess rules you've probably forgotten.
Step 4: Try some simple checkmate puzzles
Spotting a checkmate in one move is the heart of the game, and it tends to come back quickly. Try half a dozen simple puzzles and notice how fast your eye returns. It's a great confidence boost before your first game.
Step 5: Play your first game back
Play one game against the computer at its easiest level, or a friend on a real board. Don't worry about winning. The aim is simply to finish a game and remember how it feels.
Before each move, try this quick habit: can they give check, is the piece I moved safe, did I leave anything else unprotected, and what is their best reply? It's the single most useful thing you can do to avoid giving pieces away, and we explain it in the four questions that stop you blundering.
Step 6: Look back at your game
Find one moment where you left a piece unprotected or missed a chance, and smile. That's progress. Looking back at one game teaches you more than playing five without thought.
What if I want to play online?
When you feel ready (usually in the second week), create a free account on a site such as Lichess or Chess.com. Choose Rapid games of ten minutes or more. We have a step-by-step guide to setting up your first account, and a comparison of Lichess and Chess.com for returning players.
A few reassurances
- You have not forgotten as much as you think
- You do not need to be good at computers
- Nobody is watching or judging
- Losing is part of it. Early games are for remembering, not for winning
Want it laid out day by day?
If you'd rather follow a plan than work it out yourself, Back To Chess: The 30-Day Comeback Plan takes you through exactly these steps and more, with one small card per day, about 15 to 25 minutes each. It's £3.47, with no subscription and no pressure.
Or take the free Chess Openings Quiz to find an opening that suits how you like to play.
