Free Chess Training Resources
- Last reviewed
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Free resources can cover the fundamentals for most players below about 1500: tactics puzzles, basic endgames, game review and a first opening repertoire. They tend to run out on structured paths, a curriculum with someone else's order and deadlines, and deep opening files for specific lines. That is a general judgment about the options, not a measured result, and the pages below say which free options we could confirm.
What free options cover well
- Tactics practice. Puzzle sites and free tiers give unlimited repetition, which is the main thing tactics training needs. Browse the free tactics trainers and puzzle sites.
- Practice and studies. Lichess offers studies, practice and puzzles at no cost.
- Free courses on paid platforms. Seventeen named Chessable courses showed a "Get for free" button on Chessable's own pages when we read them on 8 November 2026, while twelve others that blogs had called free now show "This course is for members". We could identify eight Udemy courses listed as free, from third-party listings only, because Udemy blocks automated page reads. See free Chessable courses and free Udemy chess courses, and check each course page before relying on it.
- Video explanation. Chess YouTube channels for improvers names a few channels we could confirm exist and explains how to judge any channel for your level; it does not rank them.
Where free options run out
Free material rarely gives you a sequenced plan, accountability or feedback on your own games, and quality varies from video to video. Free tiers on paid platforms also tend to withhold features. If you notice you start many things and finish none, a structured paid course may help, and free versus paid training by rating looks at when paying pays off.
Free pages by type
- Are chess courses worth it? Free versus paid by rating: the decision page to start with; free can be enough below about 1500, and paying gets more reasonable when free material has not fixed a specific gap.
- Lichess for improvers: what Lichess offers and where it stops, as the baseline a paid course has to beat.
- Free Chessable courses: seventeen courses showing a free button on Chessable's own pages on 8 November 2026, and twelve blog-reported ones that now show "for members".
- Free Udemy chess courses: eight courses listed as free in third-party sources, none of which we can vouch for.
- Best chess YouTube channels for improvers: a few channels confirmed to exist, with no subscriber counts or rankings.
Next steps
Pick a band on the rating bands hub, read the Chess.com Premium vs Lichess comparison to decide whether any subscription is needed, or use the chess course finder, which offers a free option first.