You may not need to pay for an opening principles chess course: ChessMood's page for its Opening Principles course is titled as a free course and shows it as unlocked, and Lichess Learn is free. This guide is based on published documentation, pricing and reports; a paid beginner course is worth it only for its other content, and a repertoire is a different purchase.
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Test depth: Public information only. Nobody at ChessCourseFinder has taken these courses. This page is based on seller pages read on 8 November 2026. How we review explains the limits. This page is part of our skills guides.
Principles are not a repertoire
Opening principles are general ideas that tell you what to do when you do not know the theory. They need almost no memorisation, which is the conventional coaching view. A repertoire is a set of specific lines for a chosen opening and carries a real theory load. If you want lines, go to the openings section, the beginner repertoire guide, or low-theory repertoire courses. Whether a repertoire course is worth buying is covered in are opening courses worth it.
None of the learning research we read compares principle-based study with memorised lines, so the idea that beginners should learn principles first remains coaching opinion.
What the principles involve
The table sets out the usual guidelines, why coaches give them, and where they bend. All of it is conventional coaching wisdom, not a set of laws.
| Guideline | The reason behind it | Where it bends |
|---|---|---|
| Develop your pieces | Pieces on their starting squares do nothing | When a threat has to be answered first |
| Fight for the centre | Central pieces can reach both sides of the board | Some openings pressure the centre from a distance instead of occupying it |
| Keep your king safe | A king in the middle gets hit when the centre opens | A closed centre can make castling less urgent |
| Avoid moving a piece twice | Each repeat move is a turn your other pieces do not get | Captures, escaping a threat, or reaching a clearly better square |
| Do not bring the queen out early | It can be chased with tempo by pieces that are developing anyway | Mainstream exceptions exist, such as 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 |
| Avoid needless pawn moves | Pawns cannot go back, so weakened squares stay weak | Moves with a concrete purpose, such as stopping a real threat |
A worked example. After 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 g6 4.Qf3 Nf6, Black has developed two knights while answering a threat, and White has spent two of four moves on the queen. It is the "queen early" guideline in four moves. Compare a line that respects the guidelines: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.O-O d6, where each side has developed quickly and White has already castled.
Principles do not replace looking at the board. Moves can follow every guideline and still lose to a one-move threat, which is the job of blunder prevention.
Is "castle early" bad advice?
It depends on how the advice is applied, and the sources disagree. ChessMood's intermediate study plan lists "Develop the pieces", "Fight for the center" and "Castle early", calls the third "a very wrong rule!" and tells readers to study the Opening Principles course (study plan). The course's lesson list includes "Why 'Castle early' is bad advice", "Don't castle just for castling" and "The King in the center" (course page). On the other side, the December 2025 Chess It Up guide advises castling as soon as it is safe, usually around moves 5-10 (Chess It Up).
Those positions may be closer than they sound, since "castle when it is safe" and "do not castle automatically" can both be true. The usual coaching compromise is that a beginner should castle soon unless there is a specific reason not to, and should treat an open centre with the king still on it as an emergency. We have not seen the arguments inside ChessMood's lessons, so check them before relying on either view.
Do you actually need this?
This audit is a common coaching exercise, and the thresholds are ours, not validated ones. Take your last five games and stop each one at move 10:
- How many of your knights and bishops are still on their starting squares?
- Is your king castled, or is it in the centre for a reason you can name?
- Did you move your queen before developing two minor pieces?
- Did you move one piece twice without a capture, a threat, or a reply to a threat?
- How many pawn moves did you make on the edges of the board?
If you have two or more undeveloped minor pieces at move 10 in three or more of the five games, or you cannot give a reason for your king's position, principles are a real gap. If your first ten moves look healthy and you still lose by move 15 to a simple shot, the problem is more likely tactics or blunders. If you score well and can explain your choices, you can move on to the repertoire pages.
A sensible order of study
This sequence is received wisdom from coaching, not a tested plan.
- If you are new to the rules, use Lichess Learn first.
- Watch or read one principles source. ChessMood's 1h 51m is about eight days at 15 minutes a day (111 / 15 = 7.4).
- Play about ten games at 15 minutes or longer, using the five audit questions as your guide.
- Audit those games. Look at the first ten moves only.
- Then choose a small repertoire for each colour if you want one.
- Come back for the exceptions once you are comfortable with the rule.
What to use, by level
Levels are approximate.
- Under about 1000: the free options below, plus avoiding early blunders; see blunder prevention.
- About 1000 to 1500: the ChessMood course if the page still shows it unlocked, then a repertoire if you want one.
- Above about 1500: principles are less likely to be the gap; the repertoire pages cover preparation and structures.
How we chose
We looked for a course that is mainly about principles rather than lines, a stated rating range, a stated length and a visible price status. Few met all four.
The options we found
| Option | Price status (8 Nov 2026) | Stated level | Listed size | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening Principles (ChessMood, GM Avetik Grigoryan) | Page title says "Free course"; page shows "UNLOCKED" and quotes no price | 600-1800 | 1h 51m, 35 numbered lessons plus an overview | Page read |
| Beginner Chess Mastery (Next Level Chess) | $97 once, lifetime access per seller | Below 1200 on Chess.com per seller | 95 lessons, 13.5h; its Opening Principles section is 4 lessons | Page read |
| Smithy's Opening Fundamentals (Chessable) | Free, per a Chess.com user blog dated 16 July 2025; unconfirmed | Not stated | Not read | Blog report only |
| Lichess Learn | Free | Beginners | "Learn chess by playing" per its page title | Page read |
Source for the free Chessable claim: a Chess.com user blog (5 free Chessable courses); we could not read Chessable's own page, so confirm it is still free.
ChessMood Opening Principles
The published lesson list is detailed enough to show what it covers, grouped here by us from the titles:
| Topic | Lessons | Notes from the titles |
|---|---|---|
| Good squares, the centre, setups | 1-8 | Includes two worked examples (about 17 minutes together) |
| Queen, repeat moves, pawn moves | 9-15 | "Don't bring your Queen out early" and "The exception" |
| Pawns, opening philosophy, gambits | 16-18 | "The ideas of gambits" is 2m 26s |
| Castling and the king | 19-24 | Five titles about castling, about 10 minutes, plus "A trick for winning a tempo" |
| Early mistakes and weak squares | 26-31 | Ends with f2/f7 and c2/c7 weaknesses |
Downsides:
- The page lists no puzzles and a "Course test" tab; we do not know how practice is handled.
- It runs under two hours, so it cannot replace a repertoire.
- The free status is read from the page title and the unlocked label; the pricing page does not list individual courses, so verify before assuming it stays free. If you want the rest of ChessMood, see Basic and paid plans.
Beginner Chess Mastery
A general beginner course, not an opening course. Its syllabus lists a four-lesson Opening Principles section, about 4% of its 95 lessons, alongside rules, piece use, tactics, mates and endings, with White and Black opening bonuses of 8 and 12 lessons. Calculated from listed figures, it is about $7.19 per listed hour and $1.02 per lesson. It is pitched at players below 1200 (its FAQ advises players above 1200 who expect much novelty not to buy it), and it offers a 14-day refund per the seller's page. See the Next Level Chess review. If principles are the only thing you need, $97 is mostly buying other material.
What the seller's pages do not tell you
- The ChessMood Opening Principles page quotes no price and does not say whether "free" is permanent; the title is the only wording on it.
- ChessMood's page for the course does not describe a practice component, only a test tab.
- The lesson titles show ChessMood's stance on castling, but only the separate study-plan page states it in words. The reasoning sits inside lessons we have not seen; the title lesson on it lasts 41 seconds.
- Next Level's guidance for players above 1200 sits in its FAQ, not near the price.
Who should skip this
Skip a paid principles course if you already develop pieces, control the centre and castle without thinking. Skip any course if a free guide covers the three rules in five minutes. If your real problem is losing pieces early, see tactics courses.
The free resource that covers the same ground
Lichess Learn is a free beginner course titled "Learn chess by playing", and Lichess Studies are user-made collections you can search for a given opening; see our Lichess guide. For general course advice, see how to choose a chess course.
To look at ChessMood's courses, ChessMood has a free Basic plan.
Original test pending
We have not run an original test of any course on this page. A real test would work through the sample lessons of each, check whether the principles are explained with examples at the stated rating, confirm the price status over time, and record what the exercises involve. It would not measure rating gains.