5 Things Every Beginner Can Learn From PogChamps 5 To Play Chess Better

The PogChamps 5 live in-person finals are almost starting, with the players gathering in Los Angeles to play for a first-place finish in the Championship and Consolation brackets. While it's not uncommon for people to point out how much better they are than the Pog players (oh, wow, somebody give them cookies!), many beginners can in fact learn a lot from the event.

I remember being around 1000-rated, about where several Pog players are also rated, and trying to improve. I was making the same mistakes you constantly see in PogChamps. That's because many players in that rating range share the same chess instincts—and sadly, most of these instincts suck. 

So here are five basic yet fundamental chess concepts that every beginner can learn in order to play better and surpass the 1000 Elo mark. And you'll also find funny clips. Enjoy!

• Learn How To Checkmate
• Follow The Golden Rule Of The Opening
• Resist The Temptation To Trade Pieces
• Going Forward Is Not Always Better
• Don't Give Useless Checks

Learn How To Checkmate

When QTCinderella drew a game by stalemate for the third time on the same day, the crowd went crazy. How could she keep doing that? Well, if you've seen enough PogChamps, you know it's not her fault. It's all IM Levy Rozman's fault.

Jokes aside, QT is not alone. Pog players never cease to amaze the audience with brand new ways to stalemate. Who can forget Franks' unbelievable stalemate against Jarvis? 

Or, from a past PogChamps, Ludwig's staircase stalemate against Boxbox?

As you can see, stalemates are common, even when you're beyond the 1000-rating level. But how can you avoid them?

First of all, stop and relax. The thrill of winning can cloud your judgment, but if you have time to calculate, make sure your opponent has moves. Second, do not take your opponent's harmless pawns. If they're not promoting, they're actually an asset for you, not your opponent—because even if their king has no legal moves, their pawns will!

Finally, and most importantly, I beg you to learn how to checkmate. The two-rook mate, queen mate, and one-rook mate are enough to get you past 1000 Elo. Pretty please?

Follow The Golden Rule Of The Opening

QT could've made it to the Championship Bracket if she had won her second game against Papaplatte. Why did she lose? The clip below should give you an idea (hint: she wasn't thrown off by WFM Anna Cramling's awkward commentary, it was something else):

You'll notice Papaplatte had four pieces developed and had already castled. QT had two pieces developed, and one of them was the queen. Though she was two pawns up, the engine claimed Papaplatte was much better. 

To avoid this mistake, try not to move the same piece twice until you have (in no particular order) developed at least your bishops and knights and your king is castled. Resist the urge to threaten other pieces or to "start an attack." In fact, pretend you're only allowed to move the same piece twice in two situations: to avoid losing it or to win one of your opponent's pieces. This is the golden rule of the opening and should be your second priority after you learn how to checkmate.

Resist The Temptation To Trade Pieces

It's not easy to learn to resist the temptation to trade pieces. I remember feeling physically uncomfortable when two pieces could be traded, a feeling a lot of beginners have, too. It's no wonder chess players call this "tension"—and nobody likes being tense.

That's why most people's first instinct is to trade pieces as fast as possible, which is generally called "releasing the tension." In the clip below, you can literally hear QT saying, "I think I want to get rid of this guy out of pure anxiety." Her anxiety compelled her to trade her knight for a bishop. In fact, that anxiety was so big that it made her forget that her knight was pinned, something she had noticed a few seconds earlier.

Well, it's definitely better to be tense than dead, so you should first calculate if the piece trade will result in a better position for you. If it doesn't, keep the tension and remember that it bothers your opponent, too!

Going Forward Is Not Always Better

In the xQc vs. Papaplatte quarterfinal match, xQc categorically stated that his opponent was done:

As you can see from the position, Papaplatte was not done. A full piece up, Papaplatte eventually won that game. But how did xQc get himself into that situation? By making a mistake most beginners make: only thinking about how he could move his pieces forward, but not backward. When Papaplatte attacked his knight, xQc tunnel-visioned and moved it up the board instead of retreating. Soon, his knight was trapped.

The lesson? Look back and remember where you came from (your pieces, I mean). Your pieces can move backward, and can't be scared of retreating. Going backward might look passive, but defending is as important as attacking in chess!

Don't Give Useless Checks

Chess is not like other games, where if you land enough hits on the final boss, you eventually win. I hate to admit it, but my parents were correct: video games really can't teach me everything I need to know about life. 

While giving a useless check can be harmless, it could also cost you dearly. Chess is a turn-based game, so you have to be smart about how you move your pieces when it's your turn. If you waste your turn giving checks that only help your opponent move their pieces to the places they need to go, you can get in trouble very quickly. In the practical sense, it's like you're letting your opponent move more than once per turn, and that's not cool. Just ask Squeex:

What should you do, then? Before giving a check, make sure you're not giving your opponent a free turn to move to a place they already want to go anyway. And if you don't do that, you might make poor Levy very angry. Don't make Levy angry.

What is the thing you struggle with the most in chess? Let us know in the comment section below.