I know the rules — what now?
These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing.
Direct answer
Play a dozen games against the computer at its lowest level, losing quickly and often. Then spend an afternoon learning to mate with a chariot against a bare general. Then start tactics puzzles. Do not touch opening theory yet — it is the last thing to study and the first thing most people start with.
Why the computer first
It never gets impatient, it punishes hung pieces consistently, there is no social cost to losing, and illegal moves are refused with the reason — so the board itself teaches the rules you have not absorbed. The cannon's screen rule in particular is learned by being punished for missing it.
Then find people
Computers at low levels play unnatural moves. Once you can beat the easy levels, switch to humans: their mistakes resemble the mistakes you will meet, and their attacks come from plans rather than search.
Related questions
When should I learn openings?
Once you stop losing to tactics. Four or five moves and the plan, no more.
How long until I am decent?
A few weeks of regular play removes most blunders. Club standard usually takes months.
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