About CastleEarly
CastleEarly is a free website that teaches chess openings to beginners and improving players. Each lesson comes with an interactive board, so you can play through the moves instead of just reading them, and a Practice mode that checks whether you remember the line.
Why "CastleEarly"?
"Castle early" is one of the first pieces of advice every chess player hears. It sums up what this site is about: simple, reliable principles that help you get a good position out of the opening, without memorizing endless theory.
Who runs this site
CastleEarly is built and written by Hussain, a web developer and chess enthusiast. I built the interactive boards myself because I wanted a simpler way to learn openings than reading long lists of moves.
How lessons are written
Every line on the site is checked move by move. Explanations focus on why a move is played, not just which move comes next. If you spot a mistake, please let me know and I'll fix it.
Is CastleEarly free?
Yes. The site is free to use and is supported by advertising. See the privacy policy for details on how ads and cookies work here.