# Duolingo chess

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duolingo-chess/1024835
**Category:** The Game Room
**Tags:** chess
**Created:** [November 13, 2025, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duolingo-chess/1024835 "2025-11-13T18:14:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 4

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### Author: ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2025, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duolingo-chess/1024835/4 "2025-11-13T22:15:02Z")

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Hi, I’m a retired chess coach. 🧐

> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#):
>
> And a question for the experienced chess players on the SDMB - I’m currently sticking to an opening that gets the two central pawns, both knights, and both bishops into the centre of the board as soon as possible, leaving open the possibility of a kingside castle, and being only one move of the queen away from a queenside castle.

The general ideas behind a good chess opening are:

- develop your pieces
- control the centre
- get castled

However chess is a battle, so whenever your opponent moves, look to see if they are threatening anything.

> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#):
>
> Keeping that in mind, what’s the best response when your opponent does something really unusual in the second or third move?

As Jas09 says, can you give an example of the above?

N.B. I’ve posted here about chess many times - have a look at post 6 etc in this thread:

[Please recommend a path to learning chess - The Game Room - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-path-to-learning-chess/991867/6)

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