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Best Chess Openings for Beginners: A Guide to Starting Strong in Quess

If you already know how to play Chess, you already understand the basic principles behind an opening: develop your pieces, establish a useful position, protect your King, and prepare for the middlegame.

Quess keeps that Chess foundation while putting four players on the same board.

Instead of facing one opponent, you share the board with three others. That means your opening decisions still come from familiar Chess principles, but you need to consider a wider board position from the beginning.

What Is an Opening in Chess?

The opening is the first stage of a Chess game. It is where players develop their pieces and prepare their positions for the tactical and strategic play that follows.

There is no single opening that every player must use. Common Chess openings begin with moves such as 1.e4, 1.d4, 1.c4, or 1.Nf3, each leading to different types of positions.

For beginners, understanding why players make these moves is generally more useful than memorizing long sequences.

That same principle applies when learning Quess.

How Quess Starts Differently

Quess uses four sets of Chess pieces, with each player controlling one set.

The board expands the familiar chess-playing area to accommodate four players. Each player has a dedicated starting area and their pieces, while all players share the central chessboard.

The four player colours shown in the Quess board are

• Fire Red
• Air Grey
• Water Blue
• Earth Green

The colours distinguish the four players on the board. They do not give pieces different movement abilities. Red usually starts, unless the players roll to decide who goes first. After the starting player, turns proceed clockwise around the board.

This means your first move is not made in isolation. From the beginning of the game, three opposing positions develop on the same board.

Should Beginners Learn 1.e4?

1.e4 is a traditional Chess opening move and is one of the most familiar examples for learning basic opening principles.

It opens lines for the Queen and a Bishop, allowing the player to begin developing towards the centre. For beginners studying Chess, it provides a useful example of how an opening move can support development and central control.

In Quess, the same Chess principles apply, but the position is different because four players share the board. Quess players need to evaluate their position while also watching the three opposing positions on the board.

Rather than treating 1.e4 as a specific Quess opening, beginners should focus on understanding the principles behind their opening moves and how those principles apply to the Quess board.

What About 1.d4?

1.d4 is another traditional Chess opening move.

It establishes a presence in the centre and opens lines for development. Like 1.e4, it is useful for beginners studying traditional Chess because it demonstrates how an initial pawn move can influence the resulting position.

Quess uses the same familiar Chess foundation, but four players share the expanded board. The opening position, therefore, needs to be considered from the perspective of all three opponents rather than through the lens of traditional White-versus-Black play.

1.c4 and 1.Nf3

1.c4 and 1.Nf3 are also traditional Chess opening examples.

1.c4 begins by placing pressure toward the centre, while 1.Nf3 develops a Knight and leaves several central pawn options available.

These moves can help beginners understand different approaches to traditional Chess openings. In Quess, however, they should be viewed as examples of Chess opening principles rather than official Quess opening systems. The key skill is understanding why a move is useful and then evaluating the resulting position across the four-player board.

Quess uses its notation system for identifying positions on the four-player board. The examples above use standard Chess notation only.

The Most Important Opening Skill in Quess: Board Awareness

This aspect is where four-player Quess requires a different approach.

In traditional two-player Chess, your attention is primarily divided between your own position and one opponent.

In Quess, three opponents are developing simultaneously.

A move that looks useful against one opponent may also create an opportunity for another player elsewhere on the board.

Therefore, before committing to an opening move, look beyond the immediate exchange. Wider-board awareness becomes important in the first few turns.

Develop Your Pieces Before Chasing Tactics

The basic Chess pieces in Quess retain their familiar movement.

The King moves one square in any direction. The Queen moves any number of vacant squares along ranks, files, or diagonals. Rooks move horizontally or vertically, Bishops move diagonally, and Knights move in their familiar L-shaped pattern.

Pawns move forward and capture diagonally, with the option to move two squares on their first move, where applicable.

Because these fundamentals remain f

Quess retains the familiar Chess concept of Check…

amiliar, beginners do not need to learn an entirely new set of piece movements before starting Quess.

Instead, the challenge is learning how those familiar pieces interact with a board containing three opponents.

Developing your pieces gives you more options as the position expands.

Check, Checkmate and Stasis in Quess

Quess retains the familiar Chess concept of Check, but the response depends on where the threat comes from.

If the player to your right places your King in Check, you must answer that Check on your turn. A threat from the player to your left or from the player directly across from you may instead be interrupted by another player before your turn arrives.

This temporary situation is known as Stasis.

If no player breaks the threat before the affected player’s turn arrives, the affected player must respond. If the position is Checkmate, the player is eliminated, and their remaining pieces are removed from the board. The game then continues among the remaining players.

This rule allows the four-player turn order to account for situations that do not occur in the same way in traditional two-player Chess.

Pawn Promotion in Quess

Quess retains the familiar Chess concept of Pawn Promotion while adapting the route to the four-player board.

When a Pawn enters an enemy Domain by capturing a piece, it advances forward through that Domain toward promotion. This adapts the familiar promotion rule to the four-player board while keeping the underlying concept of Pawn Promotion familiar.

A Simple Opening Approach for Quess Beginners

You do not need to memorize a long opening sequence before playing your first Quess game.

Start with a few practical principles.

First, develop your pieces. Give your Knights and Bishops useful squares and avoid spending too many moves on the same piece without a clear reason.

Second, pay attention to the centre. The central board is shared by all four players, so pieces that become active there can influence a wider area.

Third, protect your King. Do not focus so heavily on your attack that you overlook an incoming threat.

Fourth, scan the entire board. Do not evaluate your move only against the player you are immediately attacking.

Finally, remember that Quess is still built on Chess. Understanding normal Chess principles gives you a foundation; learning to evaluate three opponents at once is the additional skill.

Common Opening Mistakes in Quess

Beginners can easily make familiar Chess mistakes while also overlooking the wider four-player position.

One common mistake is focusing entirely on one opponent.

Another is moving pieces repeatedly while leaving other pieces undeveloped.

It is also easy to focus on an attractive capture without considering what another player can do afterward.

A fourth mistake is forgetting that a King can be threatened from more than one direction because the board is shared by four players.

The solution is straightforward: before making your move, scan the wider board rather than looking only at the position directly in front of you.

Is There a Best Chess Opening for Quess Beginners?

There is no Quess rule that designates a single opening as the best for beginners.

Moves such as 1.e4, 1.d4, 1.c4, and 1.Nf3 are established Chess opening choices that can help players understand different approaches to the opening.

For a new Quess player, the more important skill is learning how to apply familiar Chess principles while accounting for three opponents.

The opening is not simply about making a strong first move. It is about developing a position that remains manageable as the other three players begin developing theirs.

Start Learning Quess

Quess takes the familiar foundation of Chess and places four players around an expanded board.

The pieces retain their established Chess movements, while the four-player format introduces specific rules for situations such as pawn promotion, checkmate, and stasis.

If you already play Chess, you have a foundation to work from. The next step is learning how to read the wider board, track three opponents, and make decisions while all four positions develop.

THREE OPPONENTS. ONE BOARD.

Play Quess with friends, family, or other players, and see how your Chess knowledge holds up when four players share the same game.

The physical Quess game has completed its design stage and is ready for production. The live Kickstarter campaign is helping bring the game from its completed design to production.

Follow Quess Gaming and support the Kickstarter.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best Chess openings for beginners in Quess?

There is no single opening designated as the best for Quess beginners. Familiar Chess openings such as 1.e4, 1.d4, 1.c4, and 1.Nf3 can help beginners learn basic opening principles before applying them to the four-player board.

Do Chess opening principles still apply in Quess?

Yes. Core Chess principles, such as developing pieces, controlling key central squares, protecting the King, and avoiding unnecessary moves, still apply. The main additional consideration is that you must account for three opponents sharing the board.

How many opponents do you face in Quess?

Quess is played by four players, so each player has three opponents. All four players share the expanded board, with turns proceeding clockwise after the starting player is determined.

What should beginners focus on when starting a Quess game?

Focus on developing your pieces, keeping your King safe, understanding the shared board, and checking all three opponents before making a move. You do not need to memorize long opening sequences to start playing Quess.