when in the middle of a game I get a message that Ive timed out and lost.  I would like to fix the problem.

Usually a connection and/or site (glitch) problem imo.

Not much you can do other than minimize your side of things that might affect your connection (avoid browsing and other programs running).

sftac

thank you.  I appreciate yourcomment. It was very helpful.  (no ITUNES while playing chess). 

If the problem persists read this:

http://blog.chess.com/NimzoRoy/diagnosing-and-fixing-internet-problems

BTW you should be able to run iTunes and play chess unless you have very little RAM and/or a really old CPU