Newer player looking for advice to get better.

I had a few quick questions for the forum. I have been playing chess since my father taught me as a child....Now I am in my 40's and to be honest, not any better. Only recently I have gotten serious about learning and getting better at the game. I have been playing the computer on chess.com and also bought an electronic chess travel set for when I am on the road and want to play. One of my questions is regarding opening as white and opening at black. Is there one opening for each color that is a good one for a newer player looking to become serious to learn? Also, what are the best ways to get better(books, videos, watching games online, playing games online against people or computer programs, etc..)? I know this sounds very open ended, but I want to get better and focus only on those things that will pay off with time invested as due to working and being an adult, I don't have much time to waste on things that will not pay off eventually. Any advice or suggestions would be welcome. Thank you

 Hey,

I haven't look at your games but seen that you only played blitz. If you want to improve, in my opinion, you should focus more on rapid games, so at least 15 min per game cause you got more time to think what really is the best move.

You asked for a general opening advice. First you need to understand the Golden Rules of playing an opening:

1. Control of the center.
2. Development.
3. Get your King into safe waters.

This is the shortcut of these rules, but what does this mean for a beginner:

• The best way to take control of the center is to put a pawn on it (e4/e5 or d4/d5).
• Development means that you get your minor pieces into the battle by developing them on active squares, so where they put pressure on the center.
• While both sides are fighting to control the center, those lines (especially the e-line) can be forced open and the King is in grave danger on an open line, so this means you have to castle as soon as possible.

I don't recommend any opening to play with White, neither with Black, because it is also a question of character. When you understand what you have to look for in an opening, you know what to play. Building a repertoire is too early and focusing on special openings is a waste of time. Therefore you have to understand the transition from opening to middlegame so you can make use of the pawn structures that occur in the variant openings.

Nevertheless I'd suggest to play with White 1 e4 when you like more tactical games with open positions. If you want to play on a more strategical way, then play 1 d4. With Black you're always bound on White's first move, but still you can impose your will. Don't be too shy and play aggressive.

There is only 1 best way to improve: Stay being passionate and have fun playing chess. Like this, you stay motivated. There are many great tools on this site to learn, but maybe the best is, what you can keep best in mind. The one maintains more by reading, the other by watching a video, so what of a type are you? However only studying the theory can't be right, so you need to apply it. Do 1 lesson, play some games and take a look at your games to know what went wrong. Do the next lesson, play more games, and so on, and so on. (Playing the computer isn't that funny as playing a human being, though some users are crappy cheaters using the computer, but still you can learn of those matches.)

I hope, I could help you with this wall of text.

You can find advises on www.improveinchess.wordpress.com

Thanks to everyone for the great feedback, advice, and links. I appreciate it all and look forward to checking everything shared in your responses out. I have already started to improve a bit with some of the articles regarding openings and basics of chess....I am able to beat the computer level 1 and 2 now and am happy about this. I know it will take time and much studying, but I look forward to doing this through all the links and advice shared and look forward a lot to talking to you all and sharing our interests in playing chess. Cheers!

Start the course https://www.chess.com/lessons If you carefully study this, your game level will go up. In your case the coach is pay for a dead horse. Play boldly 1.e4 and 1.e4 c5! Good luck!

To improve you really need a mixture of analysis with book study. Analyse your games, make note of where you went wrong and learn to avoid your blunders. If you want to cut to the chase about good chess books (there are millions out there) I would suggest 4: The "Chess Master vs Chess Amatuer" books (2 of them) by Max Euwe ("Logical Chess" is an alternative). Then "The Art of the  Middle Game" by Kotov and Keres -- indeed any book by Kotov is brilliant. Finally, "The Art of Attack in Chess" by Vukovic.  All old books but very , very good and most of my opponents don't know rule 1 -- develop your pieces, so probably well worth the read.

Re openings: Learn 1 for white and 1 for black and play them until you can feel the positions they create and then expand one opening at a time. I'd avoid heavy analysed openings like the Spanish game (Ruy Lopez) and the Italian (Guiccio Piano -- a great opening but SO MUCH theory)  play something slightly off beat like the King's Gambit and the Scandinavian but up to you. Concentrate on the strategy to get you through the times your opponent varies from the books. Good luck.

Since you mentioned books and openings, you might check out my blog.  There are several articles dealing with these topics appropriate for the beginner.  Perhaps you will find something of interest to you...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell

Just play with different openings and change your opening until you can consistenly win with one. 

I would suggest the Ruy Lopez (king pawn) or Queen's Gambit (queen pawn) for beginners. Anything Queen's Pawn Opening is rather easy to defend but it's ur choice for king or queen pawn opening. 

If you are black you can try Sicilian or try mirroring their moves. 

Basic Rules:

Castle your king as early as possible.

Control Center

Restrain bringing out your queen until the mid-game

Develop ur pieces. try not moving the same piece two times in a row unless you are forced. 

Oh yeah, and try to learn whether or not you like to fianchetto ur bishop as I find it extremely helpful fianchettoing.

thank you all for the reply's....more great info. I am very appreciative of it all, and will absolutely follow up on it all. Thank you so much =)

I like instructional videos on YouTube by john bartholomew and the st. Lois chess club for study. John suggests playing lots of 15 plus increment games, and studying your games without a chess engine before using the computer analysis. 

Stop playing fast games, and post some of your games, especially losses, in the more applicable forums on this site: Game Analysis and Chess Openings.

Play e4 e5 in the beginning or ruy lopez or kings indian

I have started to do the Lessons as well as the daily puzzle. I am focusing right now on the Ruy Lopez opening for white, along with the most used variations....Mostly still playing the computer, but when I get my comfort level up I have played a few live games. All have went bad so far but I do feel that through implementing some of the advice above I am starting to see the game board and moves in a deeper way. I still find myself trying to rush through a game and am constantly fighting my mind on slowing down and going through the steps of looking at the pieces and placements on the board. Im sure through practice and being mindful of this, that this bad habit will be broken. I greatly appreciate all the feedback and input and am open to anyone wanting to send me a friend request or wanting to play in the future...