Donna,
for you the ideal condition is to get a coach (or try some high-rated friends who can teach, and play unrated games with them - dont hesitate to ask questions in the chat). Second choice is - try online sites like http://www.chesstactics.org/ etc.
Not all books are good, and I have also bought many books but found only a few "digestable". The Opening books I mentioned are of the "easily digestable" variety.
Best of luck!
That sounds like a very good plan!
one thing that has helped people in everything is to have a friend/another who is approx your playing ability and to play them many times!
As i learned chess i had a friend who i constantly played, who was approx my ability. This makes it fun rivalry but also great practice and you can point stuff out to eachother.
This is proven to be a great method in all aspects of everything and not just chess. Many of the greats had such rivalry.
If only we all knew the secret to getting better! I could be the first to 3000 mayhap if only i obeyed my own rules :D
I got a tonne of books out of the local library covering a huge variety of things from tactics to openings etc and I just could not get the information into my head :(
Are you just casually reading or thoroughly analyzing them? What I mean by that is when going through a game or section of one trying to find each move yourself before comparing your thoughts to the authors notes and what was actually played. Also writing the lessons learned down yourself definitely helps.
I got a tonne of books out of the local library covering a huge variety of things from tactics to openings etc and I just could not get the information into my head :(
Are you just casually reading or thoroughly analyzing them? What I mean by that is when going through a game or section of one trying to find each move yourself before comparing your thoughts to the authors notes and what was actually played. Also writing the lessons learned down yourself definitely helps.
At the time when I took to reading chess books I was sitting there reading the first pages of a book and I am one of these if I cannot get into a book by page 4 or 5 then it gets put down and never read again and that applies to ANY book I pick up.
i say forget about openings, end games and variations. its supposed to be fun. that sounds like work. the best advice i can give is always have backup for your backup. try to attack the same piece with as many pieces as you can. or you can always play a bunch of 800s. :)
I agree with this, enjoy the game, but dont forget, you have to try and get inside your opponents mind, it is not what your next few moves are, it is what their answer may be, and your answer to that move as you see it, try this, starting at just a couple of moves ahead, and then increase the depth as you get better.
EVERYTHING you have been told is necessary if you are to become a "student" of the game. But becoming a "student of the game takes a lot of time and effort...the same with anything you want to be the best at. So you must ask yourself a question......"How much am I willing to put into this?" Because you get out what you put in!
EVERYTHING you have been told is necessary if you are to become a "student" of the game. But becoming a "student of the game takes a lot of time and effort...the same with anything you want to be the best at. So you must ask yourself a question......"How much am I willing to put into this?" Because you get out what you put in!
yes I know and I have tried so hard ... ah well maybe one day
I think chess is not for rating
CHESS IS FOR ENYOYING!
Greetings for a HAPPY WOMAN
With a honney smile.
My advice drink heavily. Aside from that all tips above are good and need to be studied. Try less games 8-10 concentrate on each to identify ypur weakness Than work on that. Keep this up and se your rating will rise.
I can concur on that. i was drinking heavy, and I maneged to beat 1800 personality in CM1000 that I could not beat afterwards in the morning.
I remember a joke:
If you fall sick, you have to go to a doctor, for doctors have to live (i.e.,make a living)! Taking his/her prescription, you go to a pharmacy, for the people of the pharmacy have to live (make a living)! Taking the medication, you throw them away, for you have to live!
Jokes aside, the advice of people will work only if you follow one or more of them. Hundreds of advices will not work if you choose not to follow any of them!
Just don't give up. There are women on this sight that are deadly dangerous.
My advice is play play and play! If you lose, analyze your games, find out where you went wrong, and study that area of chess for a bit. Then you won't (hopefully) make the same mistake agaain
The hard trouth is that you stink at tactics. You probably loses many games by just giving material for nothing, and don't win your games because you don't see that you could take material.
Study tactics, don't give up material for nothing! Not even a single pawn!
I play with myself a lot. I learn my strengths n weakness and how to play aggressively. 
sup Donna, I'll be right back and let you know how I improved over the years. To me its all about sifting through all the stuff and finding out what will stick and what matters the most. I think reading and learning tactics and strategies are more important than learning a lot of openings (a lot of the times it'll be a long time until you play the opening you learn and then you might forget it). Also endgame tactics n strategies and learning to keep a strong center and also attacking on the correct side of the board (not always where the opposing king side but mostly where your center pawns are pointing).
Like a lot of things in life (any sport , golf,poker etc... ) I find playing doesn't really help you improve rapidly because one is mostly using the same good or mostly bad habits which prevents them from improving. Like golf or poker or anything else you don't improve by playing but by practicing, reading, taking lessons, asking others how to improve rapidly and what matters most. Bad habits are only reinforced when you play anything and sometimes you go a long time without really noticing it.
I'll get more into this if you want, let me know. I have about 5 really good books I like that aren't too dry and 3 of them are easy to get in most book stores. Pandolfini, Seirewan and a couple of others are really good writers ... and then there's "How to Reassess Your Chess" which is really great (gotta look up who wrote that again , I forgot)
Another good thing is the Chessmaster series which you can download free through torrents (I love torrents and free stuff 
) This one I bought over the years but its worth it and really good. There's a lot of video lessons with Josh Waitzkin where he explains his games over the years. He had a lot of stuff I knew in there already but I needed a reminder and refresher when I stopped playing a while back and got rusty. There's also drills like endgame drills and puzzles and a lot of "must know" things. ( Note the second to the last edition is much better than the latest edition so check that one out first BUT I think there's extra stuff in the newer edition.)
I'd say do a little bit of both of the software and reading so you don't get burnt out and also don't try to learn too many things at once where it turns into a chore.
I'll let you know if I can come up with anything else. If you have any questions let me know.
Cheers ! 
When genius finds out,that he is a such, he becomes crayzy. I've been playing with my dad sins 6 y old, many games a day, all lost. first wins started to come at 11-12.(dad was a regional champ, for a while). By 15 i was taken to the school team, and sins then i play eaqual 56% winnings, and i am 50 now. If i play with a stronger opp., i loose most, and opposit. I was not genius, didn't study, enjoyed winning ocasional chellengers, allways enjoyed the opponents joy of winn, loved chess. The only last few years 've got online chess, thou last 30 years where allmost empty, OTB opponents are fare away, or time is splitt.
U are more then 15 now. Real sports technicks must be gained in the early age(say-play piano, read chinesh, gym, dances- all main basic training at 4-6 y). After that- we are mostly amateurs, sorry. We like to play, we want to study- but the head is to havy, the memory gives up, the stereotipes of liefe are influeing our stiles, etc. So- play with friends and ejoy the game! Let champs be alown!
how depressing O.o I learned when I was 8 and gave up at 10. really started playing at 15 and a half. I'm 21 now and almost master level in real life, still improving. It means nothing to start late, it's just your mind's receptiveness to the information that needs to be in tact.
my friend dont listen to all that ... chess is great game u can make ur technique that u improve by ur salve ....... for me i learn chess by my salve ,,u can do that too .... by the way i learn chess here ...i have been here for 5 month .... my friend u can be better if u improve ur stile and u can do that by ur salve with out helping .......
I got a tonne of books out of the local library covering a huge variety of things from tactics to openings etc and I just could not get the information into my head :(