Beginner who needs help

Quit playing speed chess.  You are not going to improve by moving fast and not giving yourself time to think.

This question is asked all the time.  And 99.9999999999999% of the people that ask are not serious about getting better.  They would rather play speed chess, fantasize about "brilliancy's" and memorize openings with absolutely no understanding of the moves they are making.  And there is nothing wrong with any of that, if having fun is all you're wanting to do.  But in the ff chance you are serious, I will offer my usual advice.

Beginners Advice.

1. Stop playing blitz, and bullet.  Play longer time controls of at least G45, or longer.  
2. Follow Opening Principles:

• Control the center.
• Develop minor pieces toward the center.
• Castle.
• Connect your rooks.

3. Study tactics...tactics...tactics.  One of my favorite quotes is this: "Until you reach Master, your first name is tactics, your middle name is tactics, and your last name is tactics”.
4. Double Check your moves.  Before making a move, ask yourself: "Are my pieces safe?"
5. After your opponent moves, ask yourself: "What is my opponent trying to do?"
6. Analyze your games WITHOUT a chess engine, then have someone stronger go over the games, or post them online for review.
7. DO NOT memorize openings. Learn and understand the pawn structure, and piece placement for the opening you wish to learn.
8. Learn Basics Mates:

• K vs. KQ
• K vs. KR
• K vs. KRR

9. Learn Basic King and Pawn endings.

• KP vs. K
• Opposition

10. Have Fun!

Opening Principles:

1. Control the center squares – d4-e4-d5-e5.
2. Develop your minor pieces toward the center – piece activity is the key. Centralized piece control more squares.
3. (King Safety)
4. Connect your rooks. There should be no pieces between your Rooks.

The objective of development is about improving the value of your pieces by increasing the importance of their roles (Piece Activity).  Well-developed pieces have more fire-power than undeveloped pieces and they do more in helping you gain control.

Now we will look at 5 practical things you can do to help you achieve your development objective.

They are:

1. Give priority to your least active pieces.

• Which piece needs to be developed (which piece is the least active)?
• Where should it go (where can its role be maximized)?

2. Exchange your least active pieces for your opponent’s active pieces.
3. Restrict the development of your opponent’s pieces.
4. Neutralize your opponent’s best piece.
5. Secure strong squares for your pieces.

Don’t help your opponent develop.

There are 2 common mistakes whereby you will simply be helping your opponent to develop:

1. Making a weak threat that can easily be blocked
2. Making an exchange that helps your opponent to develop a piece

Pre Move Checklist:

1. Make sure all your pieces are safe.
2. Look for forcing move: Checks, captures, threats. You want to look at ALL forcing moves (even the bad ones) this will force you look at, and see the entire board.
3. If there are no forcing moves, you then want to remove any of your opponent’s pieces from your side of the board.
4. If your opponent doesn’t have any of his pieces on your side of the board, then you want to improve the position of your least active piece.
5. After each move by your opponent, ask yourself: "What is my opponent trying to do?"

On literature, I've just bought Amateur's Mind by Jeremy Silman. Really enjoying it. Probably suitable for 1300(ish)+ at a guess. Good introduction to planning and positional chess once you grasp and have some experience of the basics.

Here you go, a decent guide for us weaker players:

https://www.chess.com/blog/nklristic/the-beginners-tale-first-steps-to-chess-improvement

Welcome and have fun improving.

You're welcome.

Thats one of those nuggets of wisdom i acquired through the years :-)

The things i posted will get you where you're wanting to go. 

What i meant about analyze without an engine.  Is to do your own analysis first, and then run the game though an engine.  Only check your games for blunders, and missed tactics.  Hope this helps.

  Glad to help.  If you have any question regarding the cheat sheets i supplied,  about how to study, what to study, how to analyze your games, etc.  Please feel free to ask.  just DO NOT ask me about how you did in a game of speed chess.  That stuff drains the life right out of me.

Very good info in this post! So glad I found it. I could sure use the advice because my blunders are many and of an embarrassingly elementary level of pitiful.

Gonzo, read my profile. Not the 1 sentence at the start but the few paragraphs.

Hey guys, not sure how to create a post so sorry for tagging along here but you seem nice lol, I was having a look online and can't seem to find any sort of idea of what good progress is. I've been playing for about 2 months now, with about 20 games a week online and I'm rated about 850. Does that seem about right? Thanks! p.s the tip about trading pieces with your pawn structure in mind and whether certain trades are better for you or your opponent have been really helpful so far!

Also, for other beginners like me, I found the french as black and the london as white really useful for understanding pawn structure after learning the spanish and italian that I came up against a lot at first, definitely recommend

You probably shouldn't play London System if you wish to improve. The reason is that London is pretty much the same against everything. You should expose yourself to different pawn structures, middlegame positions etc.

Try not to pressure yourself to much about rating points. Try to study the game and rating points will probably come naturally.

Well if you play 1.e4, if 1. ... e5 you can try playing Ruy Lopez or Italian game. Myself, I am playing Ruy Lopez. Scotch can be played as well. 

Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond

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