I need some help getting started as a chess player

just do the 4 move checkmate

this

yeah but it will only work on low players

It is good to know common opening traps like this one, but no it won't work in other scenarios, nor will it work for a prepared or higher rated opponent. Playing silly traps like this (going for early checkmates etc.) always seem to give you an inferior position if they defend well

I play unrated games with lots of chess.com friends. It is good practice and sure we could play some too for "training" if you want. Plus, I often times annotate the games later for learning purposes: so I could help you a bit

can't now though because chess.com has a scheduled server restart though (so all on-going games will be aborted, so don't start any new games tonight).

Just send me a message whenever you see me online and we could probably set up something then

or beginners playing without knowing opening traps - that is possible too.

@boogieman2000 

(I could write this as a private message, but I'll put it here so other beginner players reading this forum can read this too)

As many members in other forums highlight, Opening principles, avoiding hanging pieces as much and learning basic endgames is the best way to learn chess. Tactics training yields big results for little time invested too, but I think it is important to know more than just puzzles.

Opening principles are guidelines that you can usually follow in the opening stage of the game (without needing to memorize "openings") and get a playable position. The moves may not be "best", but they will usually be solid. Some opening principles include: develop your pieces early (not pawns), castle early, control the central squares e4, e5, d4, d5. 

Following these few things and learning some basic endgames (like Q + K vs K or R + K vs K) can probably get most learning chess players up to 1000 rating in a few months, but everyone learns at different speeds. Some players will naturally be higher than 1000 once they learn the rules (more rare than the other way though) and others will take a year to reach 1000. Reaching 1000 rating in a few months with some dedication to learn is a very reasonable goal for any beginning chess player I think. It is a good confidence booster too, but it is far tougher to increase rating at higher levels (mainly because the opponent margin for error is less), so it may take a year to go from learning the rules of chess to 1000 rating, but it may take a 2100 expert 2 or 3 years to reach 2200. 

Rating is always relational, so just enjoy learning chess and have fun. The ratings will inevitably have many ups and downs, but if you are learning a lot then the rating will follow eventually.

One would be surprised just how strong you can get at chess without learning openings. I happen to know a lot of opening theory for my level, but this is unusual (it has its benefits too, but its value should not be exaggerated either).

In fact, one of my good friends on chess.com @ZionPureInHeart and I have sometimes discussed opening theory and we kind of poke a little friendly fun at how little opening theory he knows despite his impressive rating. Opening principles and studying players you like can help out a lot (he really looks up to Bobby Fischer and as a result plays lots of his openings).

Point being, opening "study" isn't really needed until maybe 2200+ or at least 2000+ in most cases. However, that doesn't mean that 1900 players know absolutely zero opening theory either. Many of them know a good amount; just that it isn't necessary at that level of play. Probably around 1200 chess.com rating or so, you will begin getting more familiar with some common openings and names. By 1500, one will probably have a least a decent idea of some themes to each opening: that is cool and really all the "opening study" one needs - just knowing the basic plans and themes at play. Memorization is typically either something high level players may need to know or something that movies portray but isn't as common in the average chess world.

p.s. If Zion reads this post, say "hi" in the forum or something  

I'm actually often impressed with how many "book lines" you play by mainly calculation and intuition. Obviously, there are some lines you have memorized many ply deep (like the Ruy Lopez lines I remember we studied with a few other members), but it always seems to me like you know how to find the stronger moves even in positions completely new to you

No, I don't think most would laugh: I'm not. Actually memorizing chess notation is one of the main reasons chess beginners find chess books more confusing than helpful when starting out. There are things you can do to learn chess notation better, but it just takes practice like anything else.

Having trouble with chess notation is actually really common.

Learning chess notation is obviously super helpful because lots of people use it and reading books/chess articles usually use chess notation of some kind. In select FIDE/USCF events you are also required to record your game moves in chess notation (although you can choose which notation to use), so it is a skill worth learning. 

As you ask though, sure: you can get good at chess without knowing chess notation. Writing down the moves or reading them doesn't directly impact how you play chess, but it does help knowing it for study/learning. 

If you need practice with chess notation, chess.com has a game called "vision" where you click squares and moves in a training format game. It is under the sidebar "Learn" and then "Vision".

Hope this helps

That isn't too bad of a score actually. Keep at it; practice is how we all improve

dm me if u want free tips

1.Develop all your pieces in the first 15 moves

2.Castle

3.Take safe spots and use it well

You can also explore the site  use expolorer find some good openings and play a few matches to understand

4.play computer 

5.do drills

6.do puzzles

7.do lessons

8.visit some coaches and visit the forum to learn