I'm fairly new to chess. Maintained 700 when I started a week ago, but now I keep declining...

I consider myself poor chess player. But 400 is … try to connect your pieces. Buddy system

Tactics

If you want to improve in the long-run you must figure out how to handle chess books.

And reading a chess book is mostly a boring task, you are supposed to work through the book, not read.

Only if it's a boring book.

I myself wouldn't read a boring chess book, when there are so many that are well written and interesting.

Not to Hi-jack the thread but is the general consensus that this is the better book for beginners? Im in a similar position as OP, started a few weeks ago and looking to learn

This book is good for learning the basics; finding and recognizing checkmate, capturing a piece, defending a piece, and getting used to how pieces move. You can also do this online on chess.com and other sites. There are many chess books and there isn't one best book but this one is fine. Keep in mind this book is only for the very basics and won't help as you progress past about 800.

The book looks like this inside

lol, why does everyone say this. There are ridiculous players in the low ELOs. I bump into 1 or 2 very good players every day who are much higher than their ELO ratings.

Anyone making a new account starts in the low ELOs and there are good players wanting to bash noobs to satisfy their egos. So yes there are good players at these levels. There are some noobs, and occasionally some ultra-noobs, but not that often.

Try this it's for beginners . . . about $10.00

@jobieone89 -

It's a great book for beginners to start with....

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess...a book review...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/bobby-fischer-teaches-chessa-book-review

you might also discovering something of interest here...

Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...

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

I analyzed your most recent loss and saw some one move blunders. Minimizing those will help your cause greatly.

I got to 1200 in 6 months with puzzles and more puzzles for tactics and pattern recognition. I do exclusively 15/10 time control so I can take my time and not blunder. I also watch Chess Vibes and Gotham chess rating climb videos for overall understanding and strategy. You should watch their rating climb videos for opponents at your level and a few hundred rating above you to see how stronger players think. “Chess vibes rating climbs”, and “Gotham how to win at chess” series and “hikaru educational” are excellent resources on YouTube. Being obsessed helps a lot too. Happy hunting!

Yep, that's one mistake I'm trying to fix. I keep quickly moving without checking the pros and cons of the move. This is what I've been changing, and it helps

If you are so lower rated, then simply go for, puzzles, tactics and pattern recognition, don't go for openings so early otherwise you will keep doing openings and be more stuck, making you lose the love for chess.

My advice is that you simply go for puzzles and game analysis, try not to make blunders. And if you are a diamond member then review all of your games and take as many lessons as you can.

Good Luck with your chess journey

Wish you become a World Champion