a few questions from a beginner

 Hi.  I'm 19 years old and just got into chess recently.  I have been only playing about a week.  I had played 4 or 5 times in my life and knew the basic rules but somehow just recently began a new interest in it.  I was just wondering what some of the best advice for beginners is.  What books or articles are key to read to quickly advance from a beginner to someone who has a better understanding?  I currently have a book on chess by P.H. Clarke which has taught me some good things but I was wondering if anyone else had good suggestions.  Anything would be appreciated, even direction to a forum where this might have been discussed before.

Thanks,

Eric

Playing chess is one of the best ways to learn, especially if you study the game afterwards. You can also try to find games and study those. When you study, look at each move and ask what was intended by that move. I am not really one to give advice to a beginner, I am not sure how I progressed beyond unable to imagine seeing more than one move ahead, but these are things that help everyone. The more you play, the more you will be able to unconsciously recognize and process.

I will recommend "How To Be A Winner At Chess" by Fred Reinfeld and "Better Chess for Average Players" by Tim Harding, I felt like my game jumped a little when I read these books. I would recommend reading the former first as there is more content for beginners.

After you lose a game, go over the game on Fritz to see where you made bad moves. (It's only $19.99 at Gamestop.com, a real bargain.)

Read Logical Chess by Irving Chernev. This is a begginer level book that explains every move of 33 games. Over the course of the book, Chernev explains the basic opening and positional principals. It's the least boring way to learn some chess basics.

Start with this web site: http://www.princeton.edu/~jedwards/cif/intro.html

There's not much there, so it shouldn't take you long to read, but what's there is very useful for beginners. Then head to chesscafe.com, click the "archives" link, and head to the Novice Nook column. It's a monthly column that's been around for 5 or 6 years, so there's a lot there, but it's all good stuff. I'd say start with the column about the general improvement plan, then look at the columns on how to study tactics, general opening principles, and whatever else looks interesting. You'll learn a lot just from those articles.

--Fromper 

I really like this book

10 golden rules of chess

It's easy to understand. Not boring at all. And you will definitely learn a few things. I'd recommend it. 

@1

"what some of the best advice for beginners is" ++ Blunder check before you move.

"What books" ++ Chess Fundamentals - Capablanca

"a book on chess by P.H. Clarke" ++ Who is P.H. Clarke?