Advice For Newer Players

Hello Chess.com Forums,

I am just wondering if anyone has any advice for newer players like myself who are just getting to grips with the game?

Don't give up if things seem difficult. Focus on improving, not winning. Focusing on winning causes frustration and stress. Focus on improving your chess. Also, be a good sport and good person in general(for the forums) Last but not least chess is a game, not a chore. Have fun!

Learn and apply the most important principles of chess. - (core of my teaching)
Always blunder-check your moves.
Solve tactics in the right way.
Analyze your games.
Study games of strong players.
Learn how to be more psychologically resilient.
Work on your time management skills.
Get a coach if you can.

I've decided to copy-paste this so I don't have to spend a whole bunch of time typing it out.

The best piece of advice, in general, is this: Pay attention.

When it's your turn to move, look around and ask yourself...

1. Are there any checks? 
1.1 If yes, do any of them help you?
1.11 If yes, do it.
1.12 If no, do not play a check.

2. Are there any threats you can make?
2.1 If yes, do any of them help you?
2.11 If yes, do it.
2.12 If no, do not play that move.

3. Find a piece of yours that sucks. One that's in a bad place and not doing anything at all. Can you make it better?
3.1 If yes, find out how.

If you answer "no" to all three of these questions when thinking of a move, then you are in zugzwang and should probably resign, especially if the game has been going for a while.

When your opponent has moved:
1. Analyze it. What are they trying to do?
2. Did they hang a piece?
2.1 If yes, figure out if it's a blunder or a clever trick/sacrifice.

Your opponent wants to win just as much as you do. You have to give it your all to outsmart them and punish their errors. The problem is, that's also what they're trying to do, so that means you have to be careful as well.

Other miscellaneous tips include:

- Think before you move. Look at the move you want to do very carefully to see what might happen. If you don't like what you see, then don't do it.

- Always assume that your opponent will play the best move. Of course, we're all only human, so there are going to be mistakes. But if you only play reckless moves in the hopes that a mistake will occur, you're going to lose a lot of games. Play the objectively best moves; in the event that your opponent makes a mistake, jump on it. You can't force mistakes, but you can punish them.

- When it's your turn, look for sacrifices you can make. This sounds silly, but it's gotten me quite a few brilliant moves. When looking at sacrifices, you'll often find that most (if not all) of them are blunders. Occasionally, however, you may look at one and realize it's a great idea. So, go for it!

- Learn to recognize if a piece is "good" or "bad." A piece is good if it creates a lot of problems for your opponent. On the other hand, if it's not doing much of anything, it's bad. Even though certain pieces may be of equal value, you should evaluate their "quality" on the board before thinking about trading them. Trading a knight that's barely doing anything for your opponent's bishop that's preventing you from castling is a great idea; trading your bishop that's eyeing the opponent’s king for a knight that hasn't even moved is NOT a great idea. In other words: "Equal" trades, despite their name, are actually not inherently equal.

I'm sure there's more, but all of these have worked reasonably well for me so far.