I'm Desperate...

Hi everyone ! I would need your help for something that is really annoying me. I have NO IDEA on how I can improve my chess game. Sure, practice is good, I do know it but without any knowledge I'm not going that fast. So, how does someone learn to play chess well ? When I'm playing a game, I really don't know what I'm doing or where I'm going. Sure, developping is the goal but after that ? How do you launch an attack, etc. Thanks

I personally would advise first learning chess tactics through puzzles, or tactics trainer, anywhere you can find chess puzzle from. One thing I like to do is just watch the games in live that are top rated. Although they might not be the most accurate, they let you 'think in chess', or understand just the little things about it. It gets your subconscious mind thinking about chess as well.

It would recommend you use the Tactic Trainer feature here on this site. Also, if you would be willing to purchase certain books, those would be of great assistant. And, of course, depending on how seriously you want to improve, a coach would be the best choice to guide you in the right direciton.

I will tellvyou it was tough for me to learn. A MonRoi would be a big help.

Relax, keep working at it.It's a game, enjoy u will get better. Good luck.

join a few groups im in like da coachin one... also add to frends nd ill play games wit u nd point out ur mistakes... dont buy books not at ur lvl for now u need to play lots of long games nd thnk bout ur moves more. play online chess as well. dont do tactic trainer on here... start wit mate puzzle like mte in 2

My advice is simply to stop trying to improve your chess game. Instead, have some fun with the tactics trainer and try to add a few points a week to your rating; watch the graph go up and down but hopefully a little more up. Play around with the chess mentor and try to guess what comes next. Relax by watching some videos on youtube about famous chess games or openings. Join up to play a half dozen or so online games and take your time with them, making free use of the analyze feature to move the pieces around and visualize what's coming next.

The problem with trying to improve your chess game is that you get obsessed (we all do) with getting better and forget that chess is a hobby to be ENJOYED. Put the fun back into it and explore its many fascinating facets, and improvement will come. And if it doesn't, you're still having fun.

Remember, NOBODY CARES IF YOU'RE ANY GOOD. I've been playing for over 40 years, and I'm still mediocre. But my wife doesn't care, my grandchildren don't care, my friends don't care, my co-workers don't care, even the people on this forum don't care. What they do (and should) care about is whether you're a good person, worker, friend, spouse, etc. Stop banging your head over getting better and just enjoy the game.

Something I have done was join the Dan Heisman Learning Center.  I joined their internal tournaments and usually take a beating to end all beatings... BUT.... since it's a learning center, my opponents OFTEN help me.  Dan Heisman is a NM and often posts helpful tips and articles and there are many players in there who are usually willing to help a weaker player.   Feel free to join the group and tell them I sent you for sure!  As you can see, my rating is low - but I'm getting stronger and it will show eventually.   They're terrific over there. 

Try watching the games of good players at chess.com. After watching a few dozens games, tell us if your game improves.

videos!

Focus first on yourself and how chess fits in your life. I guess you do not want to become world champion. I guess that you play chess to meet people, put your mind on something else and learn the game. If this is the case, concentrate on the fun of it, interact with your opponent, discuss your moves and learn from the conversation. A book like Euwe or chernev and a very basic opening book will also help.

But make sure you concentrate on your real goal, not the theoretical one. Nobody says that you need to win to enjoy.

Purchase or borrow the book "The Complete Chess Course" by Fred Reinfeld, it will walk you through everything you need to know about the game. 

Chernev: Logical Move

Thats what you need.

Do 25 tactics every day and review old annotated master games

Don't do anything. Keep making the same mistakes and never read a book. Any book. That should help you improve.

Asking how you can improve your game on chess.com is like asking for rain during a downpour! Everything you need is right here.

Ahh, a site full of, "Not interested in guys who are, [insert laundry list of do not wants, at least one of which applies to you dear reader] thanks!"

No matter how good your job is or how much you lift you'll never be good enough lol! 

I'll suggests the tactic thing like everyone else on top of this:

Thought process!  It's great having reams of chess knowledge, but without an organized and efficient thought process we'll tend to make moves just because they "look principled" without doing a positional assessment and evaluation first. 

Heisman's The Improving Chess Thinker is an obvious choice.  Do the exercises, but take your time on them (20 minutes tops, 10 at least for each one).  Even for the quieter positions most of your time will be calculating candidate moves and finding newer ones.  Thinking like better players is the first step towards improvement, and simply knowing more isn't enough. 

watch the all you need to know to start playing chess by IM Danny on chess.com. They are free, great videos that will help everyone learn the complex game of chess. :)

teach someone to play. You'll be suprised by how much you can learn by helping someone else.