Are you interested in playing fast chess ('Live Chess': Bullet/Blitz/Standard) or slow chess (Turn-based / days per move) ?
new member

im not sure, its the first time i have ever used one of these sites. i suppose i should just use trile and error to find out which would we best for me. if i start a live game will it play to completion. ie if i dont have time to finish the game will i lose.

With live games and correspondence style games, you have until the end of your time to complete the game. If you are unable to finish in that time you will lose the game on time.
In Live, you play the whole game in one sitting. With correspondence, you have 1 or more days to make your moves, depending on the time control.
Hi all.
I have not played chess for a long time and have just joined chess.com. i wanted to play against real people. can you advise a newcomer like me of which games to play in please.