Because chess.com uses the Glicko rating system which attempts to very quickly approximate your rating, there will be dramatic shifts of many points after each game. So if you're just starting out, a few losses will knock that 1200 score down to where you might find a competitive game. It actually takes close to 100 games before it completely settles down, but that's another story. Lots of folks started here just like you are so don't worry about wasting someone's time. Just dive right in, the water is fine and humans are a lot more fun to play against than a computer.
Online / live play.
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Jul 12, 2014
0
#3
If you can afford to get "Chessmaster," I would recommend that. You can play against simulated human personalities from very beginner to Master level. Like playing in a club. A lot of the personalities make mistakes and they are fun to play against. You don't have to be humilliated by losing to a human. You will definately get better if you train using its tutorials. It will analyse your games and show you where you went wrong. It will give you encouragement in a humourous fashion. The software also has an extensive training section. It (software) contains a database of games, you can also create your own database. At one time it was the strongest, but I think the Russians have the strongest software now. This would be the best software for the beginner. If you out grow chessmaster then the German software and Russian software - Fritz or Aquarium etc.
play opponents +100/-100 from your rating
Jul 12, 2014
0
#5
Also what baddogno said, once you start to improve you'll want to play against humans.
And if we haven't convinced you to play humans, there is always Lucas Chess. Lots of really easy engines to beat and it's a free download:
http://www-lucaschess.rhcloud.com
Jul 12, 2014
0
#7
Thanks folks. I guess I'll just jump in and get my nose bloody. 
I'm impressed with this site. Could become my newest favorite game.
Jul 12, 2014
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#8
You're a premium member so I can't urge you enough to hit the Tactics Trainer and Chess Mentor courses. You can learn a LOT with those two Chess.com services. Play slow games. Don't even think about blitz for a while. "Online" is a good way to play slow and learn.
Jul 12, 2014
0
#9
Oh, and don't get discouraged when losing. At first you're going to lose a lot. Nothing wrong with that. Think of every loss as a good source of information. Figure out why you lost, and you'll be on your way to better chess. :) Peace
Spiritbro77 gives good advice. Majority opinion of the quickest way to improve for a beginner is to learn tactics and there are a wealth of good tactics courses in ChessMentor. Sometimes the timer in Tactics Trainer can be intimidating to beginners and the very last thing you want to do is get into "guess and click" mode. You can always go to untimed unrated mode. Actually until you've gotten through a number of the Chess Mentor tactics courses and can get most of them 100% when you review, you should limit your exposure to the TT. ChessMentor is for learning tactics, TT is about testing your knowledge. More of my $.02 from the man with a seemingly endless supply of pennies...
Oh and hopefully you've figured out that you don't have to deal with that whole sequential/adaptive nonsense in ChessMentor. You can just pick out whatever course you want to study and do it. Good luck!
Jul 13, 2014
0
#11
This is a great place to get started on you chess journey:
Would be happy to play you an online game and provide you with an analysis of the results--but it's got to be a 24 hour turnaround, I can't afford longer time controls than that.
Jul 13, 2014
0
#12
Also, as a premium member, you can have the chess.com computer analyze your games, I do this whenever it was not an easy victory on one side or the other. Worth doing in alot of cases.
One thing too; you may encounter some players who are rude in the chat, and try to throw you off with harsh banter and/or taunting . Ignore it and play on. Or disable your chat. If you do win against these types, though, you will feel extra good.
If you lose shrug your shoulders and realize it is they who lack sportsmanship and maturity, not you. And move on. Don't get disappointed if you lose some games at first, like baddogno said. Also like others here have said Tactics Trainer, videos, and chess mentor are great.
I hope you enjoy your experince at chess.com. If you want to get more serious about chess, this is a great resource.
I'm new to the site and a beginner at Chess. I like the game, but that doesn't make me good. I learned the basic piece moves as a child - YEARS ago. I've been playing the computer for a few days and not doing very well. I get too focused on my next move and I don't see the consequenses. I hesitate to play on line because I feel like I'd be wasting the time of someone well above my level. Is there a way to match skill levels on live play? Have patience I'm a newbie.