Struggling beginner in need of advice.

Learning to play chess was one of my resolutions for 2021.  I have been taking the lessons, and while I am fascinated by the game, I must admit that I am struggling.  I use the "trial and error" method, because I learn best by doing, but it wreaks havoc on my stats!  I have only played one game against another player so far, and although I did win (woo-hoo), it was because my opponent was gracious enough to resign.  It made me realize that I don't have a firm enough understanding of the game to know when it would be time for me to resign in a future game.  I sure would like to send and accept friend requests, and get advice and feedback from other players.  I just hope you can forgive me ahead of time for any unwise moves, and silly questions!  Thanks. 

Dear KittyMamma,

I am a certified, full-time chess coach and International Master, so I have seen it and tried it all.
There are so many ways to get better and I know it can be overwhelming.
You can learn from free videos on youtube, there are books at your disposal that can all help, but they are not tailored to your needs.

One of the most important things you can do is to analyze your games! You must learn from your mistakes! That is a priority. You can't really move on to a new, different topic and learn new ideas if you still make the same mistakes over and over again!

This is where a chess coach comes into the picture. A good coach can show you how to study, what to study, gives you the material YOU need. Naturally, it takes time to use everything in practice, but if you are relentless and persistent you will succeed!
You should learn the main principles in every area of the game (opening, middlegame, endgame).  Don't focus on only one part! You should improve your tactical vision as well as it is part of all areas!  
This how I built my training program for my students. We discuss more than one topic during a lesson so it's always interesting and they can improve constantly. I give homework too and the right tools to make practicing enjoyable and effective!
Don't worry about your rating and the ups and downs! Just keep on playing and practicing!

I hope this helps.  I wish you good games and 100+ extra ratings

#1

"I must admit that I am struggling." ++ We all struggle, even top grandmasters.

"I use the "trial and error" method, because I learn best by doing" ++ Yes just play and then whenever you lose a game analyse it so as to learn from your errors. AlphaZero got to absolute top with no other input but the rules just by playing 700000 games against itself.

"to know when it would be time for me to resign in a future game." ++ If you do not know, then do not resign.

There are many ways to improve in the game. The first thing is to learn from your mistakes. Try to go through your game and find out which moves are mistakes, first without an engine, later with an engine. I saw your game and you lost first a bishop, than the Queen (instead of taking is rook), and so on. At your level almost every single move is a blunder. If you reduce your mistakes and can punish your opponent’s mistakes you will begin to win.
The other important thing is to learn tactics. I recommend you the course Common Chess Patterns, which you can find in Chessable. The book is great, with 780 puzzles which are important to know.
The third thing is to have at least an idea how to play the opening. Nothing fancy or deep, just a very basic repertoire.
The book 1.d4 by John Bartholomew in Chessable is for free and very good to get a feeling for the opening. The book is quite short and therefore ideal for your level.
Against 1.e4 you can give a try with the French Defence. In Chessable you will find some good books for free about this defence.

just keep playing... play play play.

You will lose many games but you will learn more and more and become better. 

my advice is play slow games don't try to play blitz or bullet at least 10 min games this will give you the time to think and not make blunders or mistakes but it will also give you the chance to flag your opponet if yo are losing,next analyze your games i used to be a 500! I did not care about analyzing cause i thought that did not acomplish anything then i started to analyze my rating shot up to 600,also play the game for fun! and don't take every lost seriously,lastly do puzzles they help you and train you as you get better you will reconize some pozitions because you did puzzles and you will crush your opponets,finnaly don't play too much if you win your first game great if you win your 2 great too but don't play like 32 games a day just so you can get that record win streak. Ok im done but also join this club if you want to get better also you don't need to but it will help you:    https://www.chess.com/club/road-to-gm     

Welcome to the forum. 

I learn by doing as well. I would recommend starting off with learning opening principles and keeping up with the rated puzzles. The puzzles will introduce you to tactics.

I would also make a little time practice against the bots. It'll give you an opportunity to test out what you have learned. 

Lastly, if I had to do it again; I would of stuck to rapid games. Playing blitz and bullet stunned my growth although, it was a great opportunity to gain experience in new openings that I was learning. 

I agree with the Hungarian coach.
Personally what is working on my end is really studying different openings, chess lore, chess terms, and appreciate the huge number of possibilities in chess. If someone is taking out a Queen early and thrashing you, getting it behind your lines, look up videos on dealing with that. Whatever problem you have had in chess, others have experienced it, and already overcome it. You just have to learn from them and put it into your games.

With all this studying, what about games? Don't have too many games at first. You have so much to learn, and if you have loss after loss you will be disheartened. Better to learn more and have two good games than lose four games in a row, learn little, and feel terrible. 

Would happily play a few games against you. No pride, ego, or worry need be involved. I'm also a beginner.

Thank you all for the advice and support!  And thank you kingattacker3, for complimenting my kitty.  Her name is Lily.