How to improve at chess?

I have been playing on and off all my life (I am in my mid forties now) and have never really improved at chess. I have no aspirations to be a grand master or even to play tournaments. I would just like to win a game for once in my life!

I thought that this site might help by assessing my ability and matching me with players at a similar level. But I seem to be beaten heavily every time. I have watched some of the beginners videos and they seemed to be very useful until I try and put them into practice. Most of the opponents I play seem to enjoy going around and mopping up pieces rather than having a specific strategy.

The other thing that seems to defeat me is that I often run out of time in these games. By the time I have worked out all the potential moves I can make and all of the possible moves that the opponent could make, my time is up and I have lost.

I would dearly love to be able to play at a level that gives me the opportunity to be competitive and have a chance of winning. But I am not sure how.

Are there others out there that are in a similar position and would perhaps like to play together sometime. It gets quite soul-destroying to keep losing, maybe us rubbish players could form a group?

Wasabi65

1. Consider switching to 'online chess' (as opposed to 'Live Chess') : you will be less likely to run out of time.

2. Within Start New Game (online chess), use the filters to select an opponent within 100 points of your rating.

1st off.....if you are really serious about trying to improve your game, get yourself a Premium Membership on this site, giving you access to videos & more importantly Tactics Trainer + Chess Mentor.

For anyone like ourselves....novices that is, Tactics + Endgame study is highly recommended.

About 9 months ago, I decided to take up chess again after a long absence & realised that my knowledge of the game was basic in the purest form...ie moving the pieces. So for a number of months I have taken up the ' Highly Recommended ' route & for sure I am still in the novice category, however the improvement is noticeable.

A little bit of study is required if you have a mind to improve.

If you wish to have a game sometime after which we could go through it to help you iron out some basic errors you are making, I would be glad to help.

I am certainly no teacher & I stress help you with basic errors as basic is still very much part of my game as well.

I'm also terrible at chess, yet I'm addicted to it. I only play against the computer to enjoy the patterns and avoid the evils of competition, but still I often lose on the easy level. I'm also in my 40's so perhaps it's an age thing . At any rate, maybe we might play a game--untimed and unrated!

Don't play fast games!

Ply games with time controls more than 1 hour or try turn-based (Online chess).

I'm not good, my grandfather was a chess champion for many years, he even has talked about games around the world, I would love to become better, and carry on his legacy in any competent capacity. 

I agree the chess mentor and tactics of the site are very helpful.  Chessgames.com, Youtube, documentaries, there's so much entertaining ways to study your game, not just brain hurting books to digest!  Have fun with it!  Especially when you're just starting out, you don't want to get burnt out.

I agree with Kyotocon in that you should seriously consider getting Premium membership.  Tactics trainer and especially Chess mentor is a fantastic service that I have never seen on any other site. It is sort of like standardized private lessons in particular areas (and it has all levels, even beginning with how the pieces move!)  I am a college student on a very strict budget but it's a high enough priority for me that I am willing to make the investment, although I understand that not everyone would feel the same way.

I think I'm in your same position also that I really like trying to learn chess but I'm improving VERY slowly... I'm too embarassed to even play against other members yet and I bet a lot of other low-level players are as well and that's why you aren't being matched with anyone else of your level. X[ I know how the pieces move and how to have a decent opening and develop pieces, but that's about all for now...

There are certainly lots of other ways to improve like reading articles, I just discovered the forum "Game Analysis" which seems pretty helpful, maybe you could try playing a game against yourself in the Analysis board (I haven't tried that yet but it seems like a good principle) or something... etc.

So, feel free to contact me, since I can promise you I won't be able to beat you as quickly as most people here. :P Also consider using more of the tools this website has to offer!

A

Also don't be quick to take a piece.  Remember every move, leaves an empty space... look at that space, ask yourself... can he exploit that space?  Can he exploit my move?  What is he threatening?  Can I get him to move a piece to clear a path for myself?  These are the lines of thought that go on in my head and more when I'm playing chess.

We are similar in our chess skills, I really haven't improved much over the years either, so you are not alone there.  However, you might look into a chess mentor here on this site.  I don't know if you need to be a paying member for that privilege although.  But look into it, there is always room for improvement!

i think everyone's advice is quite well-intentioned. but i would submit that it is too advanced for an absolute beginner such as yourself.  it is easy to feel overwhelmed by all the things that are suggested.  assuming that you already know how pieces move and the rules of the game, i would start at the very beginning--the very first step should be: develop your pieces.  looking at your current games it seems that if you concentrate on just one thing that would be it. developing means: try to open up lines for your pieces and only push a pawn to allow room for a piece to come out. bring them out and make a practice of this until it is second nature.  you'll be surprised at how far this gets you.

once you play a number of games concentrating on this then you're ready for step 2: protect your pieces.  and then step 3: attack

i think that doing deep analysis, paying for lessons, learning openings, etc, only come into play and are useful later.

be systematic in your first step and enjoy the journey.

1. develop your pieces:

try to open up lines for your pieces and only push a pawn
to allow room for a piece to come out.
bring them out and make a practice of this until it is second nature

2. protect your pieces:

3. attack

Well said.

Also, if you don't want to lose on time, play 40min games or "online chess."

If you're hanging pieces like that I'd say: "tactical trainer, tactical trainer, tactical trainer" . 

I was in the same boat 9 months ago have since gained 400 rating points of improvement.

Here's what worked for me:

Purchased "First Chess Openings"  by Eric Schiller

Purchased premium membership & study tactics trainer daily.

Purchased "Rapid Chess Improvement" by Michael de la Maza

That's plenty to keep a beginner busy for the next 3-4 months.

Keep playing, learn something from every game, identify & eliminate mistakes, have fun & good luck.

Forget about luck if you want to improve. You also don't need to spend a fortune to get better at chess. With practice, you will learn to stop hanging pieces, which is a giant step in the right direction.

After 15 years away from Chess I can sympathise!?  Just played my first game back against the computer and got well and truly pasted - so I guess the only way is up 

Well I am no novice, I am a 15 year old 1900 USCF player :) but I can definitelytry and help you guys improve. For your level, the only reason that you are probably getting destroyed is because of tactics. Tactics are anyway to win material, so the more you improve at them the better.. Tactics are generally used when you are defending as you improve (like so you see your opponents tactics) so if you seem to lose material a lot its probably because you lack in these ideas. Also, if you move the pieces with no idea of what you are going to do next, then these are usually bad moves. I suggest you learn basic principles for the opening, middlegame, and endgame, and practice basic tactics. shoot me a message if you really want me to look into your problem, and I will be happy to see where you need to work.. What I wrote here is just a general summary of what most beginners need :)

you would proabably beat me because i am really bad. 

Best thing is not to rush your moves. And play as much as you can.

Wow! Thanks for all the comments. Much appreciated.

I hadn't realised that you could go back and review past games, I shall go back and look again at some of my past mistakes.

Paulgottlieb- thank you for taking the time to go back and analyse some of my past games. I can see exactly what you mean, I am clearly not studying the board enough and am rushing my moves (-probably to prevent running out of time.

I have now started playing online chess rather than live chess whilst I am learning the basics.

Thanks again everyone