Ok when you see "timeout" it means you lost because the time on your clock ran out. You can chat simply by writting text in the box I have marked "2" in my chart make sure you have the right tab selected or you will be talking in the lobby. To talk to an opponent you must be in the "game" tab also your opponent must have his chat enabled (and so do you) by default yours is enabled untill you chose otherwise. An explanation of blitz is as follows: you get very little time to finish the whole game (usually less than 5 min) If you want more time you can make a challenge with higher time controlls by hitting the "new game" button that I have marked off as "3" in the chart. You can see your time where I have marked "4" on the diagram the one next to your name is your time and if it is your turn your time will be red if your opponents turn his time will be diplayed in red.
I have just joined this excellent chess website (I am from the UK) and forgive my stupidity but I cannot figure out why I am losing games that I think I am winning because of timeout. Can someone please explain the settings box to me. I am normally a fairly quick player but am not ready to play blitz games when I am so new to this website and finding my feet (ability level). I cannot find on the website an explanation of how these games work. Also I cannot find how to activate chatting with my opponent as I simply could have asked one of them to explain the time out to me! Thanks