Hi. Although I've casually played chess for a few years, I am pretty terrible. I have no clue what my rating is but when I play the MS Chess Titans at level 5, I win about 60% of the time.

What are the best ways I can improve?

Keep playing as many games vs. the PC as possible?

What about chess problems? I notice those mostly focus on mating.

I just want to make best use of my time when I practice.

Thanks!

Welcome! This forum is far, far less egotistical than all of the other forums on 2p2. A great way to start getting better as a beginner is to play lots and lots of longer time control games. If you play on the internet, a 15-minute game should be long enough. And thoroughly think through your moves, checking to see if you hang a piece or if you allow your opponent to make a killer tactic on your army. That helps out tremendously!

Also, practicing tactics help a lot. A good website for this is www.chesstempo.com . This will help you focus on mating, since that is essential to know how to do when you first begin. It's free to sign up and play as many problems as you would like under chess tactics.

Good Luck!

Haha, that is GREAT to know. You're right, the poker forum is loaded w/egomaniacs. lol

Tyvm for the tips. I'm going to check out that website you suggested right now.

Cheers!

It's generally advised to play against people if you want to get better. Computers are very good at chess, but in order to make them weaker for level of difficulty, they tend to act in weird ways that don't really imitate weaker human players.

Freechess.org is the free internet chess server, and chess.com has a free setup as well.

Also, I have a huge ego.

It's hard to be an egotistical chess player. Once you sit down with someone better than you, you will come back to earth pretty quickly.

My advice to the OP: get some books with complete scores of games, explaining the moves and showing how the game builds up from the opening through to the middlegame and endgame. Then try to apply the ideas in your own games. I can recommend for example Kasparov's "My Great Predecessors" series, especially the first 2 volumes talking about the Classical champions from the 19th and early 20th centuries. As a beginner you probably won't be able to follow all of Kasparov's ideas, but going over these games will give you a good general picture of chess strategy.

I think you're confusing ego and arrogance. I've never met a strong chess player who didn't have a huge ego. But there's a difference between ego and arrogance! It takes a hell of an ego to play somebody, get crushed and know that with enough work you'll be the one crushing him. Arrogance, hubris - yeah those get thrown out pretty fast but I think a big ego is, at least in part, necessary to improve at this game.

Chess Fundamentals
Logical Chess Move by Move
http://www.amazon.com/Chess-5334-Pro.../dp/1579125549
[I think I got this for literally $5 at the Strand one day, this alone could boost you 400 rating points]

and the above tactics trainers on chesstempo and chess.com.

@Najdorf,

Thanks. Just picked up that last book.