Improve your chess the right way so you can win many more games.
You must study the right things. Recognizing patterns is a sure way to chess improvement. Study tactics and strategy every day.
Eventually, you may want to memorize a few openings. Recognize checkmate and study the rules of chess. Familarize yourself with weak squares and safe squares. Your first move should normally be with one of the center pawns. Learn how much each piece and pawn is worth. You will then know what should be exchanged and what to get in return.
Learning chess notation is a must. You have to be able to study chess books that are written by some of the best masters of the past and todays masters.
Play in tournament games, on chess computers, online chess websites and whereever the opportuinty arises.
Improve your chess. Every chess player is constantly looking to improve their game, and there's plenty of debate on the best way to get better. Some players try to play as many games as possible, others solve countless tactical puzzles, and many study theory until they know their favorite openings inside and out.
Of course, there's no one improvement method that's best for everyone. However, the five activities by Edward Scimia at About.com are ones that players, coaches and trainers have found to be effective methods for most players, and they should make up the core of any training you do to improve your game.
Improve Your Chess by Edward Scimia can be found here.
Opening Chess Moves
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black.
(More on Opening Chess Moves)
A passed pawn is a pawn with no opposing pawns to prevent it from reaching the eighth rank. There are no enemy pawns in front of it on the same file, or on an adjacent file. Passed pawns have an advantage in that only the opponents pieces can stop them from promoting. A passed pawn that is protected by its own pawns is called a "protected passed pawn". Sometimes pieces are sacrificed so a pawn can have a clear path to the eighth rank.
Passed pawns are especially important in the endgame. Since passed pawns have no opposing pawns to stop them, the threat of queening often forces the opponent to use a piece to block or capture the pawn. The value of a far-advanced passed pawn is often equal to or even greater than that of a piece.
"A passed pawn is a criminal which should be kept under lock and key. Mild measures, such as police surveillance, are not sufficient." - Aron Nimzowitsch