This is advice from a beginner to a beginner. I've recently picked up the game, and I've taken a liking to it. This post is a go at giving the new beginner some advice.
Let us assume that you know the basic movements. You know that the end goal is to threaten the king so he cannot escape, but what are you supposed to do in the mean time? Let us first separate the pieces into three classes. Those who are the least worth; Pawns, those who are second to most important; Knight and Bishop (the minor pieces), and the most important; The Rook and the Queen (the major pieces). The chess game is also roughly described in three stages. The opening, the middle and end. Now comes a few general rules to know when to do what.
1. The jobs of the pieces
A chess piece has two jobs. The first is to guard a square against the move of an attacker. Different pieces guard different amounts of squares. A rule of thumb is that you would like to control many of the center squares in on the board, where a lot of the movement happens. The second job is to attack.
2. Trade down in value
Most of the time your opponent knows that you want to get him, and guards his pieces carefully. It is therefore very unlikely that you will be able to take a piece, without getting hit yourself. You might then ask, what is the point? An important rule is this: Always try to trade your low value pieces with his high value pieces, and watch out for the reverse. Equal trades should be based on other factors, such as; "Will I control more important squares if I exchange my bishop for his knight?"
3. Hide the goodies
You know that you'll never want to trade a queen for a bishop. What do you then do if that bishop put's the ultimatum to you; "Move away, or trade?", you choose to move away. When you do that, the opponent has gained some territory and made you spend a turn running away. To avoid such embarrassments it's best to let the queen wait for a bit to shine, and only bring her out late-mid game to solve some tricky questions. As a rule go like this:
Opening: Develop your minor pieces. This means the Knights and Bishops. Knights leap over your own pieces, so they are only a move away from being played, but not so with bishops. They need free way, and some pawns are standing in the way. Moving the two center pawns gives your bishops time room to move, and otherwise controls some nice center squares. So that your minor pieces aren't tied up in protecting the pawns, you might, after a while, want to bring up a second pawn to protect it. If you form a diagonal chain with pawns, they are all watching one another.
4. Protect the guy giving the killing blow
It's hard to put you opponent in check mate if you've never done it before. The easiest oversikt is this. What is unique about the king, is that he cannot willingly put himself in risk. Therefore, the whole "trading pieces" technique doesn't apply to the king. Have your queen rub noses with the king while being protected by any other pieces - that is one of the easier ways to victory!
5: Use "the scientific method".
Without going into the intricacies of philosophy, let us say that the principle is: "Make a guess, double check". It is impossible to know what the very best move would be, but you can make a good guess based on the tips above. When you have decided where to move, ask yourself, "What are the reasons I shouldn't move there?". Double check to see which pieces threatens that square, what territory you are giving up, and so on.
All these skills require a bit of training, but within a very short time you'll be a lot better. keep enjoying chess and keep that learning attitude. I go into the whole thing thinking "There are two winning conditions, the first is "Capture the King", the second is "Learn more than your opponent". Happily, you'll usually win one of the two goals.
