Chess counsel

Hello. I have recently taken up chess. It's a game I played sometimes when I was a kid, but now have taken a more serious approach. I want to learn the different stategies and tactics that are employed, and how best to use each in certain situations.I am a member at gameknot.com, and fairly routinely have my ass handed to me by more experienced, and brighter people.My questions are: if you play chess, what advice would you give a novice? What websites, books, exercise books, etc. would you recommend I take up?I have seen a few tips that are fairly common, and from what little I understand, are in no particular order:1- protect your king
2- control the middle
3- develop your pieces (knights, bishops, rooks(sp?)Lastly, I did see the EVC chess competetion thread, and saw this thread first, seeing it to be fit for these questions, as well.Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

I've only played on gameknot for a couple of months, but, yes, I've asked a few people when, after beating me rather easily, what I should do to improve my game; they echoed, "study the openings".Thanks Zawi.

That's a wealth of information. I have only looked partially through the Chessopolis site, and there were still tons I have yet to search. I will look at the google sites when time allows, as well.With regards to a chess match with constructive criticism, I am in. That sounds like a great way to improve my game. [wining] The only thing that turns me off a bit is the time allowed between turns. Three days seems a bit long, and Blitz chess' ten minute totals seems a little short. [/wining]Thank you.Abe: My login is infixionevc.Edited by Infixion, : No reason given.

Pawn structure is definately something I need to sharpen. I only know that pawns should not be stacked - one on top of another, where they are both fairly vulnerable - or side-by-side - don't know the term, but this also leaves them open to attack.Thanks for the advice: I need as much as I can get.