How can I get good at chess?

I do not understand WHY you would ever BET on chess without being at the grand master level. If you do not know what it takes to BE a grand master, you should NOT be betting in the first place! Practice games don't count! Practice games for ANY online gambling games are played by machine and evidently they used a weak program to falsely lead you to believe you were better than you are. They have a vested interest in getting poor players to play so they LOSE. ALL online gambling works that way! Instead of using THEIR practice games, buy your own chess computer. These are readily available in the big box toy stores or electronics stores. You can learn from practice with the cheapest chess game you can buy. After a couple of YEARS, I am finally at a level where I win against my "evil genius" (my name for it since it used to beat me nearly all of the time) Excalibur chess computer half the time on the highest level of play it can handle. I currently am playing two machines one against the other, with both set to the highest level they can handle. Anyway, the only way to get better is to do two things, read books on the theory and strategy and then do exactly what it takes to get to Carnegie Hall, practice, practice, practice... In the meantime, put the gambling on HOLD... You will NEVER get any better without actual play, even if it is with a chess computer. BUT! The only way to become really, really GOOD though, is to play other people using tournament rules.

join the uscf and play in rated tournaments, you will get better, their website is www.uschess.org

Try to solve some tactics and checkmate problems: http://www.ideachess.com/

If you want the easy way: -Open a the Chess Titans game on your computer (if you have it.) -Make sure that you play as your opponents color on chess titans. (If you play against a white opponent online, make sure you play as white on Chess Titans.) -Copy your online opponent's moves and do them in Chess titans. -When your opponent in chess titans moves, copy that move into the online game. NOTE: In Chess Titans, make sure you the computer is on the hardest difficulty. Hard Way: Practice.

The key to getting good at chess is to study endgames, positional play and tactics, and of course play a lot. Why do we need to study tactics? At below master level the common reason for defeats are blunders. Sample of these blunders are losing your piece without getting something in return, or you did not notice you will be mated in a few moves, but you failed to see the right defensive moves. Studying tactics helps lessen your blunder and improves your calculation skills. Sample of chess tactics are pin, fork and skewer. http://www.thechesswebsite.com/chess-strategy/chess-deflection.php Why do we need to study positional play? Often times at below master level, player does not know what to do on a given position. If you study the positional features of chess, you will have a guide on what to do in a given position. Sample of this positional concept is a bad bishop. A bad bishop is a bishop that lacks mobility. http://www.thechesswebsite.com/chess-strategy/good-bad-bishop.php Why do we need to study endgame? Endgame is a pace in chess in which you can now bring out your king, cause it is already safe from threats. It is no use if you have a rook and king against a lone king, if you don't know how to mate with it. Or it is no use if you have an extra pawn (and the position is winning) if you can't convert it to a win. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Chess/The_Endgame/Pawn_Endings Now where would you learn these chess concepts? You can learn it from books, online tutorials or a chess coach.

This may sound lonely and sad but play against your self and practise strategies and also if you find someone who would willingly play against you just practice for a while.

Learn strategies and counters, its always in the initiating moves... Practice them over and over, find some people to play with too. It helps you strategize.

You don't give us much information about your skill levels, but if you are loosing against other people try: http://www.chesscafe.com/heisman/heisman.htm

practice practice practice