I am new to Chess at 30. So you can see I am a little behind. I wanted to say Chessmaster XI is great. A few days ago on a whim, I was playing Chess Titans on Vista. I realized I was getting slaughtered on level one. So I started searching online for "chess tips" and found this whole new world of CHESS, FICS, and Coffee break Chess etc. I am having a blast learning this game. I almost Bought Fritz or Shredder but I am glad I came here.

I am just taking a break after playing several hours. I am half way through the "Learning the Basics" Section. I must say I am worried I am going too fast. I will need to go back several times since I am taking in so much information at once. The Fork section was so LONG! By the time I was done I don't want to see a fork again...lol.

I am a long way from playing a human opponent online but I do look forward to the time I feel confident enough to try with out the training section crutches.

Right now I am still not seeing the total board. Or certain pieces and moves are not registering yet. In training when I have just thought "OK I give up, what is it?" I felt "of course why didn't I see that?" After I saw the solution. So I guess that is good. I don't have Chess vision yet, but I guess I should not expect it at this stage.

Just thought I'd say so... Any tips for a real beginner are welcome.

Well, programs like Fritz and Shredder have their good points, too. Some people say those programs are better for serious study... and they're probably right. Many professional chess players use these programs for analysis.

I have Fritz 10, but I think Chessmaster is more user-friendly and better organized than Fritz. Fritz doesn't have much in the way of tutorials, and this is one of the things that Chessmaster does extremely well.

If you're learning, don't rush things... "chess vision" comes with patience and practice. Then you'll be ready to play others online (look at the post Online Aspirations for more suggestions on that).

And while I don't mean to sound like a parent, the important thing is that you're enjoying yourself.

don't wait for playing online and have fun