user8344: I am a chess beginner but I have been playing the game for many years without being very serious about it. I would like to improve a bit now though but I am having difficulty with many of the sites....I like the sites that provide problems to be solved but the main issue I have with them is when you make a wrong move it says...wrong move!! I would like it to be a bit more specific than that and tell me why it was a wrong move as sometimes it looks like the right move to me!!! (That's why I'm still a beginner of course....) But I think it would be extremely helpful to know this. Is there any sites out there that provide that sort of service? 

user7966: It's hard to find resources like that. Beyond the basics or how to move, you can look at
Beginner Study Plan - I'd recommend having a look at this guide so you know what to study. Then I would advise you look at Yasser Seirawan's Winning Chess Series. For beginners, look at

Play Winning Chess

Then when you progress, you can look at

Winning Chess Tactics

and later you can look at

Winning Chess Endgames
Winning Chess Openings

These books are easy to read and provide lots of examples with very clear explanations from one of the best chess authors out there.
You should definitely learn all the tactical motifs that exist. By knowing what they are, you can try to find them in real games, and over time they will start to become second nature. I recommend Attacking Chess by Josh Waitzkin, which is a really good book for beginners learning tactical puzzles. You can probably find a PDF of the book online if you want, but I'd advise buying it.
Tactical Motifs - This website has tens of thousands of tactical puzzles and will show you the solution if you get the puzzle wrong. Each puzzle has a tag which lets you know what tactical motif was used. For a beginner, you should know forks, pins, skewers, double check, back-rank mate and x-rays. There are plenty more tactical ideas, but these will help most.

8344: <p>I am a chess beginner but I have been playing the game for many years without being very serious about it. I would like to improve a bit now though but I am having difficulty with many of the sites....I like the sites that provide problems to be solved but the main issue I have with them is when you make a wrong move it says...wrong move!! I would like it to be a bit more specific than that and tell me why it was a wrong move as sometimes it looks like the right move to me!!! (That's why I'm still a beginner of course....) But I think it would be extremely helpful to know this. Is there any sites out there that provide that sort of service? </p>
 7966: <p>It's hard to find resources like that. Beyond the basics or how to move, you can look at</p>

<p><a href="http://www.chess.com/article/view/study-plan-beyond-the-basics" rel="nofollow">Beginner Study Plan</a> - I'd recommend having a look at this guide so you know what to study. Then I would advise you look at Yasser Seirawan's <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1857443314" rel="nofollow">Winning Chess Series</a>. For beginners, look at</p>

<ol>
<li>Play Winning Chess</li>
</ol>

<p>Then when you progress, you can look at</p>

<ol start="2">
<li>Winning Chess Tactics</li>
</ol>

<p>and later you can look at</p>

<ol start="3">
<li>Winning Chess Endgames</li>
<li>Winning Chess Openings</li>
</ol>

<p>These books are easy to read and provide lots of examples with very clear explanations from one of the best chess authors out there.</p>

<p>You should definitely learn all the tactical motifs that exist. By knowing what they are, you can try to find them in real games, and over time they will start to become second nature. I recommend Attacking Chess by Josh Waitzkin, which is a really good book for beginners learning tactical puzzles. You can probably find a PDF of the book online if you want, but I'd advise buying it.</p>

<p><a href="http://chesstempo.com/tactical-motifs.html" rel="nofollow">Tactical Motifs</a> - This website has tens of thousands of tactical puzzles and will show you the solution if you get the puzzle wrong. Each puzzle has a tag which lets you know what tactical motif was used. For a beginner, you should know forks, pins, skewers, double check, back-rank mate and x-rays. There are plenty more tactical ideas, but these will help most.</p>
