Last Sunday I received a chess lesson from blackmanrook (William Blackman). It was great to talk to someone one-on-one about learning chess. I learned quickly the importance of saving my games. It can take a while to learn a student's style of play and it makes it much easier for the instructor if he/she can review past games to see where the student should dedicate his/her time.
After playing a mock game, it was evident how little I really new. William pointed out my mistakes and then explained the importance of gaining control of the center of the board during the opening. We spent about an hour on the phone while online at chess.com. I wasn't sure how I would like a virtual lesson, but it worked out fine.
The joy of my lesson was realized later when I practiced what I learned on a couple of iPhone chess apps I have. My winning ratio improved big time, at the novice level of course, and on one app I have been able to beat the computer approx. 75% of the time and on the other about 25% of the time.
I plan on taking a few more lessons to see if a learning strategy can be developed for my style of play. Until then, let's play some chess!