How the heck do tournament competitors and top-rated players get so
darned good at chess? Well, I can tell you that the really good chess
players (the one's with the 2200 ratings) didn't get that good by
accident!
They had to study & practice extremely hard to get to where they are
today. Most likely, they've studied chess strategies for years and
have played hundreds (perhaps even thousands of games) to obtain the
level of experience that they have today.
So, in order for ordinary people like you and me to get "good" at
chess, we would have to go through years of training, expensive
lessons, reading books, and trial & error.
I'm not claiming that you're going to become the next Kasparov over
night, but I can tell you that these strategies work.
http://chesscua.blogspot.com/#