When I play chess I always take one of two roads which both lead to defeat.
Either I play very carefully, leaving my opponent open to all of the attacking. With carefully I mean I only move important pieces to spots which are defended.
Or I play too recklessly which makes me lose important pieces to the stupidest of decisions. Seriously, I lost tons of queens to spots which were very clearly defended.
Either way I always lose. So:
Does anyone know of: tactics, videos, rule of thumbs, anything. Which can help to find a good balance?
Also: When should you start strategising about check-mating the king?
Do you put yourself in your opponents shoes and try to predict which move they are going to make? It’s important not to play only your own side, you actually want to try to play as both players for much of the game, assuming time allows.