How to become a better Chessplayer?

In the "Search Answers" box at the top of this page, type the phrase,

better chess

and then click on the "Search Answers" button.

You will get links to dozens of questions asking the same question about how to get better at chess, and there are hundreds of good answers. Pick the answers that suit you best.

If you don't want to do that, then just slow down. Magus Carlsen can play great chess in a 5 minute game. You and I cannot. Take your time and look at the possible moves everywhere on the board. Take at least one or two minutes per move. That will help you stop giving your pieces away for nothing. This will lead to instant and guaranteed improvement. Just do it.

To lose in five minutes....sounds like you don't challenge the center well enough. You may need help in the openings a bit. opening book or video guild may help you with them player(s). I know this is bad advice! because there is better and more real things to be studying then opening. Just learn enough, to the point where, you are in the game.

Then the real learning of chess begins. You will be awaken to: is my King safe? do I have a piece hanging? is there a fork? is there a big line attack....by rank, file or diagonal? do I have an overworked piece?....You get my message.....play that game we call chess! You can be thinking, and not lose in 5 minutes or less.

Practice is of course important, but there are a selection of things to do with that. I would read Yasser Seirawan's: Winning Chess Tactics. It helped me out a lot. It is also crucial to have a good opening. Look into the Ruy Lopez and the defenses, and you'll be fine. Also, if you're getting beat in 5 minutes, than you are being checkmated really early. When your opponents move, see if two pieces are attacking the same piece, and move away. It will help you a lot.

Practice makes perfect.

But I do agree with the earlier answer, familiarize yourself with the rules. There are lots of little strategies you can use, do some research.

Then go find a bot online that you can play against. Play on the lowest difficulty for awhile, then once you've mastered that, move on to the next hardest, then the next, so on so forth.

Like anything else, just keep practicing!

I got a lot of insight from watching few master games with commentary. There are several chess blogs with movies etc.

A general rule I try to stick to is to play to win, not to save your pieces. In the beginning try to gain control over the four squares located in the center and do it with as many figures (not pieces) as possible. From there try to attack the king.

You could look up some strategies online, or try to get a better understanding of the rules of the game. Also, the more experience you get, the better the player you will be!