When beginners asks how to improve, I usually give these bits of advice:

1. Tactics, tactics, tactics!
   
2. Learn how to mate with K+Q vs K and K+R vs K.
3. Learning basic opening principles--don't memorize lines.
4. Take your time and consider checks and captures every move.

A good, free tutorial on how to mate with King + Rook vs King:

http://www.chesskids.com/level2/cl5l7.htm

How to mate from the initial King + Rook vs King position from our game. Black confines White's king to smaller and smaller sections of the board:

oooh... but i already know that ^_^

thanks for illustartaing it would really help other people!

heh. I figured that, donngerard. ;)

Try mating with RK vs K with no checks unless it's checkmate.

Ziryab, that's slower, but doesn't present any particular difficulties. The same ideas are required, just minus a few speeder-uppers.

A good thing for beginners is to learn the why behind the endings. The king is checkmated when he is being attacked and cannot flee to another unattacked square, when he cannot block the check with another piece, and when he cannot capture the attacking piece. If we consider that checklist, the last two options are already gone, because there are no other pieces with the lone king. So the only other requirement is to eliminate flee squares, and then apply the winning check. The method of the king + rook vs king ending is to drive the lone king to the side of the board by controlling flee squares with the rook and king. Once the lone king is wrangled up to one edge of the board, there is only the matter of eliminating his flee squares by forced moves until he is blocked by the other king, and then applying a check with the rook. Game over. The proper way to learn chess is to learn the ideas and then learn how the text moves relate to those ideas.

nice tutorial 4 beginers.

Silman's Complete Endgame Course!!!!! SO WELL DONE!!!