On any of my commutes I'd just be doing chess tactics on my phone. After like a year I played some 100~ games. Won like 75 of them because I got really good at predicting moves and recognizing patterns. Seriously just nail out tactics day in and day out.

They are micro puzzles that increase in difficulty and isolate specific parts of the chess game, be it beginning, mid, or end game. Once you do a couple thousand of these, move on to a real board where every piece is in play.

Trust me, you'll get good fast, it just depends how much time you're willing to put in. Also, go to chess clubs. I go every Monday in my city and it's a huge help to get insight from veterans and pros.

Once you start even remotely understanding strategy and moves, you will get so addicted. Just need get over that beginners hump. I'm still shit by the way.