Lauren Bateman explains how to read guitar chord diagrams. Vertical lines are the six strings, horizontal rows are frets. An X means don't play that string, O means play it open, and numbered dots show where your fingers go. She walks through a D-major chord as an example.
Chord diagrams may look confusing, but once you know what they're saying, it's easy to decipher and learn new chords. Let me show you how to do it in less than 60 seconds. A chord diagram is a grid system. The blocks represent the frets of the guitar and the lines represent the strings: E, A, D, G, B, and E. An X above the diagram means don't play that string. A circle above the diagram means play that string open without fretting any fingers on it. The black dots and numbers represents the fingers to use on each string. In this D chord diagram, you don't play the E or A strings. You do play the D string open, and then you use the first finger on the G string, the third finger on the B string, and the second finger on the E string. So make sure to save this video to help you the next time you go to learn a new chord for your guitar.
