[Dan296]

yea, knowing what type of chaos he plays helps, because chaos can go from one end of the army-type spectrum to the other.
generally the best way to counter most chaos armies is to have alot of tactical squads. unless you are playing nurgle, short ranged firefights, while staying out of assault range, are the way to bring em down. land raiders are big points sinks, as stitch said. if you get one or two of the new devestator boxes, once they come out, i would make 4 with rocket launchers and 4 with plasma cannons. while the 'gets hot' rule could wipe out that expensive squad, 4 space marine killing blast markers wipes out any normal squad. plasma weapons are a must. with your terminators, equip them with as many assault cannons as you can. that is the best upgrade normal termies can get.

if you make army lists around the models you have, its tough. when i first started i did that cause i didnt have any money. now that i have a job i can get any models i need without having to scrounge the bitz box. a word of advice on that-dont give them every upgrade you can, cause that will seriously hurt you.