The road to 1600, live standard

Let me start by saying that I understand the rating game is a rat race just like the money game in real life and however much you gain there is always someone with more.

I am currently rated very low 1500 on this website and consider myself peaked or platuea'd (sp). The thing is I still see gaping holes in my game, I would love to hear from some players who have hit 1600,

What did it take for you?

Also I may be a bit dense but as a redeeming quality I have at least 12 hours a day to devote to chess.

o

I guess the people who know how to get to 1600 are busy playing and studying chess. makes sense.

Using tactics trainer consistently i think has been the main solution as well as looking for the main mistakes in the games you lost. At the time of writing this my rating is currently at 1587 however I have fluctuated between 1580 to 1640 for about 4-5 months now so I guess I have also hit some sort of plateau as well. 

Another suggestion is to go over master games but instead of trying to memorise the whole game it may be better to get the theme of the plan they had for getting the result i.e. attacking along the kingside or a particular sacrifice.At this level it's obvious we can't understand the finer details of why certain moves are played but just being getting the general theme and looking at how they coordinate their peices can't do any harm right? :)

Sine your setting a goal I might as well mention mine which is to hopefully be at 1700 standard by the end of the year 1600 blitz/bullet and 1900 tactics trainer. Hope you do well :)

1400 - 1500 isn't that bad so must have been doing something about your chess in the past. Why don't you let us know what that was? You'll probably get much more educated advice then.

To my understanding there's two things everyone trying to improve on their chess need to do:

1) Looking at master games from a book explaining them as detailed as possible.

2) Playing, over the board if possible

thanks kenny960, I like your advice. and honestly I do wonder if you have hit a plateau or if you are getting better without a reflection in rating (online), I have seen titled players in the 1700 and 1800 hundreds live standard. I think this is sometimes a reflection of the main problems inherent to online ratings.

That is a prime reason my goal is to get to consistant 1600 as I know honest non pro players can achieve this.

o

in answer to FrancisVincentZappa, I didn't made to much effort besides accidentaly becoming a bit to obsessed with the game.

One thing I will say as far as mind set there are to ways that I aproach my game set before me, to play what I feel like (sacrificing on f2 to see when it works or not for example), or to put into practice what I know and play in the way that I think is the absolutly best way to play the game.

I used to think dogmaticly that moving each piece once before any twice was the best way to play and if an opponent did not do so they could easily lose, I took many games of playing what I thought was best to overturn that flawed type of thinking. Add a couple thousand blitz games a thousand long games and wham 1500.

Also I do need to play otb like you said I have not done that

If you play a lot of blitz, you may want to cut down on playing shorter time controls and study more. It may help to keep a journal of training progess and set defined goals on how many standard time control games you play each week. A record like this should also account for time spent on game analysis. Longer time controls give you time to think about new things you have learned. You can do a lot with much less than 12 hours a day if your training is focused. The biggest struggle to conquering a plateau is often overcoming bad habits. I remember when I was very serious in training, I rarely posted in forums. A lot of little things (even if they are about chess) can add up in time and create distractions. If you set defined training goals at the start, this can simplify things a lot.

Hi, you want to get coaching? I ( Fide Elo 2012) am doing free coaching for everyone. If you are interested, just ask me.

Cheers, Till :)

good advice. Bad habits are a big problem.

And yes I would be way interested in free coaching!

Is that offer open to anyone who wants free coaching? 

I've been stuck in the mid to high 1400s for awhile, and could really use some coaching.

of course its for anyone :)

I hover around 1600 myself. My main three tips: tactics, tactics, tactics

Study basic endgames, PAWN STRUCTURES, tactics. While you're doing those 3 things get some books of well annotated GM games. The kind of writers that explain IDEAS & STRATEGIES behind the moves. Don't memorize openings. Keep it simple. 

My peak was 1679, ive lost strength and I'm barely 1600 now I need advice on maintaining 1600 Its difficult for me more but I play less often, to achieve 1600 I recommend learning rook endgames

Speaking of pawn structure, Pawn Structure: Chess by Andy Soltis was helpful in reaching Class A. It's an old book, but it gives a decent overview for class players.

current status 1586, peak 1596.

I was within striking distance of my goal. my loss was against an early Ng5 in the italian game, I tried the traxler and failed miserably.

status update, hit it. 1603 peak rating.

thanks for the input it did help.

JGambit: I remember when I finally hit 1600 strength...I think I was stuck there for about 4 years. lol I had tried everything and nothing would work. 

I have a chess blog about how to get past that level that you should check out. 

www.advancedchesstraining.blogspot.com