2000 takes some talent, but I agree with Fezzik, not a whole lot. You said you got serious about 5 years ago, but before I say "five years is a long time, if you're still 1500 for the entire 5 years blah blah blah" I'd have to ask what do you mean by serious :) How many chess books have you read (entire chess books ;) and how many of your tournament games have you analysed? I don't mean analysed by, I reviewed it at the tourney and then put it into fritz and looked at what fritz said for 10 minutes. I mean analysing it yourself or with a stronger player for lets say at least an hour total.
It's funny that some tough players don't know certain techniques. Such as the B+N mate or perhaps another technical endgame. The reason such a player might beat you though is they're a better analyst over the board. Their evaluations are better and their calculation is cleaner (don't have to look at the same line 5 times) or more to the point (better moves considered, more bad moves dismissed).
There's no way to tell what you're doing wrong without knowing you and your chess pretty well. So the advice I (or someone else) might give will probably be hit and miss. If you want my opinion though...
I would recommend objectivity though. Look at your wins and losses and find your mistakes regardless of which side won in the end. It doesn't matter how clever your trap was or how many of your opponent's fall for it, if there was a subtle defense that left you in a bad position you can't play that way anymore. I would recommend you read a strategy book like Pachman's or Silman's Reassess Your Chess. After that resolve to play only the moves you truely believe are good. Not because they're sneaky, or aggressive, or they've worked in the past. Not because you assume your opponent will respond by defending, ignoring, counter attacking, etc. Just the individual move by itself you have to like, and you can only start to do that with some strategic knowledge.
That and tactics. Not timed tactics. Solve puzzles until you get them right. This will improve your calculation making it cleaner (you eventually won't be looking at the same line over and over to re-check it).
Ok, been playing chess for long time now..my uscf rating is 1585 my highest is 1591..played in many tournements World Open..etc got serious with chess about 5 years ago..the normal Uscf rating is 1600-1700 so i guess i suffer from a mental disability or am i not studing the right things? and i used to boast well my rating is only 1500 but really 1800 strength...Well i found out the hard way i was a miserable 1300 ...anyway ive seen some real 1800-2000 uscf not even know how to checkmate properly with a king bishop and knight! and one TD how to draw against king and pawn..im open to about any suggestions...
What does it take to get to 2000 uscf? is it a special gift the player has or is it just many games?