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Not a book, but this is a great course on candidate moves: https://www.chess.com/lessons/candidate-moves

I think it's pretty normal to improve for a while and then plateau for some period before seeing improvement again. I recommend getting some consistent puzzles practice before your tournament. Here's some info to help prepare for your first tournament: https://www.chess.com/lessons/your-first-tournament. Good luck!

Hello, I'm around 2000 and went over 2100. In my last 10 rapid games, 9 of them I had a winning advantage from the opening/middlegame phase (at least +/-3.0 depending on the side), yet I've managed to lose all of them.
How do I keep focus and high level of play? I feel like i play the openings pretty good but closer we get to the endgame the more mistakes i make. And then i do horrible at endgames

How to get the best moves in the game?

Usually I get best moves but I keep getting okay moves and excellent moves more

Is playing <1min good for quick calculation or bad for playing too fast in classical?

I think that bullet is fun but not an effective way to work on your classical chess. It probably doesn’t hurt, but I wouldn’t consider one minute chess to be effective practice.

That sounds like a frustrating situation. Are running low on time and making mistakes for that reason? If that’s happening, you may need to speed up in the earlier part of the game to save time for converting your advantages later on. Besides that, I recommend double checking all of the forcing moves (checks, captures and threats) for both sides so that you don’t miss any major tactics. Good luck!

I am 1500 rapid on chess.com, and about 1450 FIDE OTB. I want to try and get to 1800/1900 by the end of the year. I have about an hour each day for chess, and even more in the holidays. How would you recommend I split my time studying?

How do train myself to think like a gm?

Do you thin it is realistic for me to aim 2000 by April 2025. I am currently at 1480 and am going on a steady elo gain of approximately 20 to 30 elo per day. I know as I reach higher elo ratings it is harder to gain at this rate but what would you say is a realistic goal. Do you think anyone can achieve 2000 with practice and consistency !

Infistro

Everyone can improve and set realistic goals ,all about how much time you want to put into improving ,

Puzzles ,matches ,analysis all these help along with study openings you like and traps

I am 2000 rapid chess.com, but am looking at starting to play OTB classical in 2025. Even in 10 | 0 games I sometimes find myself losing focus and making errors I wouldn't normally make. What methods are there to specifically train / improve chess stamina in order to maintain a higher focus for longer period of time?

I feel like my biggest weakness (among many...) is knowing when to push pawns. When I review the games, my opening is normally solid but in the middle game I tend to lose ground by pushing the wrong pawn, breaking/keeping the tension or moving a3/h3. What's the best way to get better with pawn play?

Does anybody know where this position is from?

To be honest, you should expect to do quite poorly in your first FIDE tournament. Translating online to OTB is hard the first time, but you can look forward to gaining ~100 ELO of strength simply by playing and getting used to the classical time control.

First you need to find the best move, and second you need to play it. Easier said than done.

You can't calculate in less than one minute. Bullet chess is about pattern recognition and intuition. Calculation is about mental stamina and depth, which is a completely different skill. It's possible to play bullet and still manage your time well in classical IF you are well accustomed to multiple time controls, but generally bullet isn't going to help your chess a whole lot.

There's a book called Think Like a Grandmaster by Kotov...

No, it's not realistic unless your training regimen is unreasonably strict. And I mean unreasonably strict. You're more likely to just burn out. There are 560,000 players rated 1400 and 74,000 players rated 2000. If it was that easy everyone would do it.