Got about 20 chess books! still can`t improve!

Hi all,

I am a 1600+ player, when i started serious chess study it was 2 or 3 years ago.

Now i can say that i know some lines of the famous openings (Ruy Lopez,Sicilian,Scotch,Reti,Slav,Semi-slav,Gueco Piano,ETC...), aslo i finished the book (Reasses your chess),(Winning chess tactics),(My system),studied alittle bit (Grandmasters chess strategy),(Think like a grandmaster),and (The art of attack in chess)!.. Now iam about to finish Silman`s complete endgames course! .

Then what?!.. i still can`t get back to my best rating ever 1711.

Are there any other books i should study?

Any plans?.. Really i adore chess and spend about 3-4 hours every day studying.

Thanks.

Get a good chess program like Shredder and play analyze, play and analyze. 

Also use a tactics trainer.

Books are fine -  but computers give immediate feedback.

Start playing and give it time.  It seems to me that chess improvement comes in sudden leaps not gradual increases.  When you study sometimes your immediate results suffer.  Euwe actually warned about this in his books on the middle game.  Your subconscious brain is working on the lessons that you have been studying.  One day a light will come on when your brain has finally sorted things out and you will be a class beyond your previous high.   Did you ever notice how a child's grammar seems to deteriorate when they are about 3 years old?  They have just realized that grammar rules exist and start overgeneralizing their new knowledge.  It is just a stage in learning.

Ugh. WHY? WHY? WHY? Why do people insist on studying openings? I mean momorizing openings is fine and all but then your playing from memorization and thats not chess. Buy a chess program and practice with it. Studying is fine and all but if you dont find the right opponent to play then, well... I reccomend Fritz or Chessmaster.  

Practice makes perfect. Rome wasn't buit in a day etc.

From what I've read, we all get to sticking points on our way up. I am at one now.  In the past, I have gotten past these points by studying over my games and looking for mistakes that I make consistently. 

Ferreting out these weakness, helps a lot because it forces you to reconsider your approach in certain facets of your game.  My rating is low here on blitz because I love to experiment.  That is, I don't take it seriously that often [mostly just experiment].  I learn from this process because it teaches me to recognize patterns and positions through repetitive exposure.   I always go back and analyze my games to see what I should do in a longer game.

So, I have no "REAL" advice for anyone on this topic. I can only share what I've learned.  Try getting a master to analyze your games for you and get feedback on where you need work out problems/weaknesses.   Oh, and don't forget that, "chess is FUN!"  :-)

David R.

You could spend like half a year on good chess book, analyze everything, try to find mistakes, take nothing for granted. You need to work on them, not read them.

Anyway, at your level reading chess books isn't the best way to improve anyway. Chess isn't like school, it's more about skill than about knowledge. You need to play, and after each games spend at least as much time trying to figure out what you could have done better. Then play again. And forget about openings, they're irrelevant, it's what happens after the opening that decides the game.

Similarly, reading twenty chess books in a couple of years just makes you better at reading chess books.

Looks wise to me!

Thanks.

I didn`t read 20 chess books!

I just (have) them.

Great advice that I have taken on occasion. Now, let's get detailed.  How do you go about analyzing a game?  In short, step by step let's look at how to systematically use an engine to analyze.  Also, how do you know when you've analyzed the game enough?  I have spent amazing amounts of time on the first 10 moves of ONE game.  Perhaps I should hit the high points, see where I made glaring errors, take mental note of it and move on?

David R.

The least thing i studied is openings, i always focus on middle game, and endgames.

I have chessmaster, and finished its academy, but this still isn`t enough.

If you think studying the opening is about memorizing lines, then you don't understand how to study the opening.

Piece of cake!

Just type "www.google.com", then type those names followed by .pdf

1- how to reasses your chess.

2- my system.

3- mastering chess openings.

4- Silman`s complete endgame course.

5- think like a grandmaster.

6- the art of attack in chess.

7- Silman`s complete book of chess strategies.

And the rest are not useful at all, so don`t bother yourself.

Right!

Studying openings is the hardest field in chess in my opinion!.

U have to understand the purpose of each one and its advantages, and disadvantages.

I don't know who said it, I think it was Botvinnik, that "chess can't be taught it can only be learned." 

Chess books help you figure out things, but ultimately you learn to play chess by playing chess. Spend time really analyzing your games without a computer. Spend time analyzing GM games. Play "guess the move" problem in your favorite opening lines. Do tactics problems. Eventually things will start to "click" in your mind and you'll get better.

Lots of good suggestions here.   Let me pass on a few pieces of advice I got from my coach.  First, fundamentals are essential.  When first learning we miss things here and there.  When you get to a higher level it is important that your foundation is complete to continue improving.  So this means go back and review!  Go back to step one and start over.  You have already done it once, so you should be able to go VERY quickly.  However, you should be able to find 2 or 3 topics that perhaps you are not as strong as you should be.  (My weak topics were/are identifying and defending properly against mate, Identifying intermediate and advanced mating patterns, and counting when evaluating a position.)  Secondly, tournaments!  Playing in OTB (Over The Board) tournaments will increase your rating.  You may have 1 or 2 bad tournaments, but you will find that you've still improved in some areas.  Finally, I can't stress enough improving your board vision!  Best way I've found to do that is the STEP METHOD.  This is a series of teaching guides and workbooks that were developed by TEACHERS and players (from Holland).  Not just a player writing a book.  I've read a lot of good books written by players, but I've read more terrible books by players.  This series of books is a refreshing look at how to tackle your improvement step by step.  Hope that helps!

The STEP METHOD is also available as software to Level 3, with further levels being released as they are completed.

http://www.stappenmethode.nl/en/chess-tutor.php 

I reccomend "Chess Training For Budding Champions" by Jesper Hall

And recording your games in chess database will help you to your growth.

And lastly, enjoy your game!

Analyse your own games. A lot of times when you read things in a book it doesnt become a part of your actual game until you actually exercise it and you can never really know if you are utilising your knew knowledge until you analyse your games.

One of my favourite quotes is "madness is doing the same thing but expecting different results" so you need to look at your games and plug the holes so you dont repeat the mistakes/inaccuracies next time around.

yeah tactics then tactics

also some youtube games may help you  (ex:chessexplained who is an IM"

Looking for good moves in books is like playing football by going

to the popcorn stand.