when should you give up

IMO people who seem to not improve have the unfortunate predisposition to focus on the wrong things. It's just bad luck that they don't conceptualize chess in terms of e.g. threats and trying to keep material. The way they approach chess might make them fast improvers at different games, but not at chess.

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So anyway, I'd say learn the opening principles

https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-principles-of-the-opening

Read a chess book like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Back-Basics-Tactics-ChessCafe-Chess/dp/1888690348

And play games.

After that if you're still stuck at the same rating, then sure, maybe you should give up hope of improving.

I do not think so you should give up. The important thing is that if you enjoy the game, you should totally continue. Lessons and puzzles might be good for you, but if you do not understand something in them, well it is a problem. If you do not understand some puzzle or some lesson, you should do not give up and you should try to as some stronger player. But puzzles and lessons are just part of training and only a part of improvement.  I believe that you should play 30 minutes games and try to understand every move of your opponent. You should double check his move, if some piece is hanging for example, if it is not, you should ask about his plan. My biggest problem when I was below 1000 were knight forks. I think you should focus on basic tactics firstly as - forks, skewer, pin, double attack. But really just try to look in every game for haning pieces, opponent will at least do a mistake in a game for sure, we are just humans. Maybe these general tips will help you as well: Control the center, always develop your pieces as quickly as possible, try not to move the same piece multiple times in the opening, protect your king by caslting, do not move your queen too soon, by developing the pieces you will connect the rooks, move your rooks to open columns, think twice about moving your pawns, they cannot go back, if your piece is placed in bad square and you can exchange it with opponent active piece, just do it. Finally I would say that you should play same opening and learn from mistakes in opening by analysis. Choose one for white and one for black and it is going to be okay. For me it was difficult to improve from 700 to 1000, but from 1000-1300 it was much easier, now I am almost 1400 and it was not that difficult, it is just about building right habits and training well - quality over quantiny . Have a fun and do not give up

Two good replies. My suggestion are 1) post a couple of games annotated with your reasons for the moves and ask for feedback on your thinking. The engine can point out better moves but it wont tell you what you need to fix with your reasoning, other than pointing out what you missed. 2) watch John Bartholomew's Chess Fundamentals YouTube videos on Undefended Pieces and Coordination. 3) Watch and read up on Opening Principles. 4) Get Chess Tactics for Students by Bain and do 10 puzzles every day. Dont watch or read tons of chess material about random stuff. As a beginner, you will improve if you make Opening Principles, Undefended Pieces, Coordination, and Tactics and Visualisation (puzzles) your only priority.

And if you do lose lots of material because it is undefended then this suggests that, though you are playing 30 minute games, it is still to quick for you to keep track off everything. Try longer times including Daily. If you feel rushed, take the hint and play longer games.

Well,never ever give up!

Chess always has scope of improvement.. Just know your weaknesses and make them strong, your game will automatically improve.. Solve puzzles(they improve your tactical knowledge).. If u think you are losing interest then try different variants (they are awesome!).. But eventually u will get back to chess(standard)..Dont study more just play and more importantly ANALYSE every game after u finish it.. Dont care about your ELO.. U will improve once u focus on improving your game rather than elo.. 

Good luck!

Chess isn't what most people think it is. You hear people say I'm too old to improve and stuff like that, but that's not how chess works.

First of all, you need to overcome the mental strain caused by the 64 squares. You can only do this by familiarizing yourself with the board. In fact this is the most prominent issue concerning progress and improvement. Once you're able to follow the game blindfolded things will change.

Second, you need to play slower time controls. That's the only way you'll actually invest yourself in chess theory and strategy.

5:20 - 6:15

A lot of chess is predetermined in a sense. You just need to understand the why.

Jestt, if it makes you feel any better, I've been playing chess on and off for 42 years and my rating , without fail, continues to fluctuate between high 1200s to high 1300s.  I may on rare occasion get it just above 1400, but that is short lived as my rating will come crashing back down to reality when I start losing again.  As the great NFL Hall Of Fame coach Bill Parcells once said, "You are what your record says you are."  I'm a class D chess player, period!  To add to that, I have read and studied no less than 10 chess books on openings, middle game, end games, tactics, strategy, traps, etc.  I've played computers, chess engines, real people, a few tournaments, postal chess and online.  I've studied some Master games and review the games I lose.  All of this and I can't break the 1400 barrier.  

But with all that being said, I have started to just play chess for fun.  That doesn't mean I don't play to win or that I don't mind losing.  I HATE losing, but hey, class D players are supposed to lose a lot of games.  Unless your goal is to become a Grand Master, my advice is to just have fun at playing chess and the rating will take care of itself. 

Not sure if this gives you or anyone reading this any comfort but just my two cents.

Well written, chess should every time stay fun. I think even GM´s have chess as their job because they enjoy the game and this is very important no matter if you are beginner or master. I would now react to you. How did you study the books? Have you look at them with another and stronger player? Have you analysed your otb games? Have you written your though process down? How does your study plan looks like? I still believe that you must do something wrong as you are not improving, however players above 1200+ are serious player so it is great anyway. But I still believe that you can break 1400-1500 barrier

Would you give up chess if there were no ratings? If chess is something that you enjoy, if you have fun solving puzzles and reading about the game and playing it against opponents from around the world, then you should never give up. Like the poster above, my rating has never been very  high, no matter how many books I read or puzzles I solve or games I play. I've always had a love for the game, but apparently never a strong aptitude for it.

Yet I would no more give up chess than I would give up reading. I enjoy it, it gives me pleasure, and it's an incredibly rewarding hobby. So forget about your rating or trying to improve and just enjoy the game.

Katerinah, in response to your question about my studying, I pretty much just read the books and did a little studying OTB.  I didn't write down feelings or get too in-depth.  At the time, I did want to get a lot better, but my job, wife, kids and life in general just didn't afford me the opportunity to put in a lot of studying time.  Now that I'm older and much more mature, I realized that there is more to life than chess, which is why I treat chess the way it should be, a fun game to play during my personal time.  

I understand, it was not meant to offend you. As you mentioned age depends as well. As I am younger (I do not wanna mention age) I have more time to focus on studying in chess (of course I do not have sometimes time for studying because of school), but I just wanted to say that you can still get to 1400, I think 5-10 puzzles a day will do much better than books. To be honest I was sometimes confused when I read one, I learned much more by spending time looking at my own games and searching mistakes. Anyway, good luck in chess and have fun.

No offense taken at all.  Enjoying the conversation.

I am enjoying it as well. I was just thinking about the fact that it might sound little bit offensive.

It depends what your looking for in chess. I played for about 20 years and had the satisfaction of slowly but steadily improving to a 2100 OTB rating, then had to stop (job conflicts) for 25 years. I retired five years ago and resumed play partly foe fun, partly to do something that required me to keep my mind sharp. Naturally my rating plummeted, but I don't take chess as seriously now so losing bothers me less. (I still get mad at myself for making stupid mistakes that could have been avoided by paying closer attention to detail.)

But I assume your goal is to play the best chess that you can. You should continue to play (longer time controls so you can find your best plans and moves.) Then analyze where you have difficulties. If you get poor positions out of the openings, look for variations that you can understand and don't have a lot of up to the minute, ever-changing theory. If you get outplayed tactically there are many books, from Steinitz to the present day, that explain basic ideas about pawn structure, techniques of blockade, handling kingside attacks, general positional principles, and so on that may improve your capacity to choose what to think about and how to plan ahead. (Older works that are still popular, having stood the test of time, might serve you best.)  If you can't finish off your opponents when you have an advantage or lose when you have a theoretically drawn ending you obviously need to brush up on your endgame technique. Knowledge of what makes a winning or drawing position--especially in K+P or rook endings--is particularly valuable as it can guide you in what to aim for in the middlegame.

Finally, just as much play and study as you find entertaining and interesting will slowly impress better techniques into your mind. And you have to realize that with the talent, time and interest you have to invest there is still a maximum level you can reach. A couple of IMs that played locally when I first played many were still "just" IMs after I came back from my long hiatus. They like chess, are strong enough not to have to make chess a full-time occupation in order to play well, and can pick up a few $$ here and there (club tournament prizes, giving lessons, etc) to supplement their regular income. You and I are unlikely to reach that level of proficiency but the must important thing is to do well enough that you are satisfied that you are playing about as well as you are capable, and continue to enjoy playing.

Lol

im never gonna give you up

If you do not like to play, then quit.  Otherwise, you are just one of 100000000000000000 other people on this site who are not grandmasters, never will be, won't ever make a cent playing the game (may even lose money),  but even so you enjoy playing.  

I don't mind if my opponent plays until checkmate. Resign if you feel like your just suffering. I really feel it is a disservice to the game and you opponent to let time run out just before checkmate. It doesn't change the outcome it just paints you as a bitter looser.