Lack of improvement

Okay, so I've been playing on chess.com on an irregular basis for almost a year with no prior chess experience. During this period, I've played 174 15|10 games, with 73 wins, 92 losses and 9 draws. I have a peak rating of 1321, a rating that I dearly miss. 

It seems like I'm not able to surpass the 1150 wall. I went to the library and borrowed several opening, middlegame and endgame books, but most were far too advanced with a lot of historical gibberish I didn't take too much interest in. (Don't misunderstand me, I enjoy playing through good games by former champions.)

So, while I post two games, one where I lost against a -1000 player, and one where I mated a ~1100 player, would you care to give me some tips as to how I should overcome this wall? It is very frustrating to spend several hours a day on something while you're not improving at all. 

Lastly; I played these two games the same day. I think it's weird that I played that much worse in the first one.

Game 2:

try to develop your pieces quickly. before playing your move, watch if there isn't a piece hanging somewhere - yours or your opponent's. and try to play against players who have a better rating than you

Thanks for the comment. However, that's just related to my thinking-process itself. I am always trying to develop my pieces quickly, and of course, see if a piece is hanging. I think I did both well in the second game, while I blundered a lot, and let my bishop hang and blundered away a rook in the first. I was thinking about more specific "grab these books", "solve problems at this site"-related answers. 

I am always trying to develop my pieces quickly

I'm not sure : what about 15...Nd7 in the first game ?

I was thinking about more specific "grab these books", "solve problems at this site"-related answers

At the moment, I think working on your thought process would be more productive than reading any set of books or doing any chess.com exercise, but you can be sure many people will suggest tons of books and exercises in the next hour

@hicetnunc: Let's have him read all of Silman, and then Dvoretsky, too!

Seriously, though, they have written some great books. For thought processes, you might try Kotov, as well. Silman first, though, for your level.

Thanks for the comment! 

I think you've misunderstood; I played white in the first game. Black in the second. 

Yes, working on my thought process might be the most effective way of improvement for now. What worries me is the fact that I'm actually worse now than I used to be 9 months ago. (http://www.chess.com/forum/view/game-showcase/one-of-my-best-games9)

Chessisgood: Thanks a lot for commenting, you've been really constructive in other threads, too! I will take a look at Silman's book, thanks for reccomending!

I think you've misunderstood; I played white in the first game. Black in the second.

Ah yes, I made a mistake - sorry about that

But honestly, up to ~1300 level, most progress comes from avoiding blunders. Some efficient strategies are :

- after every opponent's move, ask yourself "what is he threatening, what can he do to harm my position"

- before playing any move, ask yourself : "are my pieces safe ?"

- and systematically work on basic tactical and mate patterns to help identify dangers (here you can use books or any other resources that show those patterns, provided they are in their simple form and classified to help memorization)

Whichever other stuff you learn (opening principles, strategy basics) is ok but should come second after those preliminary survival thoughts

PS : playing slow games helps - anything under 30' is randomizing

Pick a "mentor" and study their games, especially the first 15 moves. Some players like Fischer use the same several openings exclusively, and you will learn more from these games than any other. You will be like, "why didn't he take that piece there? Look very closely and you will find the answer. Don't just breeze through them, really study them closely and then try to reproduce the ideas in your own games. If what you are doing now isn't helping much, then try a new method.

Thanks a lot! Just started looking at Ficher's and Carlsen's game, I'm learning alot very rapidly. 

good to hear. I wish you the best as a student of chess

I FIND THAT TACTICS TRAINER ON CHESS.COM IS THE BEST WAY TO IMPROVE YOUR RATING. IT HAS IMPROVED MINE=======KEEP AT IT AND YOUR A BET TO IMPROVE

Play online games instead of live ones.  Then you have plenty of time to analyze before moving, and you're under no pressure to make a move. 

As was mentioned earlier your greatest improvement will be from not hanging pieces.  Take a look at dan heisman's novice nook -articles are free online.  I believe he has a series of those articles on counting(you would benefit greatly from it-u would be surprised).  Don't touch a book until you find yourself not hanging pieces(1 movers..Like when you took the pawn in the first game hanging the rook)

What got me from 1200 to 1600 (the rating dip is due to several recent time-outs, since I've been avoiding long games in favor of reading books, VC games, and studying for exams recently) was purely tactics practice. I recommend chesstempo.com. It's free, it easy to work with, and it can be entertaining, depending on your mindset.

I had the same problem you had. This is what I think happens when you are a chess players.

1. First you learn the game. This gives you a series of tools that get you going, the movement of the pieces, for example, and the relative value of each piece measured in pawns. But this can only get you so far.
2. Then you learn simple tactics: Pins, forks, discovered checks. That help you win material. And simple mating tactics: two rooks, queen and king, king and rook
3. Then you learn more advanced tactics. You start seeing combinations that are not so obvious. And start spotting things that you used to miss.  You also begin to master mating combinations and threats. You also need to become better attuned with the endgame and trying to promote a pawn <- This is where I'm at and I'm trying to achieve through a lot of tactics exercises.
4. Then there comes a time where what matters are not only tactics, but also some level of strategy (more or less, depending on the opinion of different players) . At my level, and yours, we play openings without really understanding them. Or perhaps understanding just the basics. But openings become more and more important as you get better and face better opponents.

Tactics Tactics Tactics Tactis and tring to recognize patterns, that's what allowed me to leave behind the 1200 mark.  And I'm still terrible at it!
 

Thanks for all the responses, greatly appreciated :)