As a lower rated player . .

Should I play around my own rating or higher? If higher, how much higher?

Will I learn more from playing people in 1200-1300 range or the 1700-1800 range?

Or does it not really matter? 

Honestly, for a few games I would suggets playing in and around your ratings range (say + or - 100 points or so). That will give you some challenging games without getting smashed out of the park. If you go up in ratings, apply the same technique. Adjust the ratings range you like to taste.

Always try to play people who are a little bit (0-200 pts) better than you. 

I would recommend playing people around your own level. While occassionally a good opponent can teach you something (the hard way)  that generally works better OTB play, where you share a drink after the game. With online play against someone much better most of the time you may not even realize why you lost (what techniques or ideas am I missing) so you don't know what you should learn.

My learning advice (not that high rated, but working on it) is to find the videos and articles on chess.com or elsewhere that apply to your level. Then try to apply them in games against other people of your level. If you try them against people much higher than your level they will never seem to work and you will wonder what the point was. 

Don't assume that ratings are accurate; they are only a snapshot from history.

Play people within a maximum of 150-200 points of your chess.com rating - above and below. 

There is value in playing lower rated players. If they are truly lower rated then you get to practise your winning techniques. Of course, they may actually be better than you, and their win against you will help correct their rating! Don't assume anything.

Play higher rated players for the same reason. Their rating might be correct, which will result in a challenging game for you and the opportunity to be punished for mistakes. Again, their rating may be overinflated and you might be the one to bring their rating down again  Just be realistic in your expectations. Then again, if you're < 1200 and an 1700 player accepts your challenge - go for it!

I play OTB too. At one of my first tournaments I received great advice and encouragement from one of the Adjudicators. Basically, ignore your opponents rating and just play the pieces. "Strong" players have bad days and "weak" players have good days. Just stay within a reasonable range (+/- 200 max) and you'll get a great range of experiences.

FWIW a couple of the games I've enjoyed the most were OTB games against much higher rated opponents. Yes, I lost both - eventually, but I played well, they had to fight for every square and I learned a lot from the experience - such as 4 hour games can leave you with a numb backside! 

Have fun. It's just a game.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

This advice is simply wrong. Playing opponents at your level in a tournament setting is fine because its a fair environment. But if you are looking to improve you will do so at a much more rapid rate playing stronger players. Play higher rated opponents as much as you can and go over the games with them afterwards.

AgnosticOracle wrote:

I would recommend playing people around your own level. While occassionally a good opponent can teach you something (the hard way)  that generally works better OTB play, where you share a drink after the game. With online play against someone much better most of the time you may not even realize why you lost (what techniques or ideas am I missing) so you don't know what you should learn.

My learning advice (not that high rated, but working on it) is to find the videos and articles on chess.com or elsewhere that apply to your level. Then try to apply them in games against other people of your level. If you try them against people much higher than your level they will never seem to work and you will wonder what the point was. 

You should advoid blitz and bullet not good for  your fundamentals in the  beggining. There are some good videos on  youtube by chess world, very good. I would say play at your level and a little higher om correrspondance   so that you can learn. might not win at first but it will make you a tougher more  seasoned player in the long run.    30 minute standard games are good to get used to playing with time constraints. .

play around your range and work the tactics trainer. you'll get better

Thanks  That helps me!

One of the nice things about tournaments with rating ranges is that you play a group of people clustered around your rating. Bonus: if you win through, you can be assured that the next round will feature stronger opponents.

Note: I kind of miss the older tournament format where you didn't play both games against each opponent simultaneously. Nothing like a rematch with someone who beat you to sharpen your focus :)