Best Path to Improvement?

So, I've finished up my second tournament, and I don't plan on playing in another for a few months. My new USCF rating from the tourney is 1289.

This is what I'm planning on doing-

• Tactics, tactics, tactics, tactics, tactics, tactics, and some more tactics
• Working on my endgame (I've turned winning or advantageous endgames for myself into losing endgames)
• More tactics
• I'm going to try to learn how to face the Sicilian so I can start playing 1. e4 in tournaments.
• I'm also going to lower the number of online games that I'm playing so I can spend time on them.

What do you guys suggest I do?

I see 5 x bullet points indicating activities that "you will invest in" ... great ... but make sure you have feedback loops attached to each of them.

For instance => Tactics training is easy. You *know* how well you are progressing.

Endgame training ? => Make sure you practice "won" games in blitz time controls vs. computers at full strength. Give yourself 1-2 weeks from the time you think you've learned it all to when you suddenly challenge yourself in a blitz situation. If you can still win clean vs. a machine, you've proven that you've really learned it.

Opening training => Use software like Chess Position Trainer to periodically quiz you on this as your repertoire (sicilian or whatever) gets bigger.

Spending more time on games => Sure, that's great ... but when going over these games after they are done, try to get stronger players to critique them and point out things that you are missing, such as =>

• Faulty/defective thought processes
• Bad habits in your games (the same kinds of mistakes made over and over that you are either clueless or in denial about)
• Identifying the areas you need to spend more attention on before others

In summary, let me repeat => One of the most inefficient ways to study chess is to not have a "feedback loop" to constantly nag/poke/test you out of your comfort zone.  I know a ton of players have the heart and put in oodles of time/energy to work on their chess but they  use it to simply keep absorbing material in one direction ...  like a leaky sponge without really confirming that it is "getting and staying inside" :)

One more thing to add to your list (that's glaringly missing) is studying a ton of annotated Master games. Start with the Chernev books and work yourself forwards, chronologically (study older games FIRST, then gradually move towards the more recent games of the 20th/21st century)

I think the point about playing less online games and concentrating on them more is very helpful.
I have had to do that myself. It got to the stage where I had many games that i wouldn't spend enough time on making my moves. I'd go through them faster than tactics trainer! which is very silly :)

I'd like to know how you go about the other points. And let us know how you proceed

yes i also think to many games hurt, better more stúdying and seldom games

Tactics are very important (so go ahead and do puzzles) and what Shivisky posted is great, and don't hesitate to follow his good advice.

I wanted to throw in my 2 cents with something simple, but similar to shivisky's "feedback loop"

I'd say one of the biggest mistakes in studying chess (at sub 2000 level) is to undervalue playing games.  The same way tactics are a big deal, you should play games where you challenge yourself to find good moves and then as Shivisky says find your mistakes (or have them pointed out to you) afterward.  Minimally you should create the habits of:

 - Before you play your intended move, work hard for your opponent's side to punish your move or otherwise make it look foolish.  What checks can they play and what captures can they make?  Still like your move?  (A fundamental value of tactical puzzles is they help this skill).

 - "See a good move look for a better one" meaning consider more than one move.  Don't spend 10 minutes essentially talking yourself into a move you wanted to play right away... make sure you're really choosing between moves.

If you're spending more than half your study time away from playing "serious" games where you challenge yourself in the way I describe and then look them over for errors, then your study won't be as effective as it could be.

My 2 cents.

I like both your cents wafflemaster. I feel like I used to do this a lot when I first came on to this site and consequently improved dramatically. 
I have not been spending enough time agonising over my moves and I feel like i haven't really been improving. I will definitely take your advice.

Also what do you think about analysing completed games? wins or losses? what is the best way to do this? 

i think playing games are overrated, i think playing games when wanting to improves is wasting to much time. i mean you can think deeper but without deeper knowledge that thinking wouldnt lead to so much and is somehow wasted time because you dont experience and learn something great.

I think its better to use time for doing more tactics wich is fun and studying more opponents games. Also the fewer games you play the more fun they make. 

But you are obviously better players, so you might be more correct than me. But thats just my own believe, but definetly tactics training is awesome, but i think it depends on the tactics you do. 

WOW!!!!! Thanks everyone! Best advice I've been given

For me playing games, and lots of them, is the most important factor in improvement.

And by games, I don't mean bullet or blitz, the longer the time control the better

I don't know much about analysing games except what works at my level and/or for myself personally.

Essentially what I do is to try to find all the evaluation changes.  Obviously at move 1 it's = (equal)  :)  The others are slight advantage (something minor but noticeable like a strong minor piece), definite advantage (up a pawn lets say), and clearly winning advantage (up a knight or more lets say).

Sounds easy but there is a difference between the moment during the game where you think "now I'm worse" and the specific move itself where you went from equal to worse.  In analysis it's that (sometimes elusive) root move you're looking for.  The one that a player 500 points above you spots in 5 seconds and shocks you when they say "that move was no good" and you learn something :)

Or in a post mortem the master says "this was no good" and you have no idea why, and again learn something.

By myself it's a much more grueling process :)  But there are also things you learn along the way, not the least of which is the willingness to be skeptical and even critical of the moves you may have been proud of during the game.

Surely much of the chess knowledge I've gained was through studying a book, so don't get me wrong :) 

But chess comes in two parts, knowledge and the ability to use it effectively in a game.  Theory vs practice so to speak... or the idea of a pro sports coach who knows the intricacies of the game but is too old to play at a professional level.

Most players below 2000 have bad thought processes and poor fundamental skills (like visualization) and playing games exercises these.  You're also building your (what is likely lacking) experience.  Beyond the master level (2200+) I'd certainly say that a player should be studying more than playing (if they're trying to improve).

By the way this idea is not my own   One of the early masters (Capablanca?) said that the newer a player is, the more time they should devote to playing games and away from study.  As the player gets better it gradually shifts more toward study. 

At the other end of the spectrum, top pros will play relatively few serious games in a year (less than 50) and spend many hours every day studying.

Hmm... if I do get a coach, it will probably not be a master, for two reasons.

1. At my level, I don't need a master to coach me.

2. Non-masters are cheaper.

However, I'm not planning to get one until I reach, say, USCF 1500 or 1600 or higher.

You're on a roll today, Bankwell.  Keep 'em coming! 

Play against strong players. When you lose, figure out the reasons for your defeats.

Thank you wafflemaster. This is immensely helpful! :)