Chess Improvement: Please HELP!!!!

Hi

Can someone please provide advice or help with how to get better at chess? 
I have been playing the game for several years.  But I have gotten to a point and have I am not improving (my rating is not going up)
so I don't know what I need to do to get better. 

Could you please provide a study plan too.  Let's say I could devote 30 minutes a day on chess.  It would could be for playing or studying, etc.
can you please tell me what i need to do work each day.   

also how many openings should someone have against 1.e4 or 1.d4 etc.

thanks

There's a few books you should read.  At 30 minutes a day, you should finish these in about a year or so.

1) Silman's Endgame Course - Jeremy Silman

2) The Inner Game of Chess - Andrew Soltis

3) Chess Strategy Move by Move - Adam Hunt

4) Forcing Chess Moves - Charles Hertan

In essence, they are books on Endgame, Calculation, and Strategy at a below 2000 level, and then the 4th one is a critical, deeper, sub-module of the concept of Calculation.  It will help you with calculating and finding candidate moves.

Many people think Tactics Tactics Tactics is the quick and dirty way to 2000, and only then worry about the rest of it.  WRONG!

Read them in the order listed!  Also, get out a board and pieces.  You learn best by applying and studying over a 3-D board, not a computer screen or trying to figure out the moves in your head (except the one exercise in the second book that actually tells you to do it in your head).

• if your frustrated: seek a coach

• if you want a study plan: look at chess.com Study plans

• if you want to put in 30minutes a day to improve: thats not actually alot!  good luck with that...

• if you want to learn alot of openings:  look at MCO (or another opening encyclopedia)...

• if you want to get better at chess: its probably better not to freak out about openings

• if you want my thoughts on why you lose at chess:  you probably blunder and miss too many tactics - almost EVERYONE does that

• if you want to know why games always seem to go against you when they go on for a while:  you probably don't study enough endgames.  ALMOST nobody but the experts STUDY enough endgames.

• if you want lots and lots of advice (and some of it conflicting): search the forums for "chess improvement"

• if you want to really get a lot of constantly changing advice.  Decide to ONly believe the strongest player.  Then everytime you find a stronger player your advice changes!

• if you want the RIGHT advice: then you have to decide who to believe.  Make you choice and stop asking advice from everyone.  imho.

this question was for my neighbor

"also should i get a chess coach ? " from my neighbor (absolute beginner)

lol