Class C work ? what should I do

I just broke class C (1400-1599) finally =) in OTB and was wondering what is some some stuff I should work on. I'm finally going to start working on tactics which I have been rarely doing before now but other than tactic books awhat are some other books that are recommeended for Class C player's not just tactical books but other things aswell. I know now that I'm finally at the level where I can get the books MCO and FCO which are 2 books I've wanted to read for a while but didn't want to risk it being over my head. (modern and fundamental chess openings) Also are there any training programs or websites designed for this Class ?

On Tactics:

Books are slow given the modern day alternatives.

1) C.T.Art (Convekta software)  for graded problems based on difficulty levels.

2) ChessTempo (or for that matter, the tactics trainer here) for rating-based tactical challenges.

On working towards breaking Class B:

1) Go over your games and figure out the %age of hope chess moves you make per game.  Recondition your thinking so that you stop playing hope chess ... especially in critical/highly analytical positions.    This number dropping down significantly DIRECTLY correlates with you breaking into the next class level. This effort takes nothing but mental discipline ... no chess coach or chess book/program is going to make this possible ... so push yourself towards this.

(I know a ton of club players who never broke past the 1400-1600 levels after years of studying books/hiring coaches because they are stubborn a##es about fixing their hope-chess habits!)

2) Instead of diving into opening theory, learning about pawn structures might be a good idea at this stage of your development.  Focus on learning an "opening system" ... don't dwell on lines of theory as much, spending time instead figuring out where each piece normally belongs and what are the attacking ideas for both sides.

3) Study "gotta know this" Endgames.  These are your KP vs P,  KQ vs KP and basic rook endgames and others.  Remember ... we're talking about "gotta know this" endgame positions ... this doesn't mean  you waste time studying advanced endgame studies (unless you enjoy them that much). Silman's endgame book nicely classifies what is "gotta know this" for diff. rating classes. Just make sure you are booked up on this till class C and start working your way to the Class B domain.

4) Technique : Outside of point 1), this is the second most neglected part of development ... as I myself figured out the hard way.

As you break into the higher class levels, guess what..your opponents will start getting tougher as well. They won't bend over or resign when they drop a piece nor will they lash out in anger or crumble to dust. 

They will start to fight like tough S.O.Bs!

So if you are winning/ahead and still find yourself letting opponents bring in counterplay and make comebacks in your games, you need to start worrying.  I started to practice "won" games against computers and I started cleaning up my technique ... this helped me play cleaner chess, especially against stronger opponents who would not back down / fight till the bitter end when they were losing.

hope chess is for positions I don't quite understand or I don't get at all and where I make move's that I'm just hoping is right ? how would I find percentage of this ; One example I can think of is playing a positions I came across 5 times in a game I played a hope chess move and the game was 40-11 of the opening. so 5/29 and the percentage I get would be the amount of hope chess move's I played.

I hyperlinked the word hope chess to explain what it meant.  Perhaps you forgot to look at the site the link pointed to? It is vital that you understand what "hope chess" means in this context ... and no, it is not "hoping my move  is right" as one might intuitively assume. It is directly tied to a minimal amount of calculation you must perform whenever there are forcing lines on the board after your move.

Regarding percentages, I'm not saying do a brute force analysis with a fancy excel sheet (unless you like charts like I do ! :) ) but see how frequently you make "hope chess" type moves.   After a few games, you'll come across a number say a "1 in 5 moves" or "1 in 10 moves" average.   That should give you a metric you can start trying to crank up in terms of frequency of occurance.  

I mean even Masters miss or dismiss forcing responses from their opponents that bites them (or else titled players would never blunder or make analysis errors!)   ... but it's the frequency of this behavior that separates them from the rest of us mere mortals.

As a fellow traveller of those two books you will get the most benefit at this stage from FCO. It won't be over your head, it's very good at explaining the idea behind the openings and many of their main lines, the history of their development etc.

Shivsky's recommendations of CT-Art and ChessTempo - both extremely worthwhile too. I spend much more time with those two than studying openings, so if money is tight ...

Here are a few suggestions:

General advice:

Studying Chess Made Easy by Andrew Soltis  (It won't make it easy, but it will make it easier.  This book will save you a lot of time and effort by telling you how to approach studying chess rather than you having to figure that aspect out by trial and error.)

How to Choose a Chess Move by Andrew Soltis (Lots of guidance on things like spotting candidate moves, how much to analyze, ways of structuring your calculation to decide on a move, and other related topics)

Some tactics related books(listed from easier to more difficult):

Understanding Chess Tactics by Martin Weteschnik (Focuses more on elements that create tactical patterns instead of being just a pattern recognition book)

Forcing Chess Moves by Charles Hertan (Emphasises calculation based on forcing moves, many of which are counter-intuitive in the problems provided.)

How to Calculate Chess Tactics by Valeri Beim (Deepens and makes more concrete much of the info presented about calculation in the previously mentioned Soltis books)

Strategy/Annotated games:

The Amateur's Mind by Jeremy Silman (Teaches by examining mistakes in Class player's games.)

50 Essential Chess Lessons by Steve Giddins (Annotated games selected to teach various concepts, with the largest section of the book being about pawn structure)

Chess Strategy for Club Players by Herman Grooten (A modern presentation of Steinitz's elements of positional chess)

Endgame:

Silman's Complete Endgame Course by Jeremy Silman (Endgame instruction categorized by rating.  FWIW, in Studying Chess Made Easy, Soltis says you only need to know about two dozen exact endings until you are master strength.)

You should'nt study opening, but instead focus on endgame technique and middlegame understanding. I would recommend The Middlegame by Euwe for middlegame, and either Fundamental Chess Endings or Silmans Endgame Course for endgame. And of course do alot of tactics!

I also think you should find a OTB coach that can help you.

Ok what are some suggestions on how to set all this up in a program ? for example 1hr of Studying chess made easy 30min on silman's complete endgame course followed by 30min of forcing chess moves 1hr of "The Middle Game" by max euwe topping it off with 1hr of quick (G/20min) games and 2hrs of analysing thos games. . would this be a efficient way of study plan ?

Just do what shivsky said, he pretty well nailed it

Here's a link to a Novice Nook column with Dan Heisman talking about Soltis's Studying Chess Made Easy and comparing the advice in that book with his own advice.  Much in common, but a few differences of opinion. http://www.chesscafe.com/heisman/heisman123.htm

Here's Heisman's list of recommended chess books. http://danheisman.home.comcast.net/~danheisman/Events_Books/General_Book_Guide.htm The list is somewhat broken down by rating.  There's quite a bit of overlap with the books being recommended in this thread, but I'm mildly surprised that a few don't make his list.  No Silman's Complete Endgame Course on there.  Weeramantry's book Best Lessons of a Chess Coach isn't on there either(I agree with MountainMayhem that it's an excellent book for the rating level we're talking about here.  It's on Soltis's list of recommended game collections in Studying Chess Made Easy, but Soltis gets the title wrong calling it Best Games of a Chess Coach.)  Also a little surprised Forcing Chess Moves by Hertan isn't on there--in one of his columns Heisman says it's a good book for intermediates.   Silman's Complete Endgame Course, Forcing Chess Moves, and Chess Strategy for Club Players were all Chess Cafe Book of the Year winners.

I haven't really seen this said before, but good advice!  Skepticism is healthy.  Yeah your position is nice, and maybe you won a pawn or even two, but don't concentrate on that, look for ways your opponent will try to neutralize your advantage, look for your weaknesses.  I mean if you have a forced win then of course go for that... otherwise...

To remove all chances of counterplay, this is how you win a chessgame.  Winning a won game is a lot like torture to me you slowly, methodically and painfully crush all your opponents hopes, no matter how small, right before finishing them off.

I am in the same position as the opening poster. I am ~1500 Fide, 1650 ICC. I have started playing the Tortoise computer (1700). The difference between that and Molasses (1600) is very noticable. The main difference I noticed how tactically very sharp it is relative to Molasses. I think the main things to be worked on are tactics and mental discipline as Shivsky says. I have played 3 games against this computer opponent so far and have lost quite badly - I normally go a pawn down and I think I'm doing quite well then I make a bad mistake and lose. Getting used to having to calculate alot more and being more accurate is a big step up I think and will take some getting used to. I do think its good practice to play slow games against computers and humans at the class B level. These opponents just won't make silly mistakes and its comes down to either work or lose. Also I have found the level I have to step to quite tiring and leading to 'headspin' for want of a better word. Double checking is a must I think also.