Well learning chess is all about learning from your mistakes, and fixing the errors in your game. Your decision to stop playing blitz and bullet is admirable, and tells me you are serious about your chess improvement. Here are some things I've found really helpful to my chess improvement:
1) Play longer time control. I think 15|10 or 30|0 are good time controls to practice. They're slow enough to give you some time to think about your moves and plans (and check if your move blunders anything), but quick enough that you get to play a lot of games. Playing is necessary for learning.
2) Analyze every game you play. This is critical and one of the best reasons to play longer time control. What was the moment during the game that caused you most confusion? Was there a certain period where you felt like the game started shifting from equal to one side having an advantage? What were the reasons for this? Don't just pluck in an engine and throw the game through it. Engine will show you the exact move that was bad, but it doesn't explain to you either a) why the move was bad or b) what lead you to playing this move. Often times the root of the blunder is already few moves prior to the actual blunder. Did you neglect a dangerous piece from opponent, allow him to set up his pieces too nicely or simply allowed too many threats to pile up that you eventually cracked under pressure? So go through every game afterwards without the help of an engine first and try to think what were the key moments, and where could have you done better. After you have done this, you can check the game with an engine, to see if your evaluations were correct, or were there something else that you missed.
3) Play classical openings. A lot of people will tell you that "openings don't matter" in beginners games. Well, they do. I don't think you should spend too much time in learning openings, but having at least 2 openings for black and white (against e4 and d4) is a good idea to have. Learning the ideas behind your chosen openings help you understand the opening principles (like developing pieces, controlling center, castling, connecting rooks) better and will guide you to a more focused middlegame. The reason why I suggest playing "classical" openings such as the Spanish Game or the Italian Game, is because there is a reason why they have been played for hundreds of years (and still are). They are the most principled openings, that focus on the key aspects of a) develop quickly b) develop towards centre c) don't move one piece twice d) castle early, and castle often. The bonus is that if one day you'll become a higher rated player where openings matter, you've already practiced openings that will remain timeless and always playable in your repertoire. If you learn some wonky stuff like the grob or orangutan, they are probably not very worthwhile to you in the long run.
4) Learn tactics through a book. While the tactics trainers are good tools to brush up your tactical prowess, it's better to learn tactical motifs from a book, where they are explained to you by the author. This way you have the better understanding of why certain tactics work in different situations, instead of just memorizing certain patterns. Pattern recognition is important, but understanding the motifs helps you find tactics you have never seen before. Not instantly, but by placing 1+1 in a game. If you play long time controls, you have time to do so. A good book to consider would be 1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners.
5) Take your time. Learning chess is a project of a lifetime. It takes countless amount of losses to get better and most likely years to reach any higher ratings. There are no shortcuts to chess improvement. Focus on doing things systematically, and don't give up on principles to save time (like not analyzing a game afterwards). You will slow down your learning in the long run. You have time, think on the long term. Fast rating gains with wrong approaches might hinder your development in the long run.
Good luck!
How can I improve my performance?
Well learning chess is all about learning from your mistakes, and fixing the errors in your game. Your decision to stop playing blitz and bullet is admirable, and tells me you are serious about your chess improvement. Here are some things I've found really helpful to my chess improvement:
1) Play longer time control. I think 15|10 or 30|0 are good time controls to practice. They're slow enough to give you some time to think about your moves and plans (and check if your move blunders anything), but quick enough that you get to play a lot of games. Playing is necessary for learning.
2) Analyze every game you play. This is critical and one of the best reasons to play longer time control. What was the moment during the game that caused you most confusion? Was there a certain period where you felt like the game started shifting from equal to one side having an advantage? What were the reasons for this? Don't just pluck in an engine and throw the game through it. Engine will show you the exact move that was bad, but it doesn't explain to you either a) why the move was bad or b) what lead you to playing this move. Often times the root of the blunder is already few moves prior to the actual blunder. Did you neglect a dangerous piece from opponent, allow him to set up his pieces too nicely or simply allowed too many threats to pile up that you eventually cracked under pressure? So go through every game afterwards without the help of an engine first and try to think what were the key moments, and where could have you done better. After you have done this, you can check the game with an engine, to see if your evaluations were correct, or were there something else that you missed.
3) Play classical openings. A lot of people will tell you that "openings don't matter" in beginners games. Well, they do. I don't think you should spend too much time in learning openings, but having at least 2 openings for black and white (against e4 and d4) is a good idea to have. Learning the ideas behind your chosen openings help you understand the opening principles (like developing pieces, controlling center, castling, connecting rooks) better and will guide you to a more focused middlegame. The reason why I suggest playing "classical" openings such as the Spanish Game or the Italian Game, is because there is a reason why they have been played for hundreds of years (and still are). They are the most principled openings, that focus on the key aspects of a) develop quickly b) develop towards centre c) don't move one piece twice d) castle early, and castle often. The bonus is that if one day you'll become a higher rated player where openings matter, you've already practiced openings that will remain timeless and always playable in your repertoire. If you learn some wonky stuff like the grob or orangutan, they are probably not very worthwhile to you in the long run.
4) Learn tactics through a book. While the tactics trainers are good tools to brush up your tactical prowess, it's better to learn tactical motifs from a book, where they are explained to you by the author. This way you have the better understanding of why certain tactics work in different situations, instead of just memorizing certain patterns. Pattern recognition is important, but understanding the motifs helps you find tactics you have never seen before. Not instantly, but by placing 1+1 in a game. If you play long time controls, you have time to do so. A good book to consider would be 1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners.
5) Take your time. Learning chess is a project of a lifetime. It takes countless amount of losses to get better and most likely years to reach any higher ratings. There are no shortcuts to chess improvement. Focus on doing things systematically, and don't give up on principles to save time (like not analyzing a game afterwards). You will slow down your learning in the long run. You have time, think on the long term. Fast rating gains with wrong approaches might hinder your development in the long run.
Good luck!
Thanks a lot. I will play only long games and analyze every one I play. I'm checking out your book. Once again thanks for your time and effort in helping me.
Recently I started playing lots of chess and tactics on chesstempo. I can beat up to 1600 rated players on chesstempo when I focus enough. The problem I have is I usually manage to play good enough[by my standards] until I start messing up then I miss even simple tactics. When playing lower rated players I hang everything. I will stop playing blitz and bullet entirely to avoid acting on impulse. After I play a few moves calculating and making a strategic plan I start to play like as GM Ben Finegold would call playing like Rufus and Dufus. Some of my games are:-
https://chesstempo.com/gamedb/usergame/14948758/8/1P5k/5pp1/8/2P1P2p/1Q3P1P/6PK/4q3 b - - 42 82
https://chesstempo.com/gamedb/usergame/14495629/r5k1/5r1p/pp2p1nQ/4n1R1/PP6/7P/2P2q2/5K2 w - - 0 36
https://chesstempo.com/gamedb/usergame/14495501/2k5/p1pp4/1p1q4/3P3p/2P5/PP4b1/3r4/5KR1 w - - 0 34
When I think of some move I feel it difficult to find other moves and I hang everything. In real OTB tournaments, I end up gaining huge advantages and hang everything when I'm exhausted. By the way is there any good book recommendation for a tactics book. I will be doing most of my studying in school so chesstempo is not an option. How should I go about improving at my current stage? Is it all tactics tactics tactics or to play many long games as long as I can focus to develop focus and practice? My tactics performance is terrible. My chesstempo rating for tactics has decreased quite a bit after doing a ton of them in my summer. Should I take a break from chess?