improving my chess - the next step

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chessarran8

So far i play alot of chess and study alot of chess however from listening to dan heismans  q/a sessions. I know their is a third step finding a good chess coach now will i wise this was a opotion sadly it is not as i cannot aford the price.

Is their a way around this or do you have any ideas for my next step in improveing my chess.

Thank you in advance

baddogno

You could try posting some annotated games and ask  for suggestions.  It's a little hit or miss; I don't think everyone who posts gets a reply but many do.

EDIT: Here's a link to previous posts on how to post a game.

http://www.chess.com/forum/search?keyword=posting+a+game

2200ismygoal

If your rating is truly 1500 (basing off your corrspondece) I would just continue to do tactics till you can hit 2000

chessarran8

thank you for ideas so far anyone got any extra ideas?

(note 2200 my corrspondece is pretty 1680 ish but i lose quite a few games on time for various reasons)

VLaurenT

Why not try and go to a chess club, or enter an OTB tournament ?

This way you will enjoy chess much more, and improve faster ! Smile

TheGreatOogieBoogie

2200ismygoal's heart is in the right place, and you should study tactics, but there's a point of diminishing returns.  Having a 2000 level tactics isn't going to help when at best you might only have tactics that require a 1600 understanding.  Spend a month on basic endgames, you'll develop superior technique.  Don't just memorize specific positions, understand them, and don't be afraid to move onto thicker books and specialized text (like 400 pages of pure pawn endings or two 400 page books on rook endgames) to really drill the patterns and concepts into your mind. 

The concept is the same as tactic studies but for endgames. 

After basic chess endings work on improving your thought process.  You mentioned Heisman, so I'd strongly recommend his Improving Chess Thinker.  Do the exercises, type or write your thoughts, and compare them to protocols later, and see where you can improve.  It isn't hard to notice imbalances and estimate who you think is better, by how much, and why (usually), and recall plans related to these imbalances, but you should do this automatically. 

DrFrank124c

I find it helpful to go over your games with a computer, either the analysis engine provided on tihs site or one of your own choice.

chessarran8

thank you for the ideas guys