plateauing at 1400+ rapid (need help with study plan)

I joined chess.com in the end of 2019. I played a lot and then stopped playing for about a year. Recently, I rejoined (with around 1100 rapid rating) and starting grinding. I managed to improve 300+ rating and get to 1400. I've been plateauing this rating for a month or so and can't seem to get past it. I've never had an official study plan for myself and I think if I make one it will help me to improve and get out of this plateau. I've started to read some chess books but my studying isn't very structured. If anyone can help me create a study plan I would deeply appreciate it.

- @maytheforkbewlthy0u

my current goal is 1600 rapid

basically everything lol.... it all depends on what my opponent does. I can usually find obvious combinations tho

i dont believe there is a plateu at 1400 for normal people. you can go up to 1600 in normal conditions. rest is up to your ability and hard work.. and there is a plateu around 1800-1900

should I do 30 minutes opening study, 30 minutes middle game study (tactics, strategy, & combinations), and 30 minutes endgame?

Your study plan should consist of a few things:

1) Analyzing your games to identify where you left known opening theory and where you made tactical mistakes.

2) Tactics, Tactics, and more Tactics.  By that I mean drill them, not the random tactics trainer.

3) play 1-2 rapid games per day.

for number 2, should I do the chess.com puzzles? I have platinum membership so I can do infinite of them

is it the 1125 Brilliant Sacrfices, Combinations, & Studies book?

ok thanks. I can find most chess books online in pdf form

I plateaued at 1400 for 6 months, guess I’m not normal, guess I’m a lunatic madman

lol ur 2200 rapid now ggs

does anyone have any good book recommendations? 

You can, but do it in unrated mode and set the difficulty range and pick a theme.  For example, you could start with pins level 100-1000.  When you are consistently getting 90%+ accuracy with those, increase the difficult to 1000-1400.  Rinse and repeat until you are doing the theme in the 2000+ range and then pick a new theme.

You can also use things like CT-ART or Chessable's tactics courses for the same effect.  The goal is to build those patterns in your brain.

Hey, there are all sorts of online resources for you to use. Great quality puzzles can be found on chesstempo. Easy-to-use engines on chess.com premium or lichess.org. As for books, I would recommend you snoop around on the internet as you can find many great quality free books.

https://chessnook.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/how-to-reassess-your-chess-jeremy-silman.pdf

https://archive.org/details/dvoretskysendgamemanual2ndedition/page/n21/mode/2up

https://archive.org/details/CapablancaChessFundamentals/page/n9/mode/2up

I recommend you read the latter one as that is the most suited for your rating although "How to Reassess Your Chess" is also great. Dvoretsky's Endgame Manuel is more suited for master level players.

Good luck on 1600 though!

ok thanks

Play unrated games against players significantly better than you (400+ rating) and ask them to explain what mistakes you are making. If you have a friend who is able to do this with you you will be able to easily pinpoint the problems in your game

by normal i meant people with average iq, like 100, no need to create a drama over a word. you stopped gaining rating for 6 months, pleteau is something different.

in pleteau you study regularly and try new things but step on the same square. pleteau implies that you hit your limit.

most people think playing & gaining rating is a linear progress, but it is not. new types of studies required after some points, you need to learn new concepts in order to advance..

this shouldn't be mistaken as pleteau.

I'm sure lots of us has generalized advice based on your 1400-ish rating and what little you've shared with us (in fact, looks like you've got many friendly people offering advice already ).

However, not all players at a certain rating level know the same things (some people might have reached 1400 by almost all tactics, probably meaning they lack lots of other areas of chess to work on or others might have reached 1400 by occasionally playing after having knowledge, which might mean they lack experience etc.).

If you like, @maytheforkbewlthy0u we could play one or two unrated live games together and I could offer whatever tailored advice I notice based on the games. No pressure to play or not, but I'll just throw it out there if you are interested

thanks! I'll dm you later when I can play