Playing in higher sections

Hello chess friends I won a tournament recently in the under 1400 section and the TD who is a NM recommended that I try my luck in the under 1800 does anyone know the benefits of why I should try this or if I shouldn't thank you 

No one has given any input on this?

You know what I think ...

The answer depends on your long- and short- term goals. One goal is to maximize your winning chances in your games. Another goal is to maximize your continued improvement. These are two completely different goals and therefore what you do to achieve either one will be different from what you'd to to achieve the other.

If your long-term goal is to improve your chess to its maximum extent, then play (in tournaments) against stronger opposition as often as you possibly can. To this end, playing in the section that is just above your own is a no-brainer. Of course, you may have this long-term goal but have an important tournament (class championship, or somesuch) in which you'd like to place. In such a case, your short term goal dictates that you should NOT "play up" in that particular tournament.

Your goals may be completely different. This is where having a good coach comes in handy ... such a coach will tailor his approach to your goals, and should know you well enough to advise you correctly based on those goals and whatever else is involved in your current situation.

If you're asking this question out of a sense of fear, then you know what you need to do. Face your fear, and just do it!

Depending on the number of tournaments that a player has already played in, this may be a good point. But how long should one wait to gain confidence before deciding to move on? Growth requires discomfort; growth is not possible without overcoming fear(s) of some kind.

What is the context of this advice? To whom does it apply? How many games of tournament experience are you talking about in order to gain confidence? Which player goals does your suggested approach support? Which goals does such an approach undermine? What if a player never feels "confident enough", but still has the long term goal of improving to the maximum extent he is capable of? (Answer: Since in this case it is unlikely that the player will just magically wake up one day with increased confidence, he must either give up on his vision or ignore this suggestion.)

The first tournament I played in with sections was the second one I played in, the state championship. It had three sections: U1600, U2000, and Open. Against advice from experienced players, I (rated 1315, with only four rated games under my belt) played in the U2000 section. I placed in the bottom third of the results table with a score of 1-3-2. Because it was the state championship, I look back now and think that maybe I should have played in the U1600 section, where I might well have placed or even won (although there's certainly no guarantee that this would have happened). On the other hand, my two draws and one win against such highly rated players gave me all the confidence I needed, and I came away with better loss lessons than I would have had I not played up.

I was stuck in the C section at tournaments for awhile.  I finally sucked it up and got up the nerve to play up in the B section.  I took my lumps at first, but i learned more from that experience than i ever would have if i kept playing in the C section.  Playing up a section was one of the best things i have ever done to improve.