Very basic study guide to hit 2000

Just so people know I'm not some God at chess nor am I even a good player I have come close to 2100 in over the board play.  I play with a very tactical style and enjoy open positions if I can get them.  There seems to be a want on the forums for some kind of study plan to hit 2000.  I am just try to give a very basic plan and I can help people focus more on what they want to do if they message me privately.  I also do give private lessons over skype if people are intersted in this.  

Please enjoy.

Lesson Plan:

Going from 800 - 1500

At this level alot of players just blunder pieces and its important to get a decent handle of tactics.  I would recommend an hour a day of just pure tactical study and nothing else.  At this point openings are pointless just focus on not blundering and taking advantage of your opponents blunders.  1 hour per day at least until you hit 1500 in CC or over the board play.  Do basic endgame thery like how to draw king and pawn vs king.  Jeremy silman's Complete endgame course is a great book for this and is setup by rating.

1500 - 1700

Basic openings such as answering e5 against e4 and d4 with d5.  Again focus on not blunder pieces.  Maybe start learn basic ideas in the openings you choose to play but tactics is still your basic focus.  Do tactics again for an hour a day and focus maybe 30 minutes a week on learning basic openings.  For endgames you should know Lucena's, Phillidor's and Vencura's positions absolutley cold.

1700 - 1800

This is where I would recommend you read Reassess your Chess by Jeremy Silman who will instill a good understanding of positioinal chess and how to form ideas in the middle game.  I read this book at least 3 times and I quickly jumped into the 1800s.  But again I stress tactics must still be the priority.  You can still get away with sub par openings as people at this level can't make you suffer.  You can start looking at openings you would like to play other than e5 vs e4 and etc.

1800 - 2000

More tactics continue at an hour a day.  Now you should start to invest a little more time into the openings just so your not continuley fighting an uphill battle in the opening.  You can go over your favorite player's game collections.  Start memorizing complete games.  My favorite is nice minatures in e4 e5 openings.  I wouldn't worry to much about style as tactics will always pop up in quite positions and e4 games can be positional.  

Again this is somewhat broad and I could break it down even further if people so desire

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Thanks. Will take this into consideration in my study plan.

Only complaint is list some suggested reading at the various rating levels

I gave a list

0800-1500 Silman's Complete endgame course

1700-1800 Reassess your Chess

The rest is just tatical work through tactics trainer here on chess.com or at chesstempo.com if you want free

as 1200 what do you mean by tatical study look at famous games that use amazing tatics or is there some type of tatic trainer? Thanks in advance

Where would you place Dvoretsky's School of Chess Excellence, School of Future Champions, and his Endgame Manual?  He himself says his analysis manual is 2200+ so that's a given.  They say Dvoretsky's material is quite hard, and in places it is, but his School of Chess Excellence 2 and 3 had problems far more approachable than their reputation, the first is tough, and I haven't read 4 yet. 

asdjkf: I (for myself) like the tactics trainer on this site.

TournamentPlayer:  I bet you have read & like several authors in addition to Silman :)  I liked Silman's books too!

For myself (disclaimer: I'm not a 2100 player), My most instructive books have been:

'My System' by Nimzowich (however you spell it).  I should probably re-read it soon.  I think of it as a handbook of positional play. 

'My 60 memorable games' by Fischer.  Probably anyone should read that :) 

Currently, I'm reading John Nunn's annotated games book.  I'm finding that instructive too.

I'm about 1550-rated.

Hi Im rated about 1567,

1st. Thanks for sharing with us this wonderful article!

2nd. When you mean learn basic openings and the ideas behind them, do you mean learn other openings than the set repertoire I have already? (ie: transporsitions?)

Thanks

Basically you say only tactics until 1700?

Just want to bring this topic back into discussion...

Dvoretsky's books are for players at a level of 2000 and above if not higher.

Pure tactics training.  Not games but puzzle books and the tactics trainer on this site.

Richard Pallisers 1200 tactics puzzle books are good

You continue to do tactics all the way to world championship level

Thanks - I not a good player but I think that is a good plan; opening study is way over my head, and I agree that focusing on tactics is a must until you are way beyond the beginner stage.

I mean, you think I shouldn't doanything except tactics (I already have basic opening knowledge) untilI reach 1700?

thanks! 

For the most part yes, doing tactics will get you there the fastest.

Thanks!

I am not familiar with School of Chess Excellence, but I think player below 2000 can pick up something from Endgame Manual by Dvoretsky.

Respectfully, the premise of this post (and the plethora of posts like it all over the internet) is sort of silly. Anyone who has played at a Master level, as this Author claims to have done, is in the .008% of the best players on the planet. There is a universe of difference between what they call a blunder and what the rest of the chess playing world calls a blunder. 

My rating is barely 800 OTB and I tend to play at 1300 or so level online or vs. AI when I'm well-rested and not too rusty. I've played 45 years and, while I occasionally do "blunder away a piece", I also could pick 100 people randomly out of the general populace and beat 90 of them soundly, and most of the rest with a little effort. In fact, the last time I looked, my ELO was right at the 50th percentile for all the USCF rated players in the U.S. 

My point is not that I am anything but a very, very weak club player. My point is that there is such a *vast* difference between each of the steps: IGM, Master, Advanced, Intermediate, Experienced Amateur and Beginner that every level I've include would tell the level below them to "stop blundering away pieces". It is only helpful in the context of specific advice from those within your own level of play.

I appreciate the sentiment. But I despair of ever finding someone who really knows how to *teach* chess. I remain able to beat just about any casual player and to lose consistently to those who spend hours/day practicing. That's as it should be, but now that I've joined chess.com's latest iteration (it was a long time ago I was on the ICC), maybe, like water, I can find my own level, yes?

_Mark