Why the hell cant i get better at chess?!?!?!?

Im stuck hovering between 1460-1490...its been like this for months..........what the hell can i do to get better?  i do tactics trainer all the dam time.  it doesnt help at all...in tactics trainer im between a 1750-1950.

It's late...im frustrated....any help???

-Sensuinaga

If you would like we could play an unrated takeback game and try to see what's up. Challenge me if you would like to do so. Title the game Training Game.

do you study?  do you have an opening or 2 (or 4) that you know well and work on?  do you practice tactics?  endgames?  are you playing people "harder" than you?

i'm not sure why people get stuck.  maybe this really is how good you are.

ilikeflags, this is why I suggested a takeback game. Feedback is important in getting better. I am not very much better than Sensuinaga but I hope that if (s)he does challenge we can help each other.

You can improve. When stuck, get a chess teacher. You would be surprised at the number of players in the top one percent at this site (non-titled) who would give you free lessons. I am confident that anyone in the top one percent can get you unstuck.

I dont think anyone who is 14 can be at their peak.

it takes time. the tactics, reading , studying own games will add up. sometime chess improvement is slowly but surely. .and other times its months of plateau and then a rating explosion. win the mental game of defeat and youll get there.

i was being sarcastic...  it thought that was obvious based on all the specific things i asked him about.  keep working soldier, you'll be 1600 in no time.

For months huh?

Well to be fair, at 14 maybe a few months is like... 1/5th of your life or something. But take heart! it's not that long to be "stuck" at a rating.  At 14 all you have to do is keep playing and you'll get better without even trying.

Of course studying also helps...

well...im not 14...that was just the default age when i signed up for my account.  I don't play correspondence chess...only live....my time limits are 15:10.  I have a few openings.....my biggest problem is the middle game.

knowing your age woulda been helpful considering what your'e asking.  happy trolling...

like i said, maybe that's how good you really are.

Let me ask perhaps a silly question in tactics trainer...

Do you see the entire tactic or just the first move?  Sometimes in those tactics trainers or books, players can find the correct first move, and then as the position changes on the board we continue to find the correct course.  But I found that actually seeing the entire tactic play out in your mind's eye first (even if you don't gain tactic trainer points), made me a better player.

Also going over games at "chessgames.com"...and watching how the greats played is a great way to get better. 

All in all you have to ask yourself what is your goal with chess?  Are you trying to make it a career? 

I have been facing the smae problem for the last three months. I am 29 and can't make much progress. Rellay frustrating!

in tactics trainer...if its a mating puzzle i see the full moves 80% of the time....if its a material gain drill i see the full moves like 50% of the time. 

No i dont want to make chess a career..........but i would like to get better.

Even 100 points a year would be good enough for me.

-Sensuinaga

I know how you feel - I was stuck at 1440-1480 for a very long time.  I began to feel like 1500 was an "invisible ceiling" for me.  But one day, it just all clicked and I was able to turn around a couple of hopeless games.

Don't pay too much attention to your rating, just look at how you've done over the last 10-15 games.  If you can get your win percentage to winning 1/2 the time, your rating is sure to go up, and you will know you're on the right track.  You can also try playing in a bunch of "Live Chess" games - these work very well as practice, and get you to calm down when you have your longer time-per-move games.  Most of a beginner's trouble comes from moving before you have the best move figured out.

I wouldn't be so worried about your rating but rather trying to improve your gameplay. I would suggest analysing your games and seing what you are doing wrong and try to improve upon that

a person's rating and gameplay seem to be connected.

But worrying about rating is an indirect way to improve (and sometimes can get you sidetracked).  It makes more sense to worry about finding your mistakes and fixing them.  Even after learning (making improvement) your rating can go down from losing some games... but if you keep learning in the long run it will go up.

I have been "stuck" for more than 2 decades ! 

Yeah, being "stuck for a month" and "willing to settle for 100 points a year" are both silly remarks.

lol...people are so touchy.

Ive been stuck for about 8 months....and when i say 100 points a year, i mean up to 1800-1900.