Answers.Body: <p>All plateaus are different -- what holds <em>you</em> back is not the same as what holds another person with the same rating back.</p>
  <p>So you need to look at <em>your</em> games, and see what causes you to lose. Then stop doing that.</p>
  <p>Much of the time, it's things that you already know -- like losing pieces because you didn't notice that they were attacked, or that there was a simple tactic that you usually see but not that time. Then you need to figure out how you can notice them during the game and not make such mistakes anymore. Tips from others (without seeing your games) and resources aren't necessarily the answer.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-10-21T11:04:11.367Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2023-10-21T11:04:11.367Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: RemcoGerlich
Answers.Body: <p><strong>Tips:</strong><br />
  The main tips for improving at this level are almost universally agreed upon by chess coaches, titled players, etc:</p>
  <ul>
  <li>Play (a lot).</li>
  <li>Analyze your games. Try to find 1 key takeaway / lesson per game.</li>
  <li>Train basic tactics. These need to be ingrained until they are mastered.</li>
  </ul>
  <p>Don't focus too much on rating, focus on the process and enjoy!  Chess is a game and should be fun.</p>
  <p><strong>Resources:</strong> There are a number of low cost resources that are also suitable.</p>
  <ul>
  <li><a href="https://lichess.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">lichess.org</a> is free. The site features some basic lessons, unlimited puzzles, and unlimited ability to play games.</li>
  <li><a href="https://chess.stackexchange.com/a/39879/26335">Chess Steps</a> workbooks are inexpensive (~$10).</li>
  <li>The YouTube chess scene is massive and overwhelming.  If videos work for you, find someone whose explanations help you and whom you enjoy.  Some ideas include the Chess.com <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY2eXzw8HCzOm5gXAIZAehnfvvUsl8WcI" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;Everything You Need To Know About Chess&quot;</a> series, IM John Bartholomew's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY2eXzw8HCzOm5gXAIZAehnfvvUsl8WcI" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;Chess Fundamentals&quot;</a> series, or even the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUjxDD7HNNThftJtE0OIRFRMMFf6AV_69" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;Building Habits&quot;</a> series by GM Aman Hambleton.  There are many others too.</li>
  <li>Working adults may benefit from <a href="https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/adultimprover" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;The Adult Improver&quot; series</a> on <a href="https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>The Perpetual Chess Podcast</em></a> by Ben Johnson. He has also combined his research on adult improvement in chess, takeaways from podcast interviews, etc., into his new book <a href="https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/book" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Perpetual Chess Improvement</em></a>.</li>
  </ul>
  <p>Additional tips <a href="https://chess.stackexchange.com/a/40079/26335">found here</a>.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-10-24T12:18:14.590Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2024-06-12T23:38:38.470Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2024-06-12T23:38:38.470Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: SecretAgentMan
Answers.Body: <p>At your level, improvement will mostly come down to tactics. You can find free tactics all over the internet. The short answer is:</p>
  <ol>
  <li>Spend more time doing tactics than you spend playing games.</li>
  <li>When you do play chess, avoid super fast time controls like
  bullet--they train you to react, not to think.</li>
  </ol>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-10-22T05:35:40.440Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2023-10-22T05:35:40.440Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Talmage
Answers.Body: <p>learn easy to understand systemical openings such as KIA, Pirc, London, Colle. Stick with one of them. This way you come accross different variations against the same setup</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-11-01T13:53:09.090Z
Answers.Text: Narrowing the set of positions you can play and understand is a horrible way to seek mid/long-term progress.
Answers.UserDisplayName: David
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-10-24T09:30:50.943Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2023-10-24T09:30:50.943Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: IVDP
Answers.Body: <blockquote>
  <p>i have been stuck at around 1100 elo for some months now and it's
  getting so frustrating and kinda demotivating.</p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>First tip: don't care so much about the number. Care about learning and improvement, and the number will certainly follow. I know that it's easier said than done, but it's extremely common for chess players to get obsessed with their rating, which can ironically lead to less success.</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>Iam playing a lot on chess.com but still stuck.</p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>The advice given here that you should play a lot is both correct and misleading. Surely, you need practice and skills to become better. But also don't play <strong>too much</strong>! You need to spend a decent amount of time to learn chess, solve tactical exercises, analyze your games, etc. 3 puzzles a day is insufficient. And remember when solving puzzles: never guess a move and try it, <strong>always see the entire variation in advance before making the first move</strong>! Also it is very important in the beginning to <strong>play long time control games</strong>, as you'll never learn the skills and habits that will make you strong if you only play blitz games.</p>
  <p>So here are my concrete tips:</p>
  <ol>
  <li><p>Play longer games, but fewer games and analyze them after you've played them.</p>
  </li>
  <li><p>Register on <a href="https://chesstempo.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ChessTempo</a>. This is the best site to train tactics on, better than lichess and chess.com - and tactics training is entirely free!! The puzzles themselves are better, you have the option to have 'mixed' puzzles (read about it), as well as a spaced-repition opening trainer for your openings (similar to chessable), endgame training against the tablebase,  etc. You can also play on this site, but I prefer lichess (and chess.com) for that.</p>
  </li>
  <li><p>Get good thinking habits, that's easily worth 200 Elo. Never move without asking yourself what your opponent's next move would be. Calculate a concrete move/variation. To put it like IM Andras Toth (great chess coach, check out his YouTube channel): &quot;If your decisions are not based on concrete variations, you're not playing chess&quot;.
  This will heavily reduce your blunders, the #1 reason to lose.</p>
  </li>
  <li><p>Study chess. Watch YouTube lessons, or register on <a href="https://www.chessfactor.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ChessFactor</a> (where you can get master-taught chess courses for free!). You can also consider learning from books, chessable courses, etc ...</p>
  </li>
  </ol>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-11-03T13:40:06.690Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2023-11-03T13:40:06.690Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Hauptideal
Answers.Body: <p>It is normal, in any field, to stay at a certain level of knowledge for some time. However, if you continue studying and practicing, you will progress.</p>
  <p>One activity that can help is teaching the subject. When you do so, you will discover that improvement is not only challenging for you but for everybody. Another important lesson from teaching is that, as you teach, you need to analyze not only your thoughts but also the thoughts of your students.</p>
  <p>Finally, when you have to prepare the material, that process helps you fill in any gaps you may have in your understanding of the subject. If you do not have students, you can always create a YouTube channel, but if you teach in person, you will have more fun.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-10-27T17:14:37.270Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2023-10-27T17:19:58.807Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2023-10-27T17:19:58.807Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Beginner
Body: <p>i have been stuck at around 1100 elo for some months now and it's getting so frustrating and kinda demotivating. Iam playing a lot on chess.com but still stuck. Any tips and good resources for me to get better. Honestly, any advice would be very helpful. FYI, i don't have a membership so i can only do like 3 puzzles a day.</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-10-21T15:58:25.767Z
Comments.Text: post your profile. do you analyze your games?
Comments.UserDisplayName: qwr
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-10-22T04:28:48.263Z
Comments.Text: Here is my account username: NZ59956
Comments.UserDisplayName: Kamran Noor
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-10-22T13:17:31.337Z
Comments.Text: Side note: on lichess, you are not limited by the number of puzzles ... Also it is important to analyse your games. Mainly possible/useful if the speed of the game is not too fast. For analysis engines are usefull. Analysing with a friend and comparing points of view is even more important.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Damien
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-10-27T21:08:41.677Z
Comments.Text: There are several reasons you could be stuck at 1100. I can provide a useful answer if you answer a few questions. Here's the first one: do you frequently lose games to tactical blunders from relatively equal positions? Second: do you frequently lose games by being gradually outplayed into a losing position? Third: do you have trouble creating a plan once out of the opening? Fourth: what time controls do you play most frequently? Fifth: if you can, provide a game where you feel like you played decently but still lost.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Hank's back rank
Tags: <online>
Title: Stuck at 1100 elo for some months now
ThreadText: # Stuck at 1100 elo for some months now
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2023-10-21)
  
  i have been stuck at around 1100 elo for some months now and it's getting so frustrating and kinda demotivating. Iam playing a lot on chess.com but still stuck. Any tips and good resources for me to get better. Honestly, any advice would be very helpful. FYI, i don't have a membership so i can only do like 3 puzzles a day.
  
  **Tags:** online
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: post your profile. do you analyze your games?  
  > **username_0**: Here is my account username: NZ59956  
  > **username_2**: Side note: on lichess, you are not limited by the number of puzzles ... Also it is important to analyse your games. Mainly possible/useful if the speed of the game is not too fast. For analysis engines are usefull. Analysing with a friend and comparing points of view is even more important.  
  > **username_3**: There are several reasons you could be stuck at 1100. I can provide a useful answer if you answer a few questions. Here's the first one: do you frequently lose games to tactical blunders from relatively equal positions? Second: do you frequently lose games by being gradually outplayed into a losing position? Third: do you have trouble creating a plan once out of the opening? Fourth: what time controls do you play most frequently? Fifth: if you can, provide a game where you feel like you played decently but still lost.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 6 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2023-10-21. Score: 6
  
  All plateaus are different -- what holds *you* back is not the same as what holds another person with the same rating back.
  
  So you need to look at *your* games, and see what causes you to lose. Then stop doing that.
  
  Much of the time, it's things that you already know -- like losing pieces because you didn't notice that they were attacked, or that there was a simple tactic that you usually see but not that time. Then you need to figure out how you can notice them during the game and not make such mistakes anymore. Tips from others (without seeing your games) and resources aren't necessarily the answer.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_5 on 2023-10-24. Score: 5
  
  **Tips:**  
  The main tips for improving at this level are almost universally agreed upon by chess coaches, titled players, etc:
  
  * Play (a lot).
  * Analyze your games. Try to find 1 key takeaway / lesson per game.
  * Train basic tactics. These need to be ingrained until they are mastered.
  
  Don't focus too much on rating, focus on the process and enjoy! Chess is a game and should be fun.
  
  **Resources:** There are a number of low cost resources that are also suitable.
  
  * [lichess.org](https://lichess.org/) is free. The site features some basic lessons, unlimited puzzles, and unlimited ability to play games.
  * [Chess Steps](https://chess.stackexchange.com/a/39879/26335) workbooks are inexpensive (~$10).
  * The YouTube chess scene is massive and overwhelming. If videos work for you, find someone whose explanations help you and whom you enjoy. Some ideas include the Chess.com ["Everything You Need To Know About Chess"](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY2eXzw8HCzOm5gXAIZAehnfvvUsl8WcI) series, IM John Bartholomew's ["Chess Fundamentals"](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY2eXzw8HCzOm5gXAIZAehnfvvUsl8WcI) series, or even the ["Building Habits"](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUjxDD7HNNThftJtE0OIRFRMMFf6AV_69) series by GM Aman Hambleton. There are many others too.
  * Working adults may benefit from ["The Adult Improver" series](https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/adultimprover) on [*The Perpetual Chess Podcast*](https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/) by Ben Johnson. He has also combined his research on adult improvement in chess, takeaways from podcast interviews, etc., into his new book [*Perpetual Chess Improvement*](https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/book).
  
  Additional tips [found here](https://chess.stackexchange.com/a/40079/26335).
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_6 on 2023-10-22. Score: 2
  
  At your level, improvement will mostly come down to tactics. You can find free tactics all over the internet. The short answer is:
  
  1. Spend more time doing tactics than you spend playing games.
  2. When you do play chess, avoid super fast time controls like
     bullet--they train you to react, not to think.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_7 on 2023-10-24. Score: 0
  
  learn easy to understand systemical openings such as KIA, Pirc, London, Colle. Stick with one of them. This way you come accross different variations against the same setup
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_8**: Narrowing the set of positions you can play and understand is a horrible way to seek mid/long-term progress.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_9 on 2023-11-03. Score: 0
  
  > i have been stuck at around 1100 elo for some months now and it's
  > getting so frustrating and kinda demotivating.
  
  First tip: don't care so much about the number. Care about learning and improvement, and the number will certainly follow. I know that it's easier said than done, but it's extremely common for chess players to get obsessed with their rating, which can ironically lead to less success.
  
  > Iam playing a lot on chess.com but still stuck.
  
  The advice given here that you should play a lot is both correct and misleading. Surely, you need practice and skills to become better. But also don't play **too much**! You need to spend a decent amount of time to learn chess, solve tactical exercises, analyze your games, etc. 3 puzzles a day is insufficient. And remember when solving puzzles: never guess a move and try it, **always see the entire variation in advance before making the first move**! Also it is very important in the beginning to **play long time control games**, as you'll never learn the skills and habits that will make you strong if you only play blitz games.
  
  So here are my concrete tips:
  
  1. Play longer games, but fewer games and analyze them after you've played them.
  2. Register on [ChessTempo](https://chesstempo.com/). This is the best site to train tactics on, better than lichess and chess.com - and tactics training is entirely free!! The puzzles themselves are better, you have the option to have 'mixed' puzzles (read about it), as well as a spaced-repition opening trainer for your openings (similar to chessable), endgame training against the tablebase, etc. You can also play on this site, but I prefer lichess (and chess.com) for that.
  3. Get good thinking habits, that's easily worth 200 Elo. Never move without asking yourself what your opponent's next move would be. Calculate a concrete move/variation. To put it like IM Andras Toth (great chess coach, check out his YouTube channel): "If your decisions are not based on concrete variations, you're not playing chess".
     This will heavily reduce your blunders, the #1 reason to lose.
  4. Study chess. Watch YouTube lessons, or register on [ChessFactor](https://www.chessfactor.com/) (where you can get master-taught chess courses for free!). You can also consider learning from books, chessable courses, etc ...
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_10 on 2023-10-27. Score: 0
  
  It is normal, in any field, to stay at a certain level of knowledge for some time. However, if you continue studying and practicing, you will progress.
  
  One activity that can help is teaching the subject. When you do so, you will discover that improvement is not only challenging for you but for everybody. Another important lesson from teaching is that, as you teach, you need to analyze not only your thoughts but also the thoughts of your students.
  
  Finally, when you have to prepare the material, that process helps you fill in any gaps you may have in your understanding of the subject. If you do not have students, you can always create a YouTube channel, but if you teach in person, you will have more fun.
  
  
  ---
  
  