A study plan to reach 1600 OTB?

As others have said.

Join a chess club and play as often as you can.

No fond of studying with a CD or though a monitor.
Prefer students to do it with a board infront of them.

You will playing OTB so get those eyes rolling over the
64 squares instead of a small screen.

I have never read the SIlman book but a lot of players whose opinon
I repect have said it's good.

A couple observations-

1) Study - but do so under otb like conditions. That means sitting at a board working out the material for yourself.
2) 99% of chess knowledge doesn't translate into chess strength.

3) A coach or stronger player who looks at your games is the fastest way to improve because they can typically see your flaws right off the bat.

4) it is generally said that a 1700 is someone who can see 2 play correctly- I tend to agree If you can see your move and their reply with great accuracy you will get to 1700

5) play a lot, harder for an adult I know, but you learn more from your own games than studying. This is probably the single most important thing.

6) be patient, it takes time and chess improvement is not linear. You might lose rating points before you make a jump forward.


good luck!

It never hurts to study tactics, but a 1400 OTB who's been playing for 5 years probably has a decent knowledge of tactics.

I have the Silman book and just got the workbook and I recommend them though I think his planning routine is a little too elaborate for Class C OTB play. The Workbook is particularly good; the first section pretty much bare bones covers everything in the book and then goes right to problems. Reassess itself is mostly padded out by illustrative games and positions which are nice, but I think solving the problems is more useful.

I don't know what openings you play, but it's best to have a basic repertoire and understand the openings you do play thoroughly. In a lot of my games against 1400s they quickly got into inferior positions in the opening. A lot of people say "Tactics! Tactics! Tactics!" and say opening study is way overrated but if you're in a miserable position because you don't know how to play the opening your chances of getting into situations where you can use tactics is greatly reduced.

A club's nice if you can get into one where they play something besides 5 minute blitz. There's no real replacement for OTB tournament play, however. If you haven't been already, record all your games in a scorebook and go over them afterwards preferably with a stronger player.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice guys. 😉

Originally posted by chesskid001
I don't agree that Silman's book is the best way to reach 1600 from 1400. Silman's book is great, to be sure, but at 1400 there are simply more pressing concerns in your chess than finding imbalances. I recommend buying the CD Chess Tactics for Beginners by Conveckta, and do 50 puzzles every day. In combination with that, play as many tournament ...[text shortened]... s, along with study of any other books you have, will take you from 1400 to 1600 and beyond.

The more pressing concerns are covered in the book, in my opinion. The book is about far more than simply his approach to imbalances.

He specifically stated he wasn't looking for a computer chess program, but that aside, I think your CD suggestion is very good!

Originally posted by Paul Leggett
The more pressing concerns are covered in the book, in my opinion. The book is about far more than simply his approach to imbalances.

He specifically stated he wasn't looking for a computer chess program, but that aside, I think your CD suggestion is very good!

Looking for more of an OTB study program and computer programs kind of limit this.(Who uses a computer program and sets the position up on a board? Maybe some but not me.) I got enough advice from the people who posted.

Thanks.

Silman's book has a fourth edition out hopefully in september so wait for that. May as well get the workbook while you're at it.

Originally posted by JDChess
Silman's book has a fourth edition out hopefully in september so wait for that. May as well get the workbook while you're at it.

Is your rating graph backwards?

Originally posted by nimzo5

2) 99% of chess knowledge doesn't translate into chess strength.

This is so true! Sitting at a board and playing under tournament conditions is a particular skill set, of which knowledge is only a part.

I think it has a lot to do with why some of the best chess theorists were never World Champions- their strengths with regard to chess were a different skill set than the guys who won the championships.

It's also why ratings never tell us the full story about what someone knows about chess- some of the best chess books were not written by the best players, but by the best chess thinkers and writers.

I went with a Silman book and a tactics book to study OTB.
With board and pieces.

I need a hug.

Originally posted by gorookyourself
Is your rating graph backwards?

Sadly, no. I just went through a period of moving too fast. I was playing a lot of blitz chess at the time and it translated into my correspondence games. I'm still trying to break myself of the habit. Look at my most recent game. I drop a rook for no good reason at all, THEN I got serious and managed to save it. Sigh.

Read My System, Nimzovitch

Ensure you understand K and P endings thoroughly.

Then basic rook endings.

So many people have no idea when they could transpose into a won ending - that's the point ; knowing when to convert because you know what it will lead to.

The above will take you past 1600

Originally posted by Nimzovitch
Read My System, Nimzovitch

Ensure you understand K and P endings thoroughly.

Then basic rook endings.

So many people have no idea when they could transpose into a won ending - that's the point ; knowing when to convert because you know what it will lead to.

The above will take you past 1600

A great post!

King and pawn vs king and rook and pawn vs rook are the essential endgames are what Silman covers, so you are in good company there!

On the site, I have won games I should have drawn and drawn games I should have lost simply because my opponent had no knowledge of Philidor or Lucena. I've also had opponents ruin otherwise good positions by allowing me to transition into an ending unfavorable to them. A week with one chapter of Silman's book would have saved many of them.

Learn how to calculate. R+P endings, opening theory, My System are all useless to the 1400 rated player because he/she can't accurately calculate in any position. Learn how to play blindfold chess, learn how to see the board and learn how to calculate without moving the pieces. Then your rating will jump enormously. The subtleties of the game are only important in master level chess. Sub-master players can't hold onto material against a skillful calculator.