study vs playing; the perfect ratio?

Originally posted by Arrak
my rating hovers around 1400-1600. i really need to improve. i have some good books and studying software that i got for christmas. i haven't had the time during the holidays to take a serious look at them.

if i really want to improve yet keep my game sharp how much time should i spend studying to the amount of time i spend playing???

I personaly think a combination between the two is quite nice.

What I did in the past was I studied an Opening. When I say study I mean I did not just learn the moves, I try to undrstand why I had to move in a particular way. I learn the plans, tactics and then I build a Database of that particular opening. That will normaly take you a while.

The practise side: I first play some blitz games with "my new opening", then perhaps some rapid games and when I was confident enough ( sometimes to confident 😉 ) I played the opening in a tournament or in a league game.

The problem with the theoretical and the practical sides are only practise makes perfect. Also how much of your theory knowledge you remember at the board can be quite tricky especially when your opponent makes an unexpected move.

The time you spend on studying or playing is up to you in the end. The more you put into both the more you get out of it.