My level in chess seems to be on a plateau, how do I boost my playing level?

Question

I play on a regular basis also.

Answer 1

There are books on openings, tactics, and endgames. To determine where you are in the greatest need of improvement, get into the habit of recording all of your games.

Upon completion of each game, rate yourself, based on how well you did in each of those three areas, paying particular attention to the games you lost.

Once you have a good collection, say 20 or so, tally up your scores, to see where your weakness lies. That will tell you what types of books you want to be reading.

For tactics, I would strongly recommend, BOBBY FISHER TEACHES CHESS. This book focuses on mating attacks, but the principles are good for winning material as well.

For additional information, check out the U.S. Chess Federation Website, at http://uschess.org. They have a lot of great books, and you can also join, which qualifies you to receive their magazine, CHESS LIFE.

Answer 2

You do not mention your current level. For folks who are beginner to intermediate, I have found that doing a lot of tactics is very useful. For people who only play games to stay in touch, taking a couple of weeks off from game play and focusing on combinations helps.

Also depends on why you are plateauing. It may be time to seriously study opening lines and variations if your rating is close to or over 2000. If you are between 1400-1800, studying middlegame strategies and positional play can be useful. The Yasser Seirawan series may be worth looking at. I've listed these and a bunch more at http://360.yahoo.com/bharat

Answer 3

Play with the computer and memorize its moves and imitate them when playing with real people, play lots and lots of chess

Answer 4

Play people on a higher level than you and make sure you beat them?