Should I get coaching as a complete beginner?

A month or two ago I started playing chess online and I immideately started playing multiple hours every day solving puzzles and playing online. After learning the first 5 or so moves of the sicilian and ruy lopez I got to ~1250 rating in rapid mode on another site (the only mode I play), but the last 2 or so weeks I've basically been stuck at my rating level. I feel as though I'm improving and I'm pretty quickly getting better at seeing patterns and recognizing basic tactical positions, but I feel like there must be something I'm missing since my rating isn't going up and I don't know what it is. I really, really enjoy chess, it's probably the most beautiful game I know of. I watch alot of agadmator's content (his content is what got me into chess in the first place) and seeing the genius combinations of players like Tal and Fischer really motivates me to become a great player some day. I'm 17 years old so grandmaster is probably out of reach, but I aspire to one day maybe become a CM or maybe even FM. 

Now to the point of this post, what do you guys think is the best way for me to improve? I have no problem with learning theory, I actually quite enjoy it, but since there is so much theory availabe online I'm really overwhelmed and have no clue where to even begin doing research on my own. I've been thinking about coaching with the idea that a good coach could spot the issues in my play and help me improve way faster than I would on my own.

What do you more experienced players think I should do to improve? Should I get a coach or are there more efficient ways for a new player who has so much to learn like me to improve?

Thanks in advance!

If you have money to burn, sure it can't hurt, but bang for the buck you should probably invest in, and actually finish, some step by step method of improvement.  It's just so easy for a beginner to have major gaps in their chess education that they simply aren't aware of.  And while it is possible to get better just by playing, most folks eventually "hit a wall" because they have perfected their mistakes through repetition.  Chess.com's own Lessons are one such set of logical instructions on how to play the game.  They really are very well done and the $100 for a diamond membership grants you unlimited access to them, the videos, and of course the tactical trainer (puzzles).  The other approach which is widely recommended is the Dutch "Steps" method which has been widely used for many years now, even in scholastic settings.  I'll admit I've never tried it, but almost everything I've read has been positive, and I believe they also have an online presence.  Not sure what that costs;  I think it might be "Steppenmethode" if you look for it online.  Anyway, after you finish something like either the Lessons or the Steps, then might be a good time to hire a coach.  My $.02...Good luck!

Hello, Should you hire a chess coach or not is completely depend on you. You can study everything by yourself. You can read lots of chess books and will get many chess material. But there are many question which chess materail is right for you to study ? You can spend years on learning in this style. But a chess coach can right thing at right time according to your level. Now it's completely depnd on you. If you want to save your money then study by yourself but if you want to save time then you should definitely hire a coach. Chess coach will teach you his secret and proven methods which tou will not find anywhere. and also a chess coach will help you to analysis your game which is very necessary.

No. Buy a good book or two for beginners, follow along with a chess set. Play slow time control games and analyze them. If you find you really enjoy the game and have an aptitude for it, then - and only then - you can consider hiring a coach. Consider the "opportunity cost" of the tuition, however. Could that money be better spent elsewhere?

Of course, if you are independently wealthy, why do you need to ask?

Good luck either way. 

Есть кто русский, кто это смотрит?

Don't learn too much theory until you are higher rated. I've heard this from a TON of people, and I've followed their advice and it works for me. 

Thanks for all the replies! I'll be looking into beginner literature and online guides. After reading @m_connors comment and a couple of articles I've realized that I should play slower games and analyze my playing instead of just jumping into game after game of 10+0. Right now my chess playing is definetely quantity over quality.

Yes! Get a couch! A professional one.

Or - I think you can get free lessons. (Somewhere online)

Dear Perpermert,

I am a certified, full-time chess coach, so I hope I can help you.   Everybody is different, so that's why there isn't only one general way to learn. First of all, you have to discover your biggest weaknesses in the game and start working on them. The most effective way for that is analysing your own games. Of course, if you are a beginner, you can't do it efficiently because you don't know too much about the game yet. There is a built-in engine on chess.com which can show you if a move is good or bad but the only problem that it can't explain you the plans, ideas behind the moves, so you won't know why is it so good or bad.

You can learn from books or Youtube channels as well, and maybe you can find a lot of useful information there but these sources are mostly general things and not personalized at all. That's why you need a good coach sooner or later if you really want to be better at chess. A good coach can help you with identifying your biggest weaknesses and explain everything, so you can leave your mistakes behind you. Of course, you won't apply everything immediately, this is a learning process (like learning languages), but if you are persistent and enthusiastic, you will achieve your goals.

So, the question you asked is not so easy to answer, but I can tell you one thing for sure. In my opinion, chess has 4 main territories (openings, strategies, tactics/combinations and endgames). If you want to improve efficiently, you should improve all of these skills almost at the same time. That's what my training program is based on. My students really like it because the lessons are not boring (because we talk about more than one areas within one lesson) and they feel the improvement on the longer run. Of course, there are always ups and downs but this is completely normal in everyone's career.

I hope this is helpful for you.   Good luck for your chess games!

Absolutely get coaching. There is a great place to start; Its called YouTube. Countless hours of free coaching at your disposal!

There are more than enough free resources online, MORE than enough. A coach can point you in the right direction, but ultimately you need to put in countless hours of efficient play/study.

I will say though that supporting coaches is nice thing to do, if you can afford it. They can steer you in the right direction and probably make you improve faster.

Doesn't have to be as high as GM, much lower rated people often make really good educational content.

YouTube is good for teaching you a guitar song you can't figure out how to play, and it might be great to educate you on a particular opening, or a particular concept...YouTube is also good for 10,000 ft summaries...but YouTube is not good for teaching anything broad *and* deep in anything approaching a comprehensive way.  YouTube is piecemeal.  It's for dabblers (and for conspiracy buffs that just somebody want to confirm/validate their mistakes ...).  Then again, chess is a game for most people, so...dabbling is fine.  You (the OP) seem to be wanting more, though.

In my post above (5) I mentioned books. GM Yasser Seirawan has several great books for the beginner, including Play Winning Chess, Winning Chess Openings and Winning Chess Tactics. He also has many great videos online.

He started playing chess when he was 12 and 7 years later he was a Grand Master. His books are easy to read because of his knowledge and writing style. This is a video for beginners where he recounts a game he accepted as "lost" even though it wasn't checkmate. He writes with the same self-deprecating style that makes the books easy to read.

The audio improves a few minutes into the video. Really, if you are a beginner watch this video and you'll receive 35 minutes of great coaching for free.

A high quality of video instruction for beginners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCSbzArwB10

If money is not an issue and you would like to support chess teachers, then it might speed up your progress a bit. That said, I agree that it isn't necessary at your stage. Nowadays there is so much free material available, so I would stick to books, videos, tactics and playing.  

Do look at you games and do a summary of why you lose and why other people wins. Also you probably need more practice. Oh yeah, watch the master games and that improves you very rapidly.

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Si vous avez des questions sur les échecs ou ma chaine n'hesitez pas 
Le lien: https://youtu.be/gEgCh7fvHEM

Bonne soirée !