Can't get past 1100

I have been playing for 2 months doing 30 mins of puzzles on lichess every day. Could someone tell me what I am doing wrong? It has been super frustrating not being able to improve.

Try to analyse all your games and gain insights from it, learn from common mistakes you do in game. Players under 1500 usually lose due to mistakes and blunders, if you focus majorly on avoiding those and simultaneously punishing your opponent mistakes then you can win a lot of games. Puzzles are add ons, even if you properly solve 5-8 puzzles everyday it will be enough. Try watching YouTube videos of creators like NM Nelson Lopez who play live games and tell you there mindset while playing moves to build a better position. You can gain a lot of understanding if you follow above points and can surely get past 1100-1200 mark.
All the best! Happy learning.

• Focus on NOT blundering your pieces. I think the common mistakes I see in the 1000 level are players having blind spots for captures and pieces flying as a result. Try to take your time, double check, see if you are not blundering anything, then make your move.

• Do the CHECKLIST. What I mean by checklist is looking for checks, then captures, then attacks. Have this thoughts:

1. "Can I check the king?"

-If yes, and it benefits me, 95% it's a good move.

-if yes, and it blunders a piece, its not a good move

-if no, then I will now proceed to look for captures.

2. "Can I capture any pieces?"

-if yes, and it benefits me, I should consider that capture as a good move. (notice how I said "consider" because when you move pieces, the board changes. That piece that captures might have been protecting something, which leads to the opponent having chances.)

-if yes, and it doesn't help anything with the current position, I should wait upon capturing it and just put tension between the two.

-if no, then I can now look for attacks.

3. "Can I attack something?"

-if yes, I should calculate where the opponent is going to go before attacking.

-if no, then lets just develop any pieces to a better square, be solid, look for blunders, and be happy!

• Find a SOLID opening that is easy to play at your level. I recommend the vienna game for white, and the Caro-kann for black. Having solid openings generally leads to you making fewer mistakes and not blundering anything on the early stages of the game.

• Be aware for tactics, "do I have a fork, pin, or anything somewhere? And does the opponent have any threats?" A common mistake I see at the 1000 level is players not seeing the board from their opponent's perspective and think about what they're threatening.

And that's it! If you keep these tips in mind I am sure you will be better in no time soon! Good luck on your grinding, and I hope you don't blunder the queen anymore!

TL;DR: Try not to blunder your pieces, look for checks, captures, attacks, have a solid opening to play as white and black. Look for your opponents threats and tactics.

Hello Frustrated Player, 

If you're having trouble climbing above 1100, I have some tips for you:

Tips while playing: Try to stay focused while playing online (do not multi-task)

Set a quiet, undisturbed time, as well as a relaxing environment. 

Think before you play (quickly double-check that it's not a blunder before playing it)

Tips for studying:

Watch chess lessons on chess.com about various topics

Analyze your mistakes (especially from lost games)... Game Review on chess.com is a great tool

Find an affordable chess coach (they will greatly improve your game)

I guess you mean you have been "stuck" at 1100 for 2 months?

You have been playing for longer obviously since you have been playing on chess.com at least since November 2022 and that is more than 8 months.

Now since you started, you have made some good progress and it is completely normal to get "stuck" for 2 months or even longer. Then at some point something "clicks" and you climb the next 100 or 200 points and then maybe get "stuck" again.

Progress at chess is not linear and even if it was, it would not necessarily mean that the rating climb would be linear. There will be ups and downs, slumps as you are trying to learn to use what you have learnt and sudden climbs when you finally learn to use what you learnt. There will also be good days and bad days and a little bit of luck involved as sometimes you face opponents who are having their bad day and sometimes ones that are playing the best they have ever played...

So just keep working on those puzzles, studying, playing and analysing and eventually your rating should go up again.

I am now trying to break the 1400 curse. I have been over and under that mark for a couple months now and am working in order to progress to a level that will take me past 1500. I know that things will eventually "click" in my head and I will take that next step.

Hello