From beginner to 1600

I decided to put a goal of 1600 in one year from now.

I'd love to hear from 1600 rated player how they got there and how long it took them and what was the main thing they did well in to get there..

Thanks for even reading this :)

I'm not a 1600 player... 2100 ... but I can assure you that the 500-point path from 1100 to 1600 is quite a bit easier than the 500-point path from 1600 to 2100; and FAR easier than the next 500 points up to 2600.

Study tactics, tactics, tactics, model mates, tactics, pawn structures, tactics, typical endgames, tactics... play over your games and analyze them, ESPECIALLY the painful losses. Get stronger players to tell you where you are going wrong. Play slow games. Blitz is fun, but you will learn a lot more if you take your time and THINK.

How'd you come up with that number? (Why not 1800? or 1400?) Also, is this for slow chess, blitz chess or correspondence (online) chess? Or even better : a USCF/ELO rating?

Now to your questions :)

How long to get to 1600?  Took me about 2.5 years as an "works 8-10 hours a day to pay the bills" adult to break USCF 1600.  Someone with a lot more natural aptitude for the game who put in the same amount of work I did will probably do it much faster. If you have prodigious talent,  you'll probably break 1600 after just one tournament!

What was the main thing that helped?  The best thing you can do is know + accept your limitations (motivation, talent for the game, time for chess), have tons of fun, make sure you practice deliberately and constantly get feedback on your games from stronger players.  If you can afford a good coach, that might speed up your progress if you put in the work.

Thanks for the replies guys!

Why 1600? It seems like a good goal. I feel that at 1600 the game becomes interesting to a good level, beyond that I'm not worried about for now.

My plan so far is to keep playing 30 min games and online chess daily and analyze my games jsut a little, practise tactics and CM courses.

And to be consistent.

It's a good goal for sure, certainly better than all these "I want to be a GM" threads.

what rating?

You have a long way to go, OP. Your rating points is still 0.

Seems like a good goal.

I've only joined this site today. I havn't even played a game yet, and im over 1600, just by Learning with the Chess Mentor.

That's just your chess mentor score, nothing else.

1600 in online chess (correspondence) is not a "1600 rated player."

Hi, I am a 1350 player (maybe better now), I started playing chess two years ago and only learned passively by watching videos and going through books (not even really studying them). I think that you will reach 1600 in 6 months really studying hard and playing a lot of practical, slow games. 

I also decided to study "seriously":

- Read "The Improving Chess Thinker" by Dan Heisman and then "The Amateur's Mind" by Jeremy Silman.

- Study "Silman's Complete Endgame Course" nearby, and get some software to practise the endgame positions. You can get Houdini 1.5 (engine) and Arena (GUI) for free.

- Play many slow games (at least G/75) to use the advices given in the books and slowly getting them to a level where you make use of the advices subconsciously.

- Solve tactical puzzles: Here on chess.com or http://chess.emrald.net

- Review your own games with a stronger player or the computer!

- Don't spend too much time on openings! You only need to know a few moves and the main principles of the opening.

I started playing chess (I do not consider playing chess the occasional game with a friend, just moving pieces around, which is what I used to do before creating an account here and joining a chess club in my city) in a 'serious' way only since a few months. My first goal was to have fun because I did not care about points, ratings etc. I still do not care much about it, even less since I became a member of a chess club in the city where I live, when I realised that there is a huge difference between,say, a 1400-rated in online chess and a 1400-rated in "real life" chess. This is why I do not care too much about rating points here on chess.com. They just give you a very rough idea of your skills. If you really want to know your real skills - and improve greately -, join a club and play tournaments. Your rating then will be what your skills are (and it is going to be less than your rating here on chess.com)

I wouldn't bother with any more answers to the OP - his account's been closed.

Was he too eager to reach 1600 points!!!?

Well, it may also have be a spoof account so he could create this thread without revealing his actual account name so people didn't follow him around to see if he got to his 1600

Which would be rather pathetic, but it is possible indeed

1600 online or live? It isn't the same, not even close.

1600 online is roughly  live 1800 blitz or standart.

You're right, it's not even close to the same, but I think you have it backwards.

1800 online is probably 1400-1500 standard.

its still a valid question even if his account is closed.