Getting to 1400-1500 in the next month or two is going to be tremendously difficult if not impossible if you're not already playing at that level now and your rating is artificially low for some reason.
The best way to quickly improve your rating is to undertake an intensive study of chess tactics. Do lots and lots of puzzles and check out the advice in Michael de la Maza's _Rapid Chess Improvement_. For the puzzles themselves, I recommend Susan Polgar's _Chess Tactics for Champions_ followed by "Seven Circles" (explained in de la Maza's book) using the CT-Art software.
As for being competitive in tournaments, many if not most tournaments have sections for different levels of players, ranging from unrated beginners to masters and higher. So, unless you're stuck in a rural area somewhere, you should be able to find tournaments that have a section for you, whatever your rating.
Hi. My name is Kenny and i have been actively playing chess for about 2 months now. I joined this site about 2 weeks ago. I would like to ask 2 questions of anyone who can answer me. Thanks for the help!
1) Right now i find myself rating between 900 and 1100, depending on the game, and i was hoping to improve to about 1400-1500 in the next month or two. Is this feasible? If it is, what is the best way to go about it? Are there any books or the like that you would recommend?
2) My goal in chess is to get to the point where i can hold my own in the local chess clubs and then move on to tournament play. About how high of a rank would you say is necassary to get to a tournament and stand a chance? I don't mind not doing well my first few tournaments if i'm learning, but i don't want to embarass myself either.
Thanks for any advice you can give!