This is more meant to let off steam but constructive feedback is of course warmly welcomed.
I have plateued at 2200 FIDE now for 2 years. I spend an insane amount of time studying the game, mostly on endgames and revising all of my games.
I just can´t get any better. Every time I learn something from a mistake I made in a game I just never get the same motif again but rather lose to something completely different the next time. When I learn from that mistake I never get that motif again either. And so on. The only exception is when I play the exact same opponent and we go down the exact same path, thereby reaching the exact same position. I know this is logically impossible to continue forever but where is the end?
Just complaining about my unability to make any progress
Everybody plateaus somewhere. Analyse your lost games again, thoroughly and candidly. Look for your weaknesses. Search for a pattern. Do not only look at the pure chess issue, but also at time used, thoughts, mental state, physical state. More is in you.
I'm no expert on this subject, but at 2200 FIDE I would think your next step is professional coaching. If you have the resources to pay for that.
A coach is not necessary. Fischer did it without. Carlsen fired his coach as he found it too expensive for his parents.
Analysis of your own lost games is key.
Non chess related factors are important too.
I noticed I tended to blunder often in the 4th hour of playing. The cure was to drink a cup of coffee with sugar at the begin of the 4th hour.
I got my best performances after physical training: running, walking, cycling, swimming. Botvinnik also recommended outdoor physical exercise.
Play even more - that’s what I do.
@Jebotto I have worked with half a dozen or so different coaches in the past but I think that selfstudy is much more efficient
@tpr I heard about the thing with physical training but can´t confirm any benefits from that in my own experience
Those motifs you have learned will come around again, though it is likely to take some time. Sounds like you are working too hard. Maybe taking a short break will make your game fresh again.
By the way, many of us would be delighted to hit the wall at 2200 FIDE, having crashed against it much lower. Maybe you should congratulate yourself and enjoy your success, rather than be frustrated. Good job.
What do you want? To be world champion?
#6 Every person is different, but there is evidence
Botvinnik recommended outdoor physical exercise
Nimzovich won Carlsbad 1929 after a physical exercise program
Fischer practiced tennis and swimming with the sole purpose of playing better chess
Carlsen also has a physical fitness program
The brain is just an organ. It needs oxygen, nutritients, removal of residues.
Playing 4 hour tournament games day after day is physically exhausting.
Your mental state is important too.
Do your thoughts wander off?
Do you think about how beautifully you are winning and how your friends will admire your splendid game? You will not win it!
As Karpov said: when you play chess you must forget that you live.
@tpr Fischer had coaches. Even when he was young. It was a myth that he did it alone.
#9 I do not think so... Who? He learned the game from his sister. When he travelled as a youngster he got accompanied by some elder players e.g. Larsen, but they did not coach they just looked after him and gave him comics books. He used to phone to other U.S.A. chess players to discuss ideas, but he already was stronger. In Rejkjavik he had Lombardy and the Byrne as seconds, though they were much weaker than Fischer himself.
