Will I always reside below 1400?

#4
Good idea. I recall my rating boosted after I learned some openings. Gonna hit the library soon.

#5
Is there any GOOD windows freeware to analyse my games? There should be something better than the one on lichess isnt there? You are right about the fast games. When I play at slow time controls I can think deeper. Prolly would help in learning the game.

#6
Good point, seems entirely logical to me!

#7
I will try this out the next time. The puzzle section on lichess never tells me what I am doing wrong.

#8
lol I usually analyse but I don't always take the time to look at it carefully. Maybe should try to do that better

#9
IMO faster time controls dont really teach me how to play chess. I dont really care if people use engines and stuff. Theyll be caught anyway and Ill get my rating points back (wont I?)

#10
Don't worry I can read. But I wont buy books anyway, because im poor.

I am sure there are books for beginners in the library!

I started playing chess late too. If you're gaining 100 points a year, you're doing well. Just be patient. Enjoy the game. Follow the advice as above in #4, 5, 8 - its good advice.

'Is there even any hope left for me?'
Sure, just keep playing. Eventually you'll get better. :-)
'Did I learn chess too late?'
Yes, if you want to become a GM...

As you get better, it takes longer and longer to increase your rating in numeric terms. In your first year or so of playing it would be perfectly normal to go from 800 to 1400. But getting from 1400 to 1600 could take another year or two or three. Later on, if you can consistently increase 70 points a year, you're actually doing rather well.

Btw according to Dan Heisman, a writer and coach, a player at your level that wants to improve should not play blitz at all! His view is that blitz gives you bad habits that are hard to overcome.

Certainly simply playing lots of blitz and not doing any other form of chess activity (playing slow games, analyzing your games, working through books etc) doesn't really seem to help anyone at any level improve very much.

Just have fun man, enjoy the game, play bullet, blitz, slow, puzzles, videos... whatever you like. Don't get obsessed about rating or anything! If you like the game, you will get better!

Play tactics trainer until you get 2000+! I am horrible in blitz but do okay in classical. Some people it is the other way around. I am learning blitz so challenge me!

I recommend a book:
Martin Weteschnik "Chess Tactics from Scratch: Understanding Chess Tactics".

For me it was a revelation :-). This book opened my eyes and helped understand tactic.

@OP : at 23 your improvement margins are still considerable. However, at first you need to play somewhat slower games (that's 30'+) to learn from them, and maybe try to learn the basic tactics (in Dutch, you have the fantastic StappenMethod !). Going over an annotated book of master games would be great too : you'd pick a ton of insights.

But the greatest tool of all is to play against humans in person, as you'll see you'll learn much more about the game because of emotional involvment and your opponents will explain things to you. If possible, try to join a chess club : it makes a world of difference !