How to improve post-hiatus

So I've been taking a break from chess- occasionally playing a bit of 1:0 bullet.

My best OTB performance was a draw against a FIDE 1600 in a pawn-rook endgame. (I've only been to 2 tournaments)

My elo's are 1600 bullet, 1500 blitz and 1400 rapid. My goal is to reach 2000 and/or reach CM within the next 6 years, and I'm 13 rn.

About the hiatus- I was really into chess when I was 7 through 11. after that, as I mentioned before, I took a break, and I don't really know how to improve. I understand tactics and stuff, but I don't know much about openings and normally just adapt to whatever's thrown at me, leading me to not know where to start learning.

All advice and insight is appreciated- thanks in advance!

Chessable courses help a lot for learning openings.

yoooo long time no see- also thanks. I'll check out chessable!

That was my dream as well. But now I'm 16 and still 1500...like last year...have had no improvements since 15 yrs of age. And I started playing chess at 10-11 years. So...not tryna put you down but you need to put a lot of effort in to see results past 1500.

1.Play against the AI, at max, don't mess with the under AI so much. 1.Always analyze the games played. 3. Observe games from other players, Like Magnus, Paul Morphy, Evanchuck, and listen to them as they speak. 4.Probably the best advice I can give, is understand the purpose of the game, to win. Understand the forcing moves like checkmating attacks. Checkmating attacks ofcourse dictates how the game ends up, if they don't defend or defend well, we easily end up in winning positions, so learn about mating attacks. Purpose. Meditate on purpose. 5. Don't be materialistic, if any GM tells you a piece is worth this or that, you have to include purpose, so think for yourself, this is how you will build your own unique style. 5.HARD WORK

Good luck, you can probably do much more than you suspect. Enjoy!

To improve, stop playing bullet and blitz, and stick with slower time controls.

as a kid, you may not have wanted to study chess basics. However, as a motivated adult, you will improve much more from study than from bullet and blitz. Read the classics: Reinfeld, Chernev, Horowitz, Lasker. A week or two with those will be much more helpful than months of speed chess.

go over the games of masters. Listen to the commentary about games in master tournaments. Those are lessons in openings, middlegames, endgames, planning, calculation, etc.

is there an OTB club in your area? Join it. Listen to the stronger players discuss their games. Ask players to go over your games with you.

good luck.

Thanks! In your journey- how did you study? I myself don't really understand the art of analyzing games and therefore don't really know how to improve from past games.

Thanks for the advice! Also, long time no see!

If you want to study openings, go for the ones most people don't play, but are still good. It'll give you the advantage of actually knowing what you're doing, while your opponent doesn't.

Yea no problem bro.