Adult improver struggling with visualization and ChessTempo
Edit: First, thank you all for the advice and comments. I believe I wrote part of my situation incorrectly. I don't pay my coach to teach me tactics and calculations. Over the months, based on
watching my games, he has noticed many tactical and calculation gaps, so he wants me to focus on improving those areas. Our sessions mainly involve him reviewing my games after a tournament and teaching me opening plans and strategic concepts. Sorry, English is my second language.
I’m a 33-year-old adult improver (~1670 USCF) with a long-term goal of reaching 2000. My Chess.com rapid rating is around 1969, and I peaked at 2050 about two months ago.
I play at least one OTB tournament every month, work with a GM coach once a month, and train about two hours a day.
Recently, my coach has been focusing on improving
My calculation and tactical play.
For the past few weeks, I’ve been training mainly with ChessTempo Standard and mix, focusing on calculation rather than speed. I’m also working through The ChessCafe Puzzle Book: Test and Improve Your Tactical Vision, playing a few 10-minute rapid games each week on Chess.com, and analyzing every game afterward.
I’ve realized that my biggest problem isn’t necessarily finding candidate moves—it’s visualization.
I can calculate 4–6 moves deep and several variations. However, I still miss simple tactical motifs because I lose track of the position or fail to recognize the pattern in the final position.
I’m also noticing that an hour of serious calculation and tactics leaves me mentally exhausted.
I try not to focus too much on rating, but I sometimes wonder whether reaching 2000 USCF is realistic or whether I’ve reached my ceiling.
Has anyone else gone through this stage?
How did you improve your visualization during calculation?
Is this mental fatigue normal when training calculations seriously?
Would you continue focusing on ChessTempo Standard, or would you make any changes to my training?
I’d really appreciate hearing from players who have gone through something similar.