I enjoyed your article... thumbs up 
Rating Breakdown
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No----thumbs DOWN...it's all very condescending, VERY biased (towards 2000+ and titled player rank), and very presumptive! Intermediate players are NOT "misguided"! Even at that level we're getting a concept of positional play; that's not the sole realm of those lofty high-rated players. I've held my own against much higher-rated players, so you can't just make a mass-judgement on all players at different levels! As far as that remark about making "adult moves"-----kid, I've been an adult longer than you've been *alive*!! And I'm sure the class A players will take exception to you claiming that their "eyes are opening a little"...yeah, right!...next time you get bored, boy, do an actually useful topic; not an all-encompassing CONDESCENDING/presumptive article! 😡
Awesome sounds pretty accurate at least all the way up to 1700
Jan 15, 2023
0
#5
sjhose wrote:
A 2200 chess.com blitz player’s rating breakdown. Doing this because I’m bored and I really liked reading this kind of thing when climbing the rating ladder.
100 - 500: This is a true beginner. Some people here are just learning how the pieces move. Anyone stuck in this area just needs to start learning basic concepts like mating with two rooks (maybe mating with a king and rook), and the four-move checkmate pattern.
600 - 800: Very comfortable with how the pieces move now but board vision is just too slow for blitz and still very foggy in general. Pieces are constantly hung. I recommend these players just take their time, try not to give up material (no free pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, or queens) and remember their mistakes. I didn’t play anything less than 10 minute chess until I was around 1450. Then I dabbled between 10min and 5min. I remember starting some 3 min in the 1750’s but that felt way too fast at the time. Basically speed chess is ruining your progression. Slow down, think, and keep learning what it is you should even be thinking about…
900 - 1000: This is a really fun area of chess to be in. Never get checkmated in 4 moves again. Check out the opening moves of the Giuoco Piano and the Ruy Lopez on YouTube (These are just basic must-knows). Try them in your games. Learn why you can never play the Damiano Defense. Stay alert to your hanging pieces. Always ask yourself what your best move is and what your opponents best reply would be. Anything can happen at this level but it’s the way to get better. I recommend reading chess.com articles by IM Jeremy Silman about your ‘chess disease’ of hanging pieces. Truth is you can never fully cure this ‘disease’ but can only treat it by practicing protecting your pieces. Harsh side effects will likely linger for another 600 rating points, so it’s good that you start trying to fix this ASAP.
1100 - 1300: Your plans are misguided. But the saying is “some plans are better than no plans” and that’s why you beat players rated 1000 and below. Even if your purpose isn’t correct, you’re making moves with purpose.
1400 - Makes little to no serious advances or threats (maybe one or two-move threats). Can succeed at this level by just getting good at not hanging your pieces. I used to just throw down a King’s Indian Defense setup on my kingside (as either the white or black pieces and not knowing it was called that) and just chill. A buddy of mine who is 1400 told me his plan is really just to do nothing and wait for his opponent to mess up… Of course that’s not how chess was meant to be played but it could prove effective at this level. Calculating lines is beginning. You lose at this level not only because you sometimes egregiously miscalculate, but also because you go into positions that you yourself calculated as bad. At this level I remember playing into lines I calculated as bad just because I was so excited I calculated a line. Doh! Grow up as a chess player and don’t do that!
1500 - 1600: Exposing themselves to attacking chess such as bishop sac mating patterns. Calculating lines is beginning but the calculation lacks solidarity in the form of board vision, tactical prowess, and positional understand. The only way to improve each of those things is to continue training tactics and start doing lessons on positional chess play as hard as it may seem. I recommend chess.com’s tactics trainer. I recommend ChessTempo’s tactics trainer. I recommend chess.com’s lessons on Master Strategy by IM Jeremy Silman (If you try these don’t be too hard on yourself. These are wildly difficult and still give me a TON of trouble but helpful to learn). I also recommend IM Jeremy Silman’s book “Reassess Your Chess” (Yes lots of Silman, he’s just great and so helpful. Wish I could thank him in person and shake his hand). I also recommend watching John Bartholomew’s “Climbing the Rating Ladder” series on YouTube where you can watch an IM talk through his games against all levels of players.
1700 - A seriously fun player who’s not too different than a 1600 but they can make their decisions a little faster, they’re further along in their tactics, and they’ve shown an interest in positional play. I remember when I first hit 1785 in chess.com blitz it was the first time I felt like a GOD lmao. Not sure why. I was just excited to try and make moves with deeper purpose. When you play with a deep purpose behind your moves and it pays off, nothing is more fulfilling.
1800 - Eyes are slowly but surely opening to positional play. Positional play doesn’t yet guide their games but they are starting to make more adult moves, for example a quiet queen centralization. The only ones who will progress past this point on to 2000 are the ones with a true love and passion for the game. I recommend getting your a$$ whooped by 2000 rated players and trying to figure out what you’re doing wrong. I recommend improving your end games to start capitalizing on small advantages and holding draws in tough spots. Still no need for intensive opening study as long as you’re getting into the middle game without a lost position.
1900 - You’re understanding the difference between reading about positional play and actually executing it. Turns out chess is friggin hard. You don’t understand what is separating you from a 2000 rated opponent who most of the time seems to just keep magically finding a way. But just continue learning new things and try to play as accurately and speedy as a 2000 and you will get there.
2000 - You’ve done it. You’ve crossed the magical expert mark. Your chess games are clear conversations. You may not speak as elegantly as a grandmaster but your moves say something. “I want to control this square,” “I want to ignore my opponents threats and make my own,” “I want to pawnstorm,” and so on. To get to this point you’ve had to embark on a journey of learning which you only now understand is still in its adolescence. This in a way is bittersweet. When I hit this level I had a buddy who’d been 2000 for a while say to me “Congratulations… you’ve just finished the introductory part of chess.” He wasn’t exactly wrong.
2100 - Because my max chess.com ELO isn’t much higher than this I can’t say much. My long term goal was always 2000 so this was just a cherry on top I never expected to hit. I’d attribute it to improving my form, improving my pawn play, gearing my opening selections to cater to my style of play, and still trying not to blunder everything.
2200 - The first time I hit this rank was so make believe. I was just playing out of my mind and super fast and I wasn’t sure how. That feeling subsided and my results are staggering. I’ve swallowed the pill that most if not all serious players above me at this point are booking up. They are studying the openings deeply and improving their repertoire. Initially I thought that studying openings deeply would suck the fun out of chess. But it turns out that ‘booking up’ is giving me another stone to step on to improve in the game that I love. It only makes sense that if you can look at a position and say “this is theory” or “this is book” that you’ll not only come out of the opening with more pleasant positions but you’ll also save time in blitz. That being said a 2600 can still whoop me with a Grob attack which can be kinda demoralizing lol. There’s definitely a necessity to improve my form and technique to reach the higher levels. Playing slow classical chess again can help me with that.
Anyways, thanks for reading! Hope someone can find enjoyment out of this.
100 - 500: This is a true beginner. Some people here are just learning how the pieces move. Anyone stuck in this area just needs to start learning basic concepts like mating with two rooks (maybe mating with a king and rook), and the four-move checkmate pattern.
600 - 800: Very comfortable with how the pieces move now but board vision is just too slow for blitz and still very foggy in general. Pieces are constantly hung. I recommend these players just take their time, try not to give up material (no free pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, or queens) and remember their mistakes. I didn’t play anything less than 10 minute chess until I was around 1450. Then I dabbled between 10min and 5min. I remember starting some 3 min in the 1750’s but that felt way too fast at the time. Basically speed chess is ruining your progression. Slow down, think, and keep learning what it is you should even be thinking about…
900 - 1000: This is a really fun area of chess to be in. Never get checkmated in 4 moves again. Check out the opening moves of the Giuoco Piano and the Ruy Lopez on YouTube (These are just basic must-knows). Try them in your games. Learn why you can never play the Damiano Defense. Stay alert to your hanging pieces. Always ask yourself what your best move is and what your opponents best reply would be. Anything can happen at this level but it’s the way to get better. I recommend reading chess.com articles by IM Jeremy Silman about your ‘chess disease’ of hanging pieces. Truth is you can never fully cure this ‘disease’ but can only treat it by practicing protecting your pieces. Harsh side effects will likely linger for another 600 rating points, so it’s good that you start trying to fix this ASAP.
1100 - 1300: Your plans are misguided. But the saying is “some plans are better than no plans” and that’s why you beat players rated 1000 and below. Even if your purpose isn’t correct, you’re making moves with purpose.
1400 - Makes little to no serious advances or threats (maybe one or two-move threats). Can succeed at this level by just getting good at not hanging your pieces. I used to just throw down a King’s Indian Defense setup on my kingside (as either the white or black pieces and not knowing it was called that) and just chill. A buddy of mine who is 1400 told me his plan is really just to do nothing and wait for his opponent to mess up… Of course that’s not how chess was meant to be played but it could prove effective at this level. Calculating lines is beginning. You lose at this level not only because you sometimes egregiously miscalculate, but also because you go into positions that you yourself calculated as bad. At this level I remember playing into lines I calculated as bad just because I was so excited I calculated a line. Doh! Grow up as a chess player and don’t do that!
1500 - 1600: Exposing themselves to attacking chess such as bishop sac mating patterns. Calculating lines is beginning but the calculation lacks solidarity in the form of board vision, tactical prowess, and positional understand. The only way to improve each of those things is to continue training tactics and start doing lessons on positional chess play as hard as it may seem. I recommend chess.com’s tactics trainer. I recommend ChessTempo’s tactics trainer. I recommend chess.com’s lessons on Master Strategy by IM Jeremy Silman (If you try these don’t be too hard on yourself. These are wildly difficult and still give me a TON of trouble but helpful to learn). I also recommend IM Jeremy Silman’s book “Reassess Your Chess” (Yes lots of Silman, he’s just great and so helpful. Wish I could thank him in person and shake his hand). I also recommend watching John Bartholomew’s “Climbing the Rating Ladder” series on YouTube where you can watch an IM talk through his games against all levels of players.
1700 - A seriously fun player who’s not too different than a 1600 but they can make their decisions a little faster, they’re further along in their tactics, and they’ve shown an interest in positional play. I remember when I first hit 1785 in chess.com blitz it was the first time I felt like a GOD lmao. Not sure why. I was just excited to try and make moves with deeper purpose. When you play with a deep purpose behind your moves and it pays off, nothing is more fulfilling.
1800 - Eyes are slowly but surely opening to positional play. Positional play doesn’t yet guide their games but they are starting to make more adult moves, for example a quiet queen centralization. The only ones who will progress past this point on to 2000 are the ones with a true love and passion for the game. I recommend getting your a$$ whooped by 2000 rated players and trying to figure out what you’re doing wrong. I recommend improving your end games to start capitalizing on small advantages and holding draws in tough spots. Still no need for intensive opening study as long as you’re getting into the middle game without a lost position.
1900 - You’re understanding the difference between reading about positional play and actually executing it. Turns out chess is friggin hard. You don’t understand what is separating you from a 2000 rated opponent who most of the time seems to just keep magically finding a way. But just continue learning new things and try to play as accurately and speedy as a 2000 and you will get there.
2000 - You’ve done it. You’ve crossed the magical expert mark. Your chess games are clear conversations. You may not speak as elegantly as a grandmaster but your moves say something. “I want to control this square,” “I want to ignore my opponents threats and make my own,” “I want to pawnstorm,” and so on. To get to this point you’ve had to embark on a journey of learning which you only now understand is still in its adolescence. This in a way is bittersweet. When I hit this level I had a buddy who’d been 2000 for a while say to me “Congratulations… you’ve just finished the introductory part of chess.” He wasn’t exactly wrong.
2100 - Because my max chess.com ELO isn’t much higher than this I can’t say much. My long term goal was always 2000 so this was just a cherry on top I never expected to hit. I’d attribute it to improving my form, improving my pawn play, gearing my opening selections to cater to my style of play, and still trying not to blunder everything.
2200 - The first time I hit this rank was so make believe. I was just playing out of my mind and super fast and I wasn’t sure how. That feeling subsided and my results are staggering. I’ve swallowed the pill that most if not all serious players above me at this point are booking up. They are studying the openings deeply and improving their repertoire. Initially I thought that studying openings deeply would suck the fun out of chess. But it turns out that ‘booking up’ is giving me another stone to step on to improve in the game that I love. It only makes sense that if you can look at a position and say “this is theory” or “this is book” that you’ll not only come out of the opening with more pleasant positions but you’ll also save time in blitz. That being said a 2600 can still whoop me with a Grob attack which can be kinda demoralizing lol. There’s definitely a necessity to improve my form and technique to reach the higher levels. Playing slow classical chess again can help me with that.
Anyways, thanks for reading! Hope someone can find enjoyment out of this.
I gotta say, as a 400 elo, you are completely underrating EVERYONE below 2000. I just played a 77 accuracy game, had 1 great and 1 brilliant move, and still lost. How pieces move is out of the question; instead, people already know openings well, mating tactics, and positional games. If I was playing any beginner who just learned how the pieces move and simple tactics, I would completely destroy them. Same could be said about most players my rank too. My fellow 400s are also very good at recognizing threats and will rarely hang pieces. The only thing that people around my rating lacks is any advanced sacrifice play.
I think that stands true if you are talking 100-300, but 400-500 much more advanced. We aren't all that good, but still better than that.
sjhose wrote:
A 2200 chess.com blitz player’s rating breakdown. Doing this because I’m bored and I really liked reading this kind of thing when climbing the rating ladder.
100 - 500: This is a true beginner. Some people here are just learning how the pieces move. Anyone stuck in this area just needs to start learning basic concepts like mating with two rooks (maybe mating with a king and rook), and the four-move checkmate pattern.
600 - 800: Very comfortable with how the pieces move now but board vision is just too slow for blitz and still very foggy in general. Pieces are constantly hung. I recommend these players just take their time, try not to give up material (no free pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, or queens) and remember their mistakes. I didn’t play anything less than 10 minute chess until I was around 1450. Then I dabbled between 10min and 5min. I remember starting some 3 min in the 1750’s but that felt way too fast at the time. Basically speed chess is ruining your progression. Slow down, think, and keep learning what it is you should even be thinking about…
900 - 1000: This is a really fun area of chess to be in. Never get checkmated in 4 moves again. Check out the opening moves of the Giuoco Piano and the Ruy Lopez on YouTube (These are just basic must-knows). Try them in your games. Learn why you can never play the Damiano Defense. Stay alert to your hanging pieces. Always ask yourself what your best move is and what your opponents best reply would be. Anything can happen at this level but it’s the way to get better. I recommend reading chess.com articles by IM Jeremy Silman about your ‘chess disease’ of hanging pieces. Truth is you can never fully cure this ‘disease’ but can only treat it by practicing protecting your pieces. Harsh side effects will likely linger for another 600 rating points, so it’s good that you start trying to fix this ASAP.
1100 - 1300: Your plans are misguided. But the saying is “some plans are better than no plans” and that’s why you beat players rated 1000 and below. Even if your purpose isn’t correct, you’re making moves with purpose.
1400 - Makes little to no serious advances or threats (maybe one or two-move threats). Can succeed at this level by just getting good at not hanging your pieces. I used to just throw down a King’s Indian Defense setup on my kingside (as either the white or black pieces and not knowing it was called that) and just chill. A buddy of mine who is 1400 told me his plan is really just to do nothing and wait for his opponent to mess up… Of course that’s not how chess was meant to be played but it could prove effective at this level. Calculating lines is beginning. You lose at this level not only because you sometimes egregiously miscalculate, but also because you go into positions that you yourself calculated as bad. At this level I remember playing into lines I calculated as bad just because I was so excited I calculated a line. Doh! Grow up as a chess player and don’t do that!
1500 - 1600: Exposing themselves to attacking chess such as bishop sac mating patterns. Calculating lines is beginning but the calculation lacks solidarity in the form of board vision, tactical prowess, and positional understand. The only way to improve each of those things is to continue training tactics and start doing lessons on positional chess play as hard as it may seem. I recommend chess.com’s tactics trainer. I recommend ChessTempo’s tactics trainer. I recommend chess.com’s lessons on Master Strategy by IM Jeremy Silman (If you try these don’t be too hard on yourself. These are wildly difficult and still give me a TON of trouble but helpful to learn). I also recommend IM Jeremy Silman’s book “Reassess Your Chess” (Yes lots of Silman, he’s just great and so helpful. Wish I could thank him in person and shake his hand). I also recommend watching John Bartholomew’s “Climbing the Rating Ladder” series on YouTube where you can watch an IM talk through his games against all levels of players.
1700 - A seriously fun player who’s not too different than a 1600 but they can make their decisions a little faster, they’re further along in their tactics, and they’ve shown an interest in positional play. I remember when I first hit 1785 in chess.com blitz it was the first time I felt like a GOD lmao. Not sure why. I was just excited to try and make moves with deeper purpose. When you play with a deep purpose behind your moves and it pays off, nothing is more fulfilling.
1800 - Eyes are slowly but surely opening to positional play. Positional play doesn’t yet guide their games but they are starting to make more adult moves, for example a quiet queen centralization. The only ones who will progress past this point on to 2000 are the ones with a true love and passion for the game. I recommend getting your a$$ whooped by 2000 rated players and trying to figure out what you’re doing wrong. I recommend improving your end games to start capitalizing on small advantages and holding draws in tough spots. Still no need for intensive opening study as long as you’re getting into the middle game without a lost position.
1900 - You’re understanding the difference between reading about positional play and actually executing it. Turns out chess is friggin hard. You don’t understand what is separating you from a 2000 rated opponent who most of the time seems to just keep magically finding a way. But just continue learning new things and try to play as accurately and speedy as a 2000 and you will get there.
2000 - You’ve done it. You’ve crossed the magical expert mark. Your chess games are clear conversations. You may not speak as elegantly as a grandmaster but your moves say something. “I want to control this square,” “I want to ignore my opponents threats and make my own,” “I want to pawnstorm,” and so on. To get to this point you’ve had to embark on a journey of learning which you only now understand is still in its adolescence. This in a way is bittersweet. When I hit this level I had a buddy who’d been 2000 for a while say to me “Congratulations… you’ve just finished the introductory part of chess.” He wasn’t exactly wrong.
2100 - Because my max chess.com ELO isn’t much higher than this I can’t say much. My long term goal was always 2000 so this was just a cherry on top I never expected to hit. I’d attribute it to improving my form, improving my pawn play, gearing my opening selections to cater to my style of play, and still trying not to blunder everything.
2200 - The first time I hit this rank was so make believe. I was just playing out of my mind and super fast and I wasn’t sure how. That feeling subsided and my results are staggering. I’ve swallowed the pill that most if not all serious players above me at this point are booking up. They are studying the openings deeply and improving their repertoire. Initially I thought that studying openings deeply would suck the fun out of chess. But it turns out that ‘booking up’ is giving me another stone to step on to improve in the game that I love. It only makes sense that if you can look at a position and say “this is theory” or “this is book” that you’ll not only come out of the opening with more pleasant positions but you’ll also save time in blitz. That being said a 2600 can still whoop me with a Grob attack which can be kinda demoralizing lol. There’s definitely a necessity to improve my form and technique to reach the higher levels. Playing slow classical chess again can help me with that.
Anyways, thanks for reading! Hope someone can find enjoyment out of this.
100 - 500: This is a true beginner. Some people here are just learning how the pieces move. Anyone stuck in this area just needs to start learning basic concepts like mating with two rooks (maybe mating with a king and rook), and the four-move checkmate pattern.
600 - 800: Very comfortable with how the pieces move now but board vision is just too slow for blitz and still very foggy in general. Pieces are constantly hung. I recommend these players just take their time, try not to give up material (no free pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, or queens) and remember their mistakes. I didn’t play anything less than 10 minute chess until I was around 1450. Then I dabbled between 10min and 5min. I remember starting some 3 min in the 1750’s but that felt way too fast at the time. Basically speed chess is ruining your progression. Slow down, think, and keep learning what it is you should even be thinking about…
900 - 1000: This is a really fun area of chess to be in. Never get checkmated in 4 moves again. Check out the opening moves of the Giuoco Piano and the Ruy Lopez on YouTube (These are just basic must-knows). Try them in your games. Learn why you can never play the Damiano Defense. Stay alert to your hanging pieces. Always ask yourself what your best move is and what your opponents best reply would be. Anything can happen at this level but it’s the way to get better. I recommend reading chess.com articles by IM Jeremy Silman about your ‘chess disease’ of hanging pieces. Truth is you can never fully cure this ‘disease’ but can only treat it by practicing protecting your pieces. Harsh side effects will likely linger for another 600 rating points, so it’s good that you start trying to fix this ASAP.
1100 - 1300: Your plans are misguided. But the saying is “some plans are better than no plans” and that’s why you beat players rated 1000 and below. Even if your purpose isn’t correct, you’re making moves with purpose.
1400 - Makes little to no serious advances or threats (maybe one or two-move threats). Can succeed at this level by just getting good at not hanging your pieces. I used to just throw down a King’s Indian Defense setup on my kingside (as either the white or black pieces and not knowing it was called that) and just chill. A buddy of mine who is 1400 told me his plan is really just to do nothing and wait for his opponent to mess up… Of course that’s not how chess was meant to be played but it could prove effective at this level. Calculating lines is beginning. You lose at this level not only because you sometimes egregiously miscalculate, but also because you go into positions that you yourself calculated as bad. At this level I remember playing into lines I calculated as bad just because I was so excited I calculated a line. Doh! Grow up as a chess player and don’t do that!
1500 - 1600: Exposing themselves to attacking chess such as bishop sac mating patterns. Calculating lines is beginning but the calculation lacks solidarity in the form of board vision, tactical prowess, and positional understand. The only way to improve each of those things is to continue training tactics and start doing lessons on positional chess play as hard as it may seem. I recommend chess.com’s tactics trainer. I recommend ChessTempo’s tactics trainer. I recommend chess.com’s lessons on Master Strategy by IM Jeremy Silman (If you try these don’t be too hard on yourself. These are wildly difficult and still give me a TON of trouble but helpful to learn). I also recommend IM Jeremy Silman’s book “Reassess Your Chess” (Yes lots of Silman, he’s just great and so helpful. Wish I could thank him in person and shake his hand). I also recommend watching John Bartholomew’s “Climbing the Rating Ladder” series on YouTube where you can watch an IM talk through his games against all levels of players.
1700 - A seriously fun player who’s not too different than a 1600 but they can make their decisions a little faster, they’re further along in their tactics, and they’ve shown an interest in positional play. I remember when I first hit 1785 in chess.com blitz it was the first time I felt like a GOD lmao. Not sure why. I was just excited to try and make moves with deeper purpose. When you play with a deep purpose behind your moves and it pays off, nothing is more fulfilling.
1800 - Eyes are slowly but surely opening to positional play. Positional play doesn’t yet guide their games but they are starting to make more adult moves, for example a quiet queen centralization. The only ones who will progress past this point on to 2000 are the ones with a true love and passion for the game. I recommend getting your a$$ whooped by 2000 rated players and trying to figure out what you’re doing wrong. I recommend improving your end games to start capitalizing on small advantages and holding draws in tough spots. Still no need for intensive opening study as long as you’re getting into the middle game without a lost position.
1900 - You’re understanding the difference between reading about positional play and actually executing it. Turns out chess is friggin hard. You don’t understand what is separating you from a 2000 rated opponent who most of the time seems to just keep magically finding a way. But just continue learning new things and try to play as accurately and speedy as a 2000 and you will get there.
2000 - You’ve done it. You’ve crossed the magical expert mark. Your chess games are clear conversations. You may not speak as elegantly as a grandmaster but your moves say something. “I want to control this square,” “I want to ignore my opponents threats and make my own,” “I want to pawnstorm,” and so on. To get to this point you’ve had to embark on a journey of learning which you only now understand is still in its adolescence. This in a way is bittersweet. When I hit this level I had a buddy who’d been 2000 for a while say to me “Congratulations… you’ve just finished the introductory part of chess.” He wasn’t exactly wrong.
2100 - Because my max chess.com ELO isn’t much higher than this I can’t say much. My long term goal was always 2000 so this was just a cherry on top I never expected to hit. I’d attribute it to improving my form, improving my pawn play, gearing my opening selections to cater to my style of play, and still trying not to blunder everything.
2200 - The first time I hit this rank was so make believe. I was just playing out of my mind and super fast and I wasn’t sure how. That feeling subsided and my results are staggering. I’ve swallowed the pill that most if not all serious players above me at this point are booking up. They are studying the openings deeply and improving their repertoire. Initially I thought that studying openings deeply would suck the fun out of chess. But it turns out that ‘booking up’ is giving me another stone to step on to improve in the game that I love. It only makes sense that if you can look at a position and say “this is theory” or “this is book” that you’ll not only come out of the opening with more pleasant positions but you’ll also save time in blitz. That being said a 2600 can still whoop me with a Grob attack which can be kinda demoralizing lol. There’s definitely a necessity to improve my form and technique to reach the higher levels. Playing slow classical chess again can help me with that.
Anyways, thanks for reading! Hope someone can find enjoyment out of this.
Jan 16, 2023
0
#7
As someone just breaking into that sweet 900+ bracket I have found the puzzles very helpful. Learning to spot patterns and making less mistakes. Once i feel adept at spotting these positions then i plan on learning and practicing the openings in more detail.
mlummy wrote:
I gotta say, as a 400 elo, you are completely underrating EVERYONE below 2000. I just played a 77 accuracy game, had 1 great and 1 brilliant move, and still lost. How pieces move is out of the question; instead, people already know openings well, mating tactics, and positional games.
Here is a game of yours to demonstrate this:
Oh well.
But anyway, the opening post is comedy, it is not to be taken seriously.
Jan 16, 2023
0
#9
magipi wrote:
mlummy wrote:
I gotta say, as a 400 elo, you are completely underrating EVERYONE below 2000. I just played a 77 accuracy game, had 1 great and 1 brilliant move, and still lost. How pieces move is out of the question; instead, people already know openings well, mating tactics, and positional games.
Here is a game of yours to demonstrate this:
Oh well.
But anyway, the opening post is comedy, it is not to be taken seriously.
Okay, its not really fair to pick 1 game out of hundreds, where I learned how to deal with that trick after. Heres the game I was talking about:
I think I lost due to my opponent having better endgame play, but it still exceeds (on both sides) the 100-500 description.
100 - 500: This is a true beginner. Some people here are just learning how the pieces move. Anyone stuck in this area just needs to start learning basic concepts like mating with two rooks (maybe mating with a king and rook), and the four-move checkmate pattern.
600 - 800: Very comfortable with how the pieces move now but board vision is just too slow for blitz and still very foggy in general. Pieces are constantly hung. I recommend these players just take their time, try not to give up material (no free pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, or queens) and remember their mistakes. I didn’t play anything less than 10 minute chess until I was around 1450. Then I dabbled between 10min and 5min. I remember starting some 3 min in the 1750’s but that felt way too fast at the time. Basically speed chess is ruining your progression. Slow down, think, and keep learning what it is you should even be thinking about…
900 - 1000: This is a really fun area of chess to be in. Never get checkmated in 4 moves again. Check out the opening moves of the Giuoco Piano and the Ruy Lopez on YouTube (These are just basic must-knows). Try them in your games. Learn why you can never play the Damiano Defense. Stay alert to your hanging pieces. Always ask yourself what your best move is and what your opponents best reply would be. Anything can happen at this level but it’s the way to get better. I recommend reading chess.com articles by IM Jeremy Silman about your ‘chess disease’ of hanging pieces. Truth is you can never fully cure this ‘disease’ but can only treat it by practicing protecting your pieces. Harsh side effects will likely linger for another 600 rating points, so it’s good that you start trying to fix this ASAP.
1100 - 1300: Your plans are misguided. But the saying is “some plans are better than no plans” and that’s why you beat players rated 1000 and below. Even if your purpose isn’t correct, you’re making moves with purpose.
1400 - Makes little to no serious advances or threats (maybe one or two-move threats). Can succeed at this level by just getting good at not hanging your pieces. I used to just throw down a King’s Indian Defense setup on my kingside (as either the white or black pieces and not knowing it was called that) and just chill. A buddy of mine who is 1400 told me his plan is really just to do nothing and wait for his opponent to mess up… Of course that’s not how chess was meant to be played but it could prove effective at this level. Calculating lines is beginning. You lose at this level not only because you sometimes egregiously miscalculate, but also because you go into positions that you yourself calculated as bad. At this level I remember playing into lines I calculated as bad just because I was so excited I calculated a line. Doh! Grow up as a chess player and don’t do that!
1500 - 1600: Exposing themselves to attacking chess such as bishop sac mating patterns. Calculating lines is beginning but the calculation lacks solidarity in the form of board vision, tactical prowess, and positional understand. The only way to improve each of those things is to continue training tactics and start doing lessons on positional chess play as hard as it may seem. I recommend chess.com’s tactics trainer. I recommend ChessTempo’s tactics trainer. I recommend chess.com’s lessons on Master Strategy by IM Jeremy Silman (If you try these don’t be too hard on yourself. These are wildly difficult and still give me a TON of trouble but helpful to learn). I also recommend IM Jeremy Silman’s book “Reassess Your Chess” (Yes lots of Silman, he’s just great and so helpful. Wish I could thank him in person and shake his hand). I also recommend watching John Bartholomew’s “Climbing the Rating Ladder” series on YouTube where you can watch an IM talk through his games against all levels of players.
1700 - A seriously fun player who’s not too different than a 1600 but they can make their decisions a little faster, they’re further along in their tactics, and they’ve shown an interest in positional play. I remember when I first hit 1785 in chess.com blitz it was the first time I felt like a GOD lmao. Not sure why. I was just excited to try and make moves with deeper purpose. When you play with a deep purpose behind your moves and it pays off, nothing is more fulfilling.
1800 - Eyes are slowly but surely opening to positional play. Positional play doesn’t yet guide their games but they are starting to make more adult moves, for example a quiet queen centralization. The only ones who will progress past this point on to 2000 are the ones with a true love and passion for the game. I recommend getting your a$$ whooped by 2000 rated players and trying to figure out what you’re doing wrong. I recommend improving your end games to start capitalizing on small advantages and holding draws in tough spots. Still no need for intensive opening study as long as you’re getting into the middle game without a lost position.
1900 - You’re understanding the difference between reading about positional play and actually executing it. Turns out chess is friggin hard. You don’t understand what is separating you from a 2000 rated opponent who most of the time seems to just keep magically finding a way. But just continue learning new things and try to play as accurately and speedy as a 2000 and you will get there.
2000 - You’ve done it. You’ve crossed the magical expert mark. Your chess games are clear conversations. You may not speak as elegantly as a grandmaster but your moves say something. “I want to control this square,” “I want to ignore my opponents threats and make my own,” “I want to pawnstorm,” and so on. To get to this point you’ve had to embark on a journey of learning which you only now understand is still in its adolescence. This in a way is bittersweet. When I hit this level I had a buddy who’d been 2000 for a while say to me “Congratulations… you’ve just finished the introductory part of chess.” He wasn’t exactly wrong.
2100 - Because my max chess.com ELO isn’t much higher than this I can’t say much. My long term goal was always 2000 so this was just a cherry on top I never expected to hit. I’d attribute it to improving my form, improving my pawn play, gearing my opening selections to cater to my style of play, and still trying not to blunder everything.
2200 - The first time I hit this rank was so make believe. I was just playing out of my mind and super fast and I wasn’t sure how. That feeling subsided and my results are staggering. I’ve swallowed the pill that most if not all serious players above me at this point are booking up. They are studying the openings deeply and improving their repertoire. Initially I thought that studying openings deeply would suck the fun out of chess. But it turns out that ‘booking up’ is giving me another stone to step on to improve in the game that I love. It only makes sense that if you can look at a position and say “this is theory” or “this is book” that you’ll not only come out of the opening with more pleasant positions but you’ll also save time in blitz. That being said a 2600 can still whoop me with a Grob attack which can be kinda demoralizing lol. There’s definitely a necessity to improve my form and technique to reach the higher levels. Playing slow classical chess again can help me with that.
Anyways, thanks for reading! Hope someone can find enjoyment out of this.