devarajusa wrote:
Stopped Mechanical thinking. Now a queen sacrifice is just like any other move.
Funny, that still sounds mechanical to me.
RoadMap for achieving 2000 Elo rating in 1 year
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My brother is coming over for cigars, chess and coffee in a couple of days.
I am going to introduce him to the chess clock. Last time we played (few weeks ago) he spent about 20 minutes on each of the first five opening moves, then the rest of the time talking about whatever came to mind...
Well, we didn't even get into the middle game before a couple of hours passed and he had to leave.
Am I bitchin'? A little. Mostly humorous. It was a good visit. But...now we gonna have to use a clock...then TALK LATER.
I think 15 minutes per side should be fine. He is going to think: "What the Hell is this, bullet?" (Of course, he wouldn't know what bullet is...but he will feel extremely time restricted.)
Maybe I'll cut him some slack...but no more than 30 minutes per side. I have a life.
Played in my first OTB tourney today, the first day of two days anyway. I asked one 8 year old kid if he had fun after his first match. He resoundedly said "No!!" (he obviously had lost) He then added, "I only have fun when I am crushing them!"
Okay. Lots of those young kids have coaches. One cute little 6 year old girl will hit 2000 some day I think. She had a good attitude and looked like a pro. I think she was a 900 player but didn't see her make any blunders.
DavyWilliams:
When I am playing chess, I do not have a good time unless I am winning (or let's say, making draws against good players). This is completely normal; it's an attitude.
The higher a person's rating gets, the less happiness/more frustration they show. If you don't believe me, go to a tournament where masters and IMs/GMs are playing, and observe how unhappy they are.
To very serious players, chess is not just some pastime. It is a part of our identity.
AndyClifton wrote:
devarajusa wrote:
I was pleasantly surprised to hear from people like pellik and AdvLegitimate who have already achieved this feat of increasing 800 points in an year.
lol...maybe some crapola online thing (but not a real rating).
Yes. I've seen some, what I would call, meteoric rises from junior players. And some first hand accounts from players like Kasparov and Anand. Still, from what I've seen/heard 1200 to 2000 in a year is all but unheard of no matter who you are.
Aug 4, 2012
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#107
waffllemaster wrote:
AndyClifton wrote:
devarajusa wrote:
I was pleasantly surprised to hear from people like pellik and AdvLegitimate who have already achieved this feat of increasing 800 points in an year.
lol...maybe some crapola online thing (but not a real rating).
Yes. I've seen some, what I would call, meteoric rises from junior players. And some first hand accounts from players like Kasparov and Anand. Still, from what I've seen/heard 1200 to 2000 in a year is all but unheard of no matter who you are.
See posts #71 and #86 for pellik's and adv.'s accounts of their personal progress.
And we're supposed to believe that? lol Looks pretty fishy to me...
Andre_Harding wrote:
DavyWilliams:
When I am playing chess, I do not have a good time unless I am winning (or let's say, making draws against good players). This is completely normal; it's an attitude.
The higher a person's rating gets, the less happiness/more frustration they show. If you don't believe me, go to a tournament where masters and IMs/GMs are playing, and observe how unhappy they are.
To very serious players, chess is not just some pastime. It is a part of our identity.
Yes, and it's one of the least appealing things about the game.
That's why I quickly gave up on the game as soon as I got out of high school...well, one of the major reasons anyway.
DavyWilliams wrote:
You all cut the guy a little slack. He's just thinking out loud and trying to help lower players and himself on how to improve. A bit naive perhaps, but his intentions are good. By avoiding blunders for a month, he means looking very hard to make sure you aren't hanging a Queen or rook or minor piece and double and triple checking for it - trying to get the habit of not hanging pieces. And he's looking for suggestions that he may not have considered or know about.
I'm a long way off from 2000 too but trying to improve. But I would add:
1) Read Silman's books and go SLOWLY through them; actually follow and understand all examples. Read them twice. As with ANY book, don't read thru them quickly, but slowly and deliberately. How many of us have whizzed thru a book too fast?)
2) Get a coach if you can afford it.
3) Play higher opponents and forget about your rating for awhile. (this one I should follow more - I look too much at my rating)
4) Do an hour of tactics per day. Listen to videos by GM's here.
5) Pick one opening and one defense until you're 1800 or thereabouts and stick with it, learning all the lines to it. Study more for the middle game and end game.
Okay there's my top 5.
yay!
1) Yes, I have The Complete Book of Chess Strategy. That's why everyone's looking at me weird in the Alekhine's Defense.
2) I have one. It's like... $125 per month. I have about 6-8 classes. That for 8 classes is... 15.62 or 15.63 per class. For six, it's about 20.83.
3) I'm like you.
4) My schedule is clogged, with every once in a while, eight people yelling at me.
5) For white:
e4... Two Knights Defense/Giuoco Piano
For black:
against e4: Giuoco Piano/Giuoco Pianissimo/Opening that i do not know the name of
against d4: Indian Game. I almost won against a player with it today (and a really hard one! I'm in the Upper Intermediate Class and he was Advanced Class (simul!) but I ran out of time). Instead of the Colle/Queen's Gambit.
against c4: Very small time: Reversed Sicilian. Then it transposes into a loss.
against f4: f4 d5
Chessking46 wrote:
yay!
1) Yes, I have The Complete Book of Chess Strategy. That's why everyone's looking at me weird in the Alekhine's Defense.
2) I have one. It's like... $125 per month. I have about 6-8 classes. That for 8 classes is... 15.62 or 15.63 per class. For six, it's about 20.83.
3) I'm like you.
4) My schedule is clogged, with every once in a while, eight people yelling at me.
5) For white:
e4... Two Knights Defense/Giuoco Piano
For black:
against e4: Giuoco Piano/Giuoco Pianissimo/Opening that i do not know the name of
against d4: Indian Game. I almost won against a player with it today. Instead of the Colle/Queen's Gambit.
against c4: Very small time: Reversed Sicilian. Then it transposes into a loss.
against f4: f4 d5
Good work chessking! Some more advice: don't overdo those videos... a few at a time :)
For anyone else who is interested, I teach via Skype online. If you know how the pieces move and are about 1500-1600 on this site, I'll easily get you to 2000 rating, if you put in the effort that chessking is doing. Send me a message.
I'd also suggest the tactics trainer!! 3 puzzles a day keeps the blunders away!
hicetnunc wrote:
waffllemaster wrote:
AndyClifton wrote:
devarajusa wrote:
I was pleasantly surprised to hear from people like pellik and AdvLegitimate who have already achieved this feat of increasing 800 points in an year.
lol...maybe some crapola online thing (but not a real rating).
Yes. I've seen some, what I would call, meteoric rises from junior players. And some first hand accounts from players like Kasparov and Anand. Still, from what I've seen/heard 1200 to 2000 in a year is all but unheard of no matter who you are.
See posts #71 and #86 for pellik's and adv.'s accounts of their personal progress.
I've read them here and in other posts. I'm not saying it's not possible, what's more likely is we don't know all the details.
For example pellik was ~900 and then after 3 years off was 1200? I wish I gained 300 points by not playing at all, never looking at a chess board, never opening a book etc 
AndyClifton wrote:
Andre_Harding wrote:
DavyWilliams:
When I am playing chess, I do not have a good time unless I am winning (or let's say, making draws against good players). This is completely normal; it's an attitude.
The higher a person's rating gets, the less happiness/more frustration they show. If you don't believe me, go to a tournament where masters and IMs/GMs are playing, and observe how unhappy they are.
To very serious players, chess is not just some pastime. It is a part of our identity.
Yes, and it's one of the least appealing things about the game.
Oh yes, they're so unhappy, it must be that someone is holding their loved ones hostage and making them tour the major tournaments year after year. Not to mention all the study time they put in year round. How terrible.
Or, more likely, serious competitors of any sport are... serious when they compete. This is a joke right?
Again, we were talking about (or I was talking about anyway) a real (ie, OTB) rating. Not something online.
I averaged 100 points a year, back when I was actually improving. And I too played every day and read a bit.
AdvLegitimate wrote:
I was as well, I used my starting online to estimate what my OTB would be, my fide is now 1800, so I guessed about 600 points of improvement.
A bit over 10 points a week, which is reasonable, if you were to play every day and read a bit.
lol, no it isn't 
I'm pretty sure he means it's not reasonable. And it isn't.
AdvLegitimate wrote:
waffllemaster wrote:
AdvLegitimate wrote:
I was as well, I used my starting online to estimate what my OTB would be, my fide is now 1800, so I guessed about 600 points of improvement.
A bit over 10 points a week, which is reasonable, if you were to play every day and read a bit.
lol, no it isn't
52 weeks in a year, 10 points a week= 520 points a year.
or did you mean its not reasonable?
Correct. You know that book "rapid chess improvement" ... it promises improvement so rapid that the book reads like an infomercial where the product is too good to be true (well, that's one reason anyway) and he's boasting 400 points in a little over a year provided you sweat blood working his method.
Once I was shown a USCF rating graph, and from plateau to plateau the kid went from 800 to 1500 in a year. That's the most I've ever seen.
So your FIDE rating is established and everything? My FIDE is provisional (and probably inactive or whatever now) and also IMO inflated at a bit over 1900. I don't bother mentioning it because it's only after a few games.
Guy moved to our state from overseas and was probably ~1900 strength but a few good results saw his provisional rating shoot him up to a 2100 established rating. Took him about a year to shed those points.
Little details like this make me take these accounts with a grain of salt. For anyone who wants to post their national or FIDE ID, that's great (if you're comfortable sharing that info) otherwise I maintain a healthy amount of skepticism.
http://main.uschess.org/datapage/ratings_graph.php?memid=13858335
Andy Chen, from USCF 1100 to 1800 in a year. Which is close to the OP, but he worked pretty darn hard to get that. Also, finding time isn't as difficult when being homeschooled compared to those working 9-5.
@e4nf3
You do know that rapid chess is slower than blitz and bullet?
Of course I do, but why would I even mention blitz when I think even rapid is unsuitable for beginners?
Best of all...when you start playing chess don't use a clock at all.
Agreed. Thats what I did. I believe the best way for rapid imrovement is playing chess like Poker. Play fewer games but when you play, play it to 100% of your abilities. I improved a lot by playing out the same game for different variations. For eg, if I win, I dont move onto to another game. I go back to a critical point and take a different route. What I gained from this?
Stopped Mechanical thinking. Now a queen sacrifice is just like any other move.