Journey to Mastery – Episode 3: The Premium Breakthrough

 The 1200 Struggle 

September 2024. My chess journey felt like running on a treadmill—lots of movement, zero progress. My rating was stuck at 1200, and no matter how many games I played, I couldn’t break through.

I tried everything.

• Watching grandmasters play, hoping their skills would transfer to me via osmosis.😬
• Playing aggressive gambits, thinking "If I attack hard enough, they’ll blunder!" (spoiler: they didn’t).🥲
• Even attempting "next-level psychology" by premoving random moves to confuse my opponents.😂😅

Nothing worked.

Then, I got Chess.com Premium for a month.

I felt like a kid who just got access to unlimited candy. Puzzle Rush? I spammed it. Game Review? Used it on every game. Drills? Tried them all.(Not really 😅)

But the first time I used the Coach feature, it felt like being personally roasted by Stockfish😭.

"Blunder, Blunder, Missed win, Inaccuracy , Mistake. Have you considered taking up checkers?"

Okay, it didn’t actually say that, but it might as well have.🥲

The Blitz Addict Intervention

For the longest time, I was a blitz addict. Fast, chaotic, and full of adrenaline—I lived for it. Who needed slow, careful thinking when I could flag my opponents instead?

Then, Kashinadhmg, my friend , dropped some wisdom on me:

"Play more rapid, dude."

Me: "Rapid? That’s for old people who still play on wooden boards."

But after weeks of getting outplayed in blitz and being told by Stockfish that my moves were “completely losing” (not just bad, but completely losing), I finally decided to cave in.

And suddenly, things started making sense.

In rapid, I actually had time to think. My blunders decreased. I stopped hanging my queen for fun. And then, something magical happened:

By December, I was 1600.

Endgame Wizardry 

I used to think endgames were boring. My strategy was simple: "Just checkmate them before we even get there."

Turns out, opponents don’t always cooperate.😅

So I forced myself to learn endgames—pawn races, Lucena positions, Philidor defenses. At first, it was painful. But then, I started outplaying people in equal endgames. Suddenly, I wasn’t just surviving—I was winning. Practicing endgames helped with my calculational abilities it fueled my training. I fell in love with endgames❤️. It changed my game to a whole new level.😎

And with that, my rating climbed:

1500. 1600. All in December.

This was unheard of. Was I… actually getting good?🤯

The Rivalry That Fueled Me

Now, while I was celebrating my success, there was one friendly problem,Kashinadhmg was always ahead.

Every time I caught up, he had already moved forward. It was like tom and jerry(me being tom and trying to chase him who is Jerry ofcourse)🤣.

"Oh, you hit 1600? That’s cute, I’m 1800 now."
"1700? Congrats, I just hit 1900."

(Blooper- non of these conversations happened irl, I was just going on with the flow 😁. He actually supported my journey) But one thing was clear he had an edge over me.

I started checking his rating more than I checked my own. It became personal.

The January Rating Explosion

ME IN JANUARY☝🏻

Then came January 2025.

Something clicked. My brain had downloaded a chess engine update.

1700? Boom.🤯

1800? Boom.🤯

It felt like I was in GOD mode. Suddenly, I was predicting my opponents’ moves, calculating deeper than ever, and handling time pressure like a seasoned pro.

Then, the moment arrived. My opponent resigned.

A notification popped up: "New ACHIEVEMENT: RAPID -1800."

I just sat there. 300 points in two months?! This was unreal.

Then I checked Kashinadhmg’s rating.

2000.

Of course.

The Chase Isn’t Over

So here I am, 1800 and still chasing.

I don’t know what Episode 4 will bring, but one thing is for sure—I’m coming for 1900 next.

The chase continues.

(Spoiler- The next episode will feature my best games during this amazing time and my milestone games along with key things to learn from those games😉. Don't tell anyone though🤫. Stay tuned for next episode and leave your valuable comments below.)

 THANK YOU