How I Gained 100 Elo in 5 Days (I’m Still a Beginner)
My elo was stuck at around 470. I felt like I never would improve. Every time I would have a great win streak but then it was followed by a losing streak, keeping my elo stuck in the same place. It’s frustrating. But then my sister pointed out a few small habits that really helped me.. If you can these three habits, you can start climbing again. I’m still a beginner, but these three mindset changes helped me stop throwing games and finally climb. And it would mean the world to me if we could get 100+ people to read this blog 🥹😅
1. Slow Down Before Every Move
My sister taught me I don’t need to rush my moves. Think about your pieces and your opponent’s ideas. Find where your pieces are most active. This way, you avoid blundering pieces as much. I know you’ve probably heard this advice before, but once you think through, and make a plan, it actually feels like a superpower.
2. Have Confidence
If you accidentally blunder a pawn or piece, don’t give up! There’s always a chance of you getting a comeback. You should never resign unless it’s forced mate or something else. If you’re down a pawn, it’s not the end of the world, my sister told me. So keep telling yourself: I can do this, I can do this.
“Self confidence is very important. It is better to overestimate your prospects than underestimate them.” -Magnus Carlsen.
3. Try your best
It’s ok if you lose. It doesn’t affect you if you lose. If you play with this mindset, you don’t freak out when you lose. You simply pick yourself up, focus on your good moves rather than your bad, and try again. Don’t focus on the bad, focus on the good! This way, you concentrate better and you can play better.
Finally, I will show you my accuracy in two chess games: one without this mindset, and one with this mindset.
Below this text is a game with this great mindset:
This was one of my calmest games, and my accuracy was much higher than usual. 96.9 accuracy is not something you get everyday.
And the following picture shows a game without this great mindset:
I played much worse in this and got a game rating of 450. There is a difference as you can clearly tell. I know one game doesn’t prove everything, but it shows how much calmer I played.
Good luck! Take care!
