AMA 2026 Want Chess Advice or have interesting questions? ask away

don't really know what you mean by that but just chess

preferably CM as its a FIDE title and carries a lot more weight when playing around the world in competitions or coaching. I like the NM title as its a very “simple” title that i would argue is the most “american” title of all time in the sense that anyone can attain it within 2-4 years at a young age if they put in the work. that being said for CM the reason why its a lot more difficult is due to the cultural impact and lack of FIDE events within the USA to make significant improvement in 2 years with a lot of rating growth. you are more likely to gain a lot of national rating (USCF in my case) than FIDE rating given the availability of those events so for me that makes it more difficult and important to show than NM but i wouldn’t be super proud of it compared to FM or IM

How many years would it take from not knowing chess, starting at 20yo to get each raying in your mind? Also, what does each one represent, not just stand for?

it is 100% possible i became NM when i returned to chess by the end of my sophmore year fully dedicating a nearly 2 year gap from junior to senior to become NM so it can be done just takes a lot of work and commitment went from 1100 all the way to 2200

it depends on the person so cant really give an exact estimate but if your 20 and lets say trying to get to 2000-2200 id say it would take you around 2-4 years same to about 1800 for anything lower no idea but with genuine effort it could either be done fast within weeks or months climbing to 1000+ etc or can be really slow so yeah

What would you think is the main difference from 2000-2100 vs 2100-2200

What is your favorite food to eat in a chess endgame?

i don’t really eat food in endgames but i drink coke zero hahaha

if i am studying or looking at something i am either always eating mcdonalds or rarely chipotle

The Intuition and Evaluation Aspect many 2000-2100 rely on opening preparation and tactics than that “natural feel” for finding good moves on instinct. that’s arguably a reason why i got to NM as i saw many players at that range were amazing at openings but really sucked at endgames cause they only prioritize winning advantage with engine lines than knowing what’s happening. they have a very “warped” sense of understanding focusing on tactics than positional ideas so i think that if you just study a little bit like minimal opening systems to not be outplayed by engine prep and get a playable position if you are a really strong intuitive player you are likely to outplay them imo

its hard in the sense that you have to be extremely tenacious with each move in order to convert the full point. there are some games where the advantage makes it really easy to play but in others its extremely complicated so you have to burn a lot of time evaluating not just calculating. the major thing about masters is they evaluate not just calculate so i think if you are able to see what they are trying to do and negate it you are very likely to win if not minimal draw

How would you go about making an opening repertoire? This is what i am clueless of... If i make it out from the opening im mostly ok. Any openings where i have as little so called theory? Still i would like it to be thinking and not a brainless system. Thanks for the tips!

How do you get a title past just beating a titled player in skill?

Does a chicken have lips?

How excited were you when you got your title?

try looking at your games seeing what openings you feel comfortable playing and compare it with your style to see whether or not you like it. lets say you are a positional player you could be looking at openings like london, catalan, QG, or even many sidelines entering closed ruy lopez whereas if you are more tactical taking consideration in playing sicillian etc. personally i didnt have much of a “serious” opening repertoire and played more opening systems than having any type of preparation which is an issue on my end and something i have to work on as well when trying to attain other titles like FM or IM. i would recommend looking at an opening database like the masters using lichess as its free and you could work out what works best seeing the positions you end up with generally

well… i had to get to 2200 and really there isn’t much else to say i just naturally had to be beating players U2200 at a very consistent rate and some higher than me to get 2200 which took a very dedicated run for nearly 2 years. sometimes i would get an upset and other times its simply difficult and would have a bad day but as long as you got back from your losses and kept aiming for some form of consistency and dedication improvement will show up eventually imo if thats your goal

the title meant a lot to me as i was struggling with my health a lot having really bad experiences so when i first got it i didn’t cry at first but was extremely thrilled throwing a party inviting some of my friends to dinner with prize money and playing chess till late as usual with them. when i got back in the car and one of them drove me home i think i shed a tear and was just very relieved in general that i had finally not become such a burden in my head and it made me feel genuinely happy

there was also personal reasons such as my mothers passing that played a huge impact cause she told me i would become a strong player but she wasn’t able to see it so that night it felt very heavy on me as i realized i accomplished my goal but she couldn’t be there to enjoy it with me as i hoped. nonetheless i was grateful to everyone for their support and simply i wasn’t at a right place at the time but the title for me represented some type of healing that i needed to get to be able to accept that times are changing many of my friends and family are “gone” and i need to be happy for me

in retrospect as i stated in another comment idk where i would have been had i not accomplished the title or chess didn’t exist for some players it has this weight where the results are just worth it carrying so much emotional burden that at least for me i was breaking down a lot and really wouldn’t have been the same if i had not found chess in my life

ok thanks for the game

great

Kowarenai is the London system a good opening for beginners to intermediate?