Sandbagging is a real problem at 1500

@CR1NN

I went from 1700 bullet to 2000 in a month once. Now you realize just how much smaller that gap is than you think.

Relax with the trash talk they weren't insulting you

That's bullet tho

@BigChessplayer665

I wasn't trash talking, I just wanna see how long it takes until he...

Stupid quotes not working!

k

That’s not normal

He could've been 1800 blitz if so that's doable for that level

Doable, but not really normal by improvement standards

I think it's more normal to get stuck at a level for a little bit then jump up by 100-200 points

@BigChessplayer665

Last time I played blitz before going from 1700-2000 bullet, i was 1600 level. And After reaching 2000, I was still struggling to beat 1800s.

@cR1NN 

That’s not normal

Of course it is. Nowadays, people just don't know how to improve properly.

It's ok, my friend. : smile

Your using the word normal wrong it happens all the time but that doesn't mean it's frequent it's typically more common at lower levels than higher levels

Sometimes what happens is you get "stuck " for months at a certain level then jump up a couple hundred points that's more normal then just jumping up 300 points in a month

It happens but it's not super frequent

If it was normal you’d be able to replicate it.

When I was improving in blitz, from 1700-2000 I improved 100 points a month, for example

If it was normal you’d be able to replicate it.

When I was improving in blitz, from 1700-2000 I improved 100 points a month, for example

Well Idk about blitz. I never experienced 1600-1850, except for provisionally.

Bullet that's more common but most people don't play bullet

If it was normal you’d be able to replicate it.

When I was improving in blitz, from 1700-2000 I improved 100 points a month, for example

Well Idk about blitz. I never experienced 1600-1850, except for provisionally.

Bullet that's more common but most people don't play bullet

From what I've seen, they do, maybe blitz and rapid more, but still some bullet

Its very possible they are tilted. A while ago I had 2 very good chess weeks and gained much rating and came to a 1740 rating. Then I kept losing and losing and a week or 2 ago I was back ar 1580 or so. Sometimes you just have very good or very bad weeks. It's not sandbagging at all. Also, who would want to lose hundreds of points on purpose?

It doesn't need to be 'on purpose'. If a person plays half-heartedly and loses 200 points through early resignations, sloppy play and playing while drunk etc, this is still rating manipulation. It means that the players they come up against at the lowest point of their tilt are being unfairly disadvantaged.

I am playing at a much lower level, but I have dropped, and I sure am not sandbagging. I have wondered what has happened, several thoughts occur to me:

1. I get into phases where I am trying out some new opening or defense; get clobbered for awhile as a result.

2. Like a lot of low-level players I have the rating I have because I blunder a lot. I'm a "well over 1300 player when I don't blunder." The same is true to a lesser degree of players at 1500 ... you need to get up over 2000 to be in the league where players blunder little. I get into runs where I blunder, and drop. Conversely when I don't blunder I probably look like a "sandbagger" to you.

3. At the lower levels there are players moving up rapidly, because they joined chess.com and are working up to their natural level. I have gotten plastered by players who quickly moved up hundreds of points above me afterwards. For whatever reason, I ran into a short string of these.

3. Cheating? Several times I have been just pasted by low-level players making really great moves, but on analysis they aren't making the best moves (they don't need to, because I am pretty crummy), so who knows?

Whatever, even the cheaters if that's what they are, playing chess here is a gift, and worrying about your online rating is immature. If you want to obsess about ratings, go play real tournaments. Otherwise, when you get beaten do the analysis and try to improve your game.