I'm 33 and started almost two months ago
Older 🧓 Chess Beginner - My Experience So Far
Sort:
I’m 61 and I’ve been playing for about a year. It’s normal for your Elo rating to be low when you start out. As for the puzzles, I’ve scored over 300,000 points, but I find them a bit repetitive. I prefer to practise on lichess.org.
As for Elo ratings, I couldn’t care less. What interests me is the beauty of the game, the strategy and the tactics. Personally, my lowest Elo was 108 (the minimum is 100), and my highest was 378. With three months’ experience, it’s normal to make mistakes; everyone does, whatever their level. You learn more from defeats; you make the same mistakes, but little by little, you learn to spot them, and as time goes on, you learn to avoid them.
Personally, I don’t know any openings. I play an ‘adaptive’ London System for White. As for Black, I haven’t settled on any particular defence.
If you’re interested, we can play friendly 15/10 games or 3-day correspondence matches. I regularly play 15/10 games with friends; it gives us a chance to chat and point out our opponent’s mistakes. I also watch the games when my friends are playing; we get an outside perspective, and I find that useful. We spot tactics that the player doesn’t necessarily see, as they don’t have the outside perspective that the spectator has. And I let my friend know when they’ve missed a checkmate, for example, once the game’s over.
I’m almost 90 years old. Started playing about a year ago. I had taught my son the basics in 1982 when he was 10 years old.
I hadn’t played since then. My son went on to win high school championship. I started a year ago with a 600 rating, now at 735. Can’t say I’m advancing much but that is not why I play.
I think I have actually won only two games. Have advanced rating wise by others resigning or timing out. My son tells me to count those as wins. I consider winning is when I checkmate the opponent.
My biggest mistake is not taking time to look at all the pieces and try analyzing future moves.
I play London System as white and “hippo” as black. Trying to learn a different black defense.
I hadn’t played since then. My son went on to win high school championship. I started a year ago with a 600 rating, now at 735. Can’t say I’m advancing much but that is not why I play.
I think I have actually won only two games. Have advanced rating wise by others resigning or timing out. My son tells me to count those as wins. I consider winning is when I checkmate the opponent.
My biggest mistake is not taking time to look at all the pieces and try analyzing future moves.
I play London System as white and “hippo” as black. Trying to learn a different black defense.
Rosita536 wrote:
I’m almost 90 years old. Started playing about a year ago. I had taught my son the basics in 1982 when he was 10 years old.
I hadn’t played since then. My son went on to win high school championship. I started a year ago with a 600 rating, now at 735. Can’t say I’m advancing much but that is not why I play.
I think I have actually won only two games. Have advanced rating wise by others resigning or timing out. My son tells me to count those as wins. I consider winning is when I checkmate the opponent.
My biggest mistake is not taking time to look at all the pieces and try analyzing future moves.
I play London System as white and “hippo” as black. Trying to learn a different black defense.
I hadn’t played since then. My son went on to win high school championship. I started a year ago with a 600 rating, now at 735. Can’t say I’m advancing much but that is not why I play.
I think I have actually won only two games. Have advanced rating wise by others resigning or timing out. My son tells me to count those as wins. I consider winning is when I checkmate the opponent.
My biggest mistake is not taking time to look at all the pieces and try analyzing future moves.
I play London System as white and “hippo” as black. Trying to learn a different black defense.
Wow, this is amazing. I’m honestly blown away.
Not just your age, but that you’re playing, learning, and sharing this here. It really hit me. Huge respect. Thank you for that, it gives a lot of hope to people like me.
And about your rating, honestly, at your age you’re already at the top. Most chess players would be jealous of that.
Wishing you many more years of playing, maybe all the way to 120 🙂
Fighter-71_FR wrote:
I’m 61 and I’ve been playing for about a year. It’s normal for your Elo rating to be low when you start out. As for the puzzles, I’ve scored over 300,000 points, but I find them a bit repetitive. I prefer to practise on lichess.org.
As for Elo ratings, I couldn’t care less. What interests me is the beauty of the game, the strategy and the tactics. Personally, my lowest Elo was 108 (the minimum is 100), and my highest was 378. With three months’ experience, it’s normal to make mistakes; everyone does, whatever their level. You learn more from defeats; you make the same mistakes, but little by little, you learn to spot them, and as time goes on, you learn to avoid them.
Personally, I don’t know any openings. I play an ‘adaptive’ London System for White. As for Black, I haven’t settled on any particular defence.
If you’re interested, we can play friendly 15/10 games or 3-day correspondence matches. I regularly play 15/10 games with friends; it gives us a chance to chat and point out our opponent’s mistakes. I also watch the games when my friends are playing; we get an outside perspective, and I find that useful. We spot tactics that the player doesn’t necessarily see, as they don’t have the outside perspective that the spectator has. And I let my friend know when they’ve missed a checkmate, for example, once the game’s over.
Yeah sounds good, I’ll add you 👍
If we’re online at the same time and feel like playing, let’s definitely play.
For today I’m done, brain is a bit overloaded and it’s noisy at home, can’t really focus anymore.
But if we catch each other at a good time for both of us, would be great to play, sounds interesting.
Please Sign Up to comment.
If you need help, please contact our Help and Support team.
Hi everyone,
I’m 50 years old and started learning chess about 3 months ago from absolute zero. At the beginning I barely knew how pieces move, didn’t understand draws, and had no real strategy.
Right now:
I play daily a few games per day
I solve a lot of puzzles (my puzzle rating is relatively high)
But my game rating vs real players is still low
I’m inconsistent - sometimes I see ideas, sometimes I blunder badly
What I know so far:
Basic opening idea (mostly Italian Game)
Control the center
Develop pieces
Castle early
Trying to reduce blunders and think more before moving
What I’m struggling with:
Translating puzzle strength into real games
Staying consistent
Dealing with chaotic or “strange” opponents
Not getting frustrated when I play badly
I’m really curious:
👉 Are there others here who started chess late (40s, 50s, or later)?
👉 What was your progress like?
👉 How many games or puzzles do you typically do per day?
👉 How long did it take you to reach certain rating levels?
👉 Are you still improving or did you plateau at some point?
A bit about why I started:
I’ve always liked learning new things - music, sport, work skills - and now chess. Maybe in 10 years I’ll pick up something else again. I believe a person should keep progressing to keep life interesting.
Would love to hear your stories and experiences.
Especially from people who started around my age.
Thanks!