On the Ever-Moving Goalpost of Chasing the ELO Dragon
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I'm part of the 'Queen's Gambit' cohort of chess players and am really only interested in casual play. No aspirations (or illusions) of mastery much less that of the grand type. With that in mind I have set a modest goal of achieving 1000 in rapid. I'm curious to hear about others' experiences of their own goals (past or present) and if reaching those goals has only set you up for the desire for higher rating.
I never set myself any goals as I was improving. When I had an 1800 rating, I wanted to be 2000. When I was 2000 I wanted to get to 2200. And then to 2300 (alas...). For me not setting any specific goals with a set time to achieve the goal in, but just 'wanting to get better', was enough, although as a chess trainer I would say that setting a realistic goal is probably better for someone that wants to go about it in a more organized manner. I could have been a stronger player if I had been more serious and more organized about it.
The one thing I'd want to highlight though is that the goals need to be realistic. I've also seen unrealistic goals, like getting to 1000 within 2 months or winning a national championship this year. The problem with unrealistic goals is that if you don't reach your goal, you'll have an inherent feeling of failure. That can cause people to quit chess.
So, it all depends. If you have set yourself a reasonable goal with a reasonable path leading to that goal and you get there with still feeling chess is a fun game, it'll only be a natural thing to want to get even stronger. But if you've reached your goal without having fun along the way or haven't gotten to your (unrealistic) goal, it might mean that you don't want to have anything to do with the game anymore. That's why the number 1 rule should always be to enjoy yourself, to have fun and to never forget that you're just playing a game.
Nov 2, 2021
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#3
Respectfully, that seems like a fairly modest goal for you. You're nearly there already after just a year! I think you'll achieve a much higher rating than that in time. I set a goal of reaching 1100 by the end of October and I was delighted when I did it. I knew how to play already though. I'm weighing up what my next goal should be. It's hard to strike a balance between challenging and unambitious.
Nov 2, 2021
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#4
Had almost the same experience as you, when chess got popular I started playing for fun, I also had a goal of 1,000 elo and I got it through playing a bunch of games and watching a couple chess YouTube videos
