Chess rating success from Chess.com players

I was wondering if we can get some statistics on Chess.com players (anonymous) that have had ascending rating progress over time. I sent an e-mail to the staff, but they never replied. 

I'm still at a begginer level, started playing seriously last year in May. Sometimes for me to continue I have to have some encouragement, and for that I would like some feedback from players that went from 1400 to 2000+, and how long it took them.

From my research I found out it took some player 10 years for 2000+, others 8 years, one grandmaster started playing at 19 years and achieved the title in 13 years. 

Generally I would like to see an average based on a larger sample, so if there are any Chess.com staff members reading this, could you please forward this to your technicians? =)

If there are any players that have had good rating progress, could you please post how long it took you to achieve where you are now and at what age did you start to play seriously?

I started last year at age 24 with Blitz rating 800.

Thanks!

After joining chess.com, I went from unrated (1200) to 2100 in nine months.

Of course... to be fair I was already a 2000-rated OTB player when I registered on this site.

There would be too variables in a random group of chess.com members such as:-

Time spent in study and what books etc were used.

Number of games played and strength of opposition,

Motivation/enthusiasm,

Coaching,

and of course Talent.

... and luck. Don't forget that factor.

blueemu: funny =) but how long did it take you to go from zero to hero? :)

Ziggzblitz: thats true, but if we have an estimate that lets say 100 players achieved an average rating progress of around 200 points in 2 years at age 20+, it would give me as a begginer some hope :)

chess_sss: an IM told me once, but I forgot the name, I'll post it when i find out.

Bryan Smith has stated that he didn't learn the rules until he was 13 years old.

Now, some twenty-odd years later, he's a GM!

I learned the moves at 11. Started taking it seriously in high school (at 15?). Reached 2000 rating around 18 or 19 years old. Stopped playing actively in my early 20s. Drew Tal (in a clock exhibition game) at 33 or so (in 1988). Stopped playing altogether a couple of years later. Started again (online only) last year.

Before chess.com I think around my rating was about 1000 or so on redhotpawn.  I had some friends and played them once a week, so I knew the moves (other than en passant anyway).  I joined chess.com in 2010.  I think around 2 years later I got to 2000 on chess.com, fell back below it, and recently climbed above 2000 again.  On chessworld I went from 1100 to 2100 in a little over a year.

Now I'm aiming for 2000 OTB, but it's not really my real goal, since I already know I can get it if I try hard enough for long enough.  My more challenging goal is to have my posts in yellow 

I used to think I started taking chess seriously when I started playing online.  Then I thought I took it seriously when I met a 2000 correspondence player about a year afterwards.  Then I thought I took it seriously when I got interested in chess books.  Then I thought I took it seriously when I went to my first scholastic tourneys about 1.5 years ago.  Then I thought I took it seriously when I started playing in open tourneys.  And so on.  Now I think I'm taking it seriously because I just had my first coaching lesson. 

Blueemu & SJFG: Thanks for the feedback and might I say wow, you got some skillz :) keep up the good work!

chess_sss: I think the player's name was Laszlo Szabo.

Great source: http://www.ohiochessacademy.com/results.html

This is also a good source of info: http://www.chessmaniac.com/index.php/2012/05/25/the-psychology-of-chess/

Well, I'm not a 2000 player yet. But I started playing chess at about 6-8 years old. I started taking it seriously at about 15. I'm now 21 and only 1700 OTB :( lol. I think it depends on your learning ability (mine was generally good) and your natural talent (mine was poor)

chessman_calum: I always remember Gladwell's 10k hrs quote when I'm self-conscious about my progress. I spent about 300-400 hrs on chess.com, so I guess there is room for improvement :)

I started playing in a club a 14 although I learnt the moves earlier. Reached national master some 30 years later. But playing time has been pretty much off and on since about 25 when RL (aka "work") entered into it. I've been between 1900-2200 OTB in strength for the last few years although I don't play much serious chess at the moment.

I don't know how many hours I've been playing - but I've been playing nearly every day since I was 15 (on chess.com and in real life), so surely a fair few hours?

FeeroMaljinn: Thanks for the post! excellent work btw :)

chessman_calum: many high rated players said to analize your games, find your common mistakes and correct them, so I'll definitely try to follow these guidelines. Studying the right material is also a cruical element for progress, and with it I keep getting the picture of the guy who sculpted a bolder into a ball... captioned work smart not hard :) Some say that tactics can also be consolidated with repetition, mastering the basics and combining them to create some art :) What I wanted to say is that when I'll hit a wall, I'll definitely try to find someone or some book that can help me reasess my chess

I estimate I've gone up a solid 200+ points since coming to Chess.com in December.

Mostly because at that time I decided to start studying and playing longer games.

I think these 200+ points have probably been not too difficult. It mostly accounts for breaking bad habits like hanging pieces and developing some new basic habits.

1800 by the end of the year is my current goal. I suspect this next 300 will be much more difficult than the first 200.

kleelof: good luck, thanks for commenting and keep us updated :)

Please give us the name of the GM who started chess at age 19, Spidolino. Thanks.

FYI Laszlo Szabo won the Hungarian Championship at the age of 18.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/László_Szabó_(chess_player)

No other GM with the same name I think.