its a perception, the people eventually increase their lvl, but that means chance intheir own ELO, the 1000 ELO lvl always be in the same type of mistakes, blunders and inaccuracy. just have fun and try to prac tice more tactics and play less bullets
Has competition gotten tougher at all levels?
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900 bots are way easier to beat than 900 rated people.
Jan 7, 2026
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#4
Rating deflation is real. I don't feel as though I've actually improved a lot over the last year, and yet still I find that the 1200s I'm playing against right now are a lot easier to beat than the 900s I briefly struggled against a year ago.
Maybe I actually did get better. Who knows? All I know is that the game seems to be considerably easier at a noticeably higher rating, which is strange.
Jan 7, 2026
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#5
#4 check the account ages of the people you play, they could've just made their account and not have an accurate rating since 1200 is a default rating, where 900 you have to either work up or fall down to
Jan 7, 2026
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#6
I'm not sure whether I'm at my peak elo of 2100 because I've gotten better or because the general standard has gotten worse - i don't think it's gotten tougher, however
Jan 7, 2026
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#7
MasonEx wrote:
#4 check the account ages of the people you play, they could've just made their account and not have an accurate rating since 1200 is a default rating, where 900 you have to either work up or fall down to
I actually didn't think of that. However, I only ever take open challenges, instead of starting my own games, so that I'm less likely to get paired against a new account because chances are it could be a banned cheater who just made another account. And upon taking a look at these games, I can confirm every person I've played against since reaching the 1200s (as of this writing) has been on the website for two years or more, including one who's been here for twelve years.
Jan 7, 2026
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#8
It has become tougher but it depends on the individual. I remember that I was playing a rated 1300+ chess player, and I was 800+, and I beat him by resignation. 😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈
Konigsjagger wrote:
its a perception, the people eventually increase their lvl, but that means chance intheir own ELO, the 1000 ELO lvl always be in the same type of mistakes, blunders and inaccuracy. just have fun and try to prac tice more tactics and play less bullets
Oh yeah, don't worry. I focus on fun and learning, I don't care about my elo at all. It was just something that made me wonder.
I've gone through my game history today to look something up, and noticed my rating has decreased about 200 points since I signed up late September 25. I selected 1200/Intermediate when I started, I had played before, knew the basics and tactics. My first win was a little above 900. Then I sank to 800, 750, 700.. and dipped below 700 earlier today.
But even tough I'm improving at a glacial rate, if at all, it doesn't feel like I've gotten worse. It just feels like players all around the world are collectively getting better. I can still beat a 900 chess bot too, without even trying hard. What's going on here? Is it the COVID aftermath, when many people got into chess sitting at home? Is it because courses and computers are getting better? The gothamchess videos?