How long did it take you to get to an 1800 rating?

I'm surprised that a 1900+ USCF cannot get over 1800 on this site.

I can make all types of excuses

a) I didnot play for 8 years and am extremely rusty.

b) I have a completely new repertoire for white and black against e4 and d4.

c) I say I am going to study but I never actually do.

d) the majority of my opponents in daily are ranked between 1900 and 2200 and I lose a lot.

e) I am not consistent at all. I have won against multiple 2050+ level opponents and then turn around and lose to a 1200.

but the real reality is that I probably am just not actually a good player.

Correspondence players above 1800 on this site are generally quite solid. I’ve run into three types. 1) genuinely good blitz and bullet players who move fast, 2) serious correspondence players who use available resources to the fullest, and 3) cheaters.

I recently played two games against one of the first group. I beat him positionally and tactically with White. With Black, I sacked a piece overlooking that my plan to win it back five moves later would hang my bishop. Nonetheless, his rapid play caused some inaccuracies that allowed me to reach a drawn ending.

about 2 years

I guess you are in the second group then? Since your corresponding are higher then Rapid/Blitz.

For me my Rapid is higher then corresponding.

I prefer Rapid, so when I play daily I am a bit lazy. I stop and calculate sure but I do not enjoy to spend to much time on a move.

I would say that 1800 (Elo, not sure about chess.com) is the first significant grade and that it is unachievable for the vast majority of casual players so I wouldn't get too hung up about it.

I don't think that 1600 players enjoy chess any less than 2000 players. Being driven by rating is a road to unhappiness.

This is where I spent my weekend. Won three, lost one. Took my usual third round bye. I’m too old to play until 11:00 pm and be fresh the next morning. Rating dropped 15 points.

I want to do it alone. As you can see I managed to become chess.com 2000 and 2200 on the other site by myself. While many others have professional coaches but stay 1600 below.

i just watched a video about this site closing 66k accounts for cheating. weird thing, on here ive been struggling at the 1250 level for hat ever reason. then just now i smoked a 2200 bot. what gives? (thread "did the ratings system chsnge" has the game). lichesss you can jump 300 points if you continue to win. beat a 2200 on there and youll immediately go to 2000 or so. takes a few games to settle into a rating.

Can you share the game where you smoked a 2200 bot?

I have been looking at a few of your games that you lost at your level and I do not see a problem of cheating. Looks more like you just miss tactics. Like here you have a forced win

Now everyone misses tactics here and there so it is nothing weird. But doing a lot of puzzles helps a lot.

i played black in this game.

Might you point out the combination to the forced win please? edit: OMG. I actually had to load the scenario in the analyzer to see that forced mate. At this point I am not sure but what I didnt just self diagnose dimentia~

Took me 1 year to reach 1800 with no OTB experience at all , just studying openings and tactics online. I discovered chess randomly and loved it ever since . still have yet to enter a tournament or join a club . I often wonder what my skill level in an OTB event would be like , and if I have any chance of winning at all :3 I also wonder if I had a real chess coach would I be able to ascend above 2000-2500