Sceptical


Erm what #20
I have a supply of eye bleach if needed
Please. I need some right now.

I don't understand the bit about 'depends on what community you play', As a newbie I just hit the 15/10 button for a rapid game. It doesn't make sense to me that a player rated below 1000 can seem to understand the first 6 or 7 moves against the Pirc, Caro-Kann defence or the Ruy Lopez or Vienna openings, almost perfectly without any inaccuracies. I'm not saying they don't make mistakes or blunders as the game progresses but don't all of us under an ELO of say 1800. I would think that both Chess.com and Lychess are determining our level based on how we play after a sufficient number of games, Surely they can't be hugely different. If they are, and we play on both websites, how are we meant to properly understand our estimated rating. Perhaps it's that I played so long on Lychess first. All a bit confusing.
You're under 1000 and understand the openings/positions but your opponents can't! 🤔
A lot of lower rated players study openings and can enter the middle game with no big errors. It's actually pretty common, even in OTB official rated chess. I had an opponent in a tournament, rated under 700 play an essentially even opening almost 20 moves deep, only messing up in a tactical position.