Should I be discouraged by progress?
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jasonmullett
Sep 3, 2018
0
#1
I first learned how to play chess about 1 1/2 yrs ago. I played occasionally till I became more serious about studying and practicing about 3 to 4 months ago. I have tried to play or do tactics about 1 to 2 hrs per day since. I feel like my ratings should be climbing higher, faster. I have a goal of 2000 but unsure of what it will take to get there. I have reached a high of 1543 in tactics, 1209 in rapid and 1193 in 10 min blitz. Am I just too impatient or is my goal of 2000 just to far? How long should it take to reach 2000 considering my current progress. Is it years in the making? What are some of your stories of progress? Any pointers for advancing quickly?
Sep 3, 2018
0
#2
Looking at your blitz rating graph, you were pretty solidly a 900 rated player two months ago. Now you're 1100. Gaining 200 points in 2 months is super fast and can only happen for beginners. For almost everyone else gaining 200 points in 1 year is great progress.
"Is it years in the making?"
Haha 
The best players in the world (as in future world champions) got to 2000 in about 2 years.
So yes, it's "years in the making" lol
It's also something like the top 95 percentile. In other words most people never make it. There are plenty of people who have played for 20 years and are below 1600 (although playing and studying are different of course. You need both to improve).
"What are some of your stories of progress"
I mostly played 3 minute blitz and 1 minute bullet when I was new. As a result (and maybe because I have no talent?) I improved very slowly. About 100 points a year in the beginning.
Then I started taking it more seriously. I got some books and started going to a chess club and tournaments. Still I improved slowly, but consistently, about 100 points a year. As I got better it was more like 100 points every two years. I've been playing chess for about 15 years.
You can definitely aspire to do better than my rate of progress, but like I said before, even super talented kids with professional coaches and the backing of their government require a few years to get to 2000.
Sep 3, 2018
0
#4
Preggo_Basashi thanks for your great response. I guess I just need to keep at it and it could take some time. I am 37 years old and sometimes I wonder if I am starting to late to be able to advance that high but I am going to keep trying. Seems like 1200 is like a ceiling for me. I wandered over it for a bit in Rapid but have not been able to crack it since.
Maybe achievable goal within two years if you keep up with lessons (internet rating). Once you reach 1800, it will be difficult since you may be playing against 1900+ players. OTB, you need to dedicate a lot more hours to achieve that rating since you started late. Good luck.
Sep 3, 2018
0
#7
jasonmullett wrote:
Preggo_Basashi thanks for your great response. I guess I just need to keep at it and it could take some time. I am 37 years old and sometimes I wonder if I am starting to late to be able to advance that high but I am going to keep trying. Seems like 1200 is like a ceiling for me. I wandered over it for a bit in Rapid but have not been able to crack it since.
When I was new and starting to play a lot, around age 18-19, I thought 1300 was maybe as high as I could go because that rating seemed invincible and amazing. So my goal was 1300, and I wasn't sure if I could do it.
After I got there, I thought ok, I think I can still learn some stuff, and I'm still making mistakes, so now I'll try for 1500-1600.
Then for a few years 1700 seemed impossible. And I'd read online people saying stuff like "I got to 1700 so fast without studying anything and 1700s are so dumb, and how do I get better" and I'd be mad because to me 1700 was (like 1300 previously) super amazing.
(after that I didn't really have any goals and just studied and played because I enjoyed it)
Sep 3, 2018
0
#8
BobbyTalparov wrote:
Some slightly inaccurate things here.
1) You do not stop seeing the large jumps in rating until about 1900. Before that, it is quite common to see someone jump 200, 400, or even 600 points in a single year. It is more common with kids, but can happen with adults as well (I went up 700 points in my first year of competitive chess).
200 points a year I can believe.
But lets say an adult going from 1400 to 1800 in a year? A 400 point increase?
To me that would be super impressive. I've never seen it.
2) The idea that the top players reached 2000 in 2 years is a bit misleading.
I didn't say top players in general, just a few I looked up in the past who were very fast. Kasparov for example had an interview about how good he was at certain ages. He wasn't FIDE rated yet but he called it "first category player" or something, which I later read corresponded to roughly 2000 FIDE. He had been playing for only 2 years. They reached 2000 FIDE in 2 years after their first FIDE rated event (for the younger generation), but had been playing for years prior to that. It is quite common for kids to play 1-2 years of competitive, but unrated, games, and another 1-3 years of events only rated by their federation. Additionally, the older players all had their first FIDE rating of 2000 because that was the floor (if your performance was below that, you remained unrated).
In Kasparov's first few years of rated FIDE events he was like... a GM or something lol. But yeah, like you said he'd been playing before that, of course.
To the OP: if you are looking to improve, blitz is not the way to do it. Even without looking at your games, I can be pretty sure that you drop pieces, miss tactics, ignore your opponent's threats, and overall have no idea of a proper thinking process. To fix those issues, you need to play longer time controls (OTB is best for this) and learn to analyze your games so you can learn from them.
Sep 3, 2018
0
#9
jasonmullett wrote:
I first learned how to play chess about 1 1/2 yrs ago. I played occasionally till I became more serious about studying and practicing about 3 to 4 months ago. I have tried to play or do tactics about 1 to 2 hrs per day since. I feel like my ratings should be climbing higher, faster. I have a goal of 2000 but unsure of what it will take to get there. I have reached a high of 1543 in tactics, 1209 in rapid and 1193 in 10 min blitz. Am I just too impatient or is my goal of 2000 just to far? How long should it take to reach 2000 considering my current progress. Is it years in the making? What are some of your stories of progress? Any pointers for advancing quickly?
1. Lay off the blitz, and fast time controls. When youre learning, and trying to improve, playing fast doesnt give you time to think, and use what youre trying to learn. Fast chess instill bas habits. Play correspondacne chess, and games with AT LEAST 45 minutes per side. If you dont have the patience for this, then chess probably isnt for you.
2. Keep working on tactics. DO NOT get caught up in the tactics rating. Your goal is to learn patterns, NOT worrying about an online rating.
3. Keep your goals simple at first. Start with setting a goal of 1300 in Standard chess. Then strive for 1400...1500...etc. Keep your goals realistic or you will set yourself up for failure, and disappointment.
4. Review, and analyze your games. Do your own analysis first, then use an engine. Post your games for review by others.
5. Most importantly....HAVE FUN.
Sep 4, 2018
0
#10
MdlM, heh.
The exception that proves the rule or a guy who cheated to sell a book?
Ok, we've talked about this before. Maybe he's honest and overrated after a lucky tournament. Good for him.
As for you, same sort of problem. Let me see 10 games at one level and then 10 at another. Your first established rating was what? 1500? So you were 1500 
Yes, kids improve quickly. I saw one teen go from ~1800 to nearly 2200 in one year.
As for Kasparov, yeah, USCF has rating "categories" now, and maybe 1st category is class A (is it?) but this interview was before the USCF was doing that.
Sep 10, 2018
0
#11
ghost_of_pushwood wrote:
Ziryab wrote:
No
Unless it's, say, the progress of a rash.
Or Hitler...
