1500

Yeah, it's like being wedged between Alexander Wollcott and Dorothy Parker at the round table, isn't it?

I was thinking more like the energy you put out is what you get back...but, yeah.

I would be curious to know the method you have in mind that will bring you from 1500 to over 2000 in 6 months. Strikes me as a fantasy.

ChessStudent1986

Last Online: 8 Hours Ago

Points: 47

Rating: 1430 (Live Blitz)

I know, it's sad. It happens, man.

In blitz? A faster Internet connection and not doing anything amazingly stupid.

     I just love how some people think that getting a FM title or any title is easy. On-Line chess has NOTHING to do ith OTB which is much harder.I am rated 1853 OTB and it s hard to get to 2000, so before you start talking Titles play some OTB tournaments and see just how hard it really is.

I went from 0-1600, in one yr AND I'm 13!

First of all congratulations. It would be nice if you let us know what you did and how you have divided your study time.

What helped you the most? ...

Thanks

With chess, youth is an advantage in learning. Not a disadvantage. Improvement isn't the linear line some people seem to think it is - you don't gain 500 points in rating over a 6 month period, just because you earned your last 500 points in that timeframe.

Goals are good, but putting too much emphasis on ratings gain is self-defeating.

There is no such thing as zero rating in chess-the initial ratings handed out at this site is 1200. There are very few players rated as low as 500 even. Even randomly choosing moves should yield a rating of over 1.

The higher your playing strength(and rating), the more difficult it is to improve. You should come back in 6 months and add a post to this topic when you have that 2000 rating :-)

Well we'll see in 6 months Scandium!

Never said it was easy man come on. But i do play OTB as well not just here online.

Good for you:)

Well definitely working on Openning variations helped. When i first started i just put pieces anywhere and had no objective or direction but when i started studying variations and learning what moves to make to ensure my position was sound that helped a lot. When i first started a lot of variations that are considered poor i didnt know them so i would get jammed up a lot. Learning all the tactics made a world of difference too and figuring out how to force people into tactical situations. King safety is important too. Trying to get your king Castled as soon as possible is good because it definitely will cut down on your losses due to being exposed. Making sure you dont get Back Rank Mated is big too. i saw when i first started i lost a lot of games due to being stuck on the back rank. A pawn move or a king move to the f-file will definitely not be a wasted move.

I definitely will

Yeah i know. When i do my aftergame study after i got crushed i notice some people made a shockingly huge amount of "perfect" moves. its getting easier and easier to cheat sadly. When i get up to that Level im sure ill be playing more OTB and at clubs and tournaments.

@ChessStudent: Thanks!

@Keyser: I meant OTB, but my chess.com ratings is 1600 as well.

Good stuff. I tell you what though getting good at chess is so hard and its so frustrating losing a game when you know the person played a poor variation.

Yeah, but there is probably more cheating at OTB games than on line.  Two common cheating schemes I've seen in Miami are one, a player has a remote-controlled "clicker" or "tapper" strapped to his inner thigh or groin area.  A master somehow keeps an eye on the game, either through playing a game at an adjacent table in the same room, or by hidden camera.  The master simply uses transmits the move to the tapper worn by the cheater, which furtively taps out the move in morse code to the cheater.  This method has been around for decades.  It's pretty similiar to the scheme used by the two busted cheaters in the film Casino starring Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci.

Another, newer way to cheat is getting a special set of "computer chess" sunglasses.  The lenses are actually LCD displays that are capable of giving the wearer something akin to a "heads up display" highlighting which move should be made on the board. (Think a heads up display on a modern jet fighter).  The whole thing is powered by a tiny microchip hidden in the earstem of the sunglasses, running Houdini, or the chess engine of your choice. 

Wow looks like pretty soon humans wont even be able to play chess anymore