So long as he seems to be enjoying himself I wouldn't care what his rating was. But if he wasn't at least 1500 in six months I recommend a weekend with no food under the stairs for letting you down so dramatically.
How fast can a 1st grader improve his / her rating
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Kids like numerical goals about as much as adults like playing with the toys from their childhood.
Oct 27, 2016
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#6
Personally, I didn't set ratings goals for my son as it puts too much pressure on them IMHO. They already obsess too much about ratings without our help. However, I think it is fine if the child sets goals and then my job as parent is to manage expectations and be supportive. Last year, my son wants break 1,000 by end of first grade, which did not seem unreasonable to me. He ended up getting over 1,100 in last scholastic tournament of the school year. A number of his friends got to around 800-900. For even a talented first grader 1,000 is a very good achievement and anything above that is excellent. Of course, there are very talented kids well above that but there will always be exceptional talents.
This year my son is trying to get to 1,300 by end of the year. It will take some effort as the competition is getting much tougher in the 1,000-1,400 sections and you don't have many easy games. He is also usually one oomph a handful of second graders playing much older kids. But I support his goal as it is potentially attainable and I make it clear we are proud regardless and he should try to focus on enjoyment and improvement and that the ratings will naturally follow in time. If he had set a goal like 1,400 or 1,500 for this year would have talkEd him down as that is simply not reasonable for my son.
This year my son is trying to get to 1,300 by end of the year. It will take some effort as the competition is getting much tougher in the 1,000-1,400 sections and you don't have many easy games. He is also usually one oomph a handful of second graders playing much older kids. But I support his goal as it is potentially attainable and I make it clear we are proud regardless and he should try to focus on enjoyment and improvement and that the ratings will naturally follow in time. If he had set a goal like 1,400 or 1,500 for this year would have talkEd him down as that is simply not reasonable for my son.
Assume USCF 850 now (after 7 tournaments) -- where could he be in 6 months with a reasonable but not crazy amount of practice? 1000? 1100? 1200? Curious to hear opinions of other chess parents.