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On Learning Chess as an Adult – From 650 to 1750 in Two Years

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181–190 of 342 posts

Re: On Learning Chess as an Adult – From 650 to 1750 in Two Years

#181
I had a similar progression also in two years, from only knowing the rules to 1658 last week (my peak rating so far).

But this is rapid rating, not Blitz or bullet, and I only play 45 minutes matches with 45 seconds increment on chess.com (which I think is not actually classical and not rapid, but marked as rapid on chess.com).

I don't do puzzles, study cards or anything, I simply took a couple of opening video courses from Simon Williams on both white and black, and played those exclusively.

Initially I played 15 minutes/10 seconds increment games, several a day, until I felt that I was losing a lot of winning positions only due to time.

Then I increased to 30 minutes, and now 45/45 which is almost a classical format.

I don't think playing short time formats is ideal for learning, I like playing longer ones and really think the games through.

Then analyze each game thoroughly with chess.com post-game analysis.

I only play one game a day, almost every day. Most games end in well less than an hour, but some take close to almost two hours (due to the increment and long end games).

I think like in any game, if you continuously play with opponents of just about your skill level, and you analyze your games to make sure that you are not making the same mistakes again and again, you will improve over time just like with anything.

To minimize rating fluctuations and tilting, playing only one long and well thought out game a day works great and keeps it fun.

I think to keep it fun, it's important not to forget that rating fluctuations are normal and don't mean much. As long as you keep playing and analysing each game, improvement is possible.

Re: On Learning Chess as an Adult – From 650 to 1750 in Two Years

#182
post #14
post #5

Congratulations that's a great achievement. I think that almost everyone should be able to achieve a solid 2000 elo rating, with enough dedication over the years. Doing tactics puzzles is one of the most important factors for fast improvements. > Some day, I want to become a titled player. A candidate master needs an ELO of 2200 2000 and 2200 are completely different skill levels. I have some friends who play chess f…

> I think that almost everyone should be able to achieve a solid 2000 elo rating, with enough dedication over the years I went to check rating to prove how unlikely this is. Sure enough, that would put you just outside the top 100 players in Australia. But then I noticed the guy who played one board above me at school when we played is rated above 2000, and he wasn't really much better than me. So yeah maybe it is po…

I think consistency play a good factor in it.

Re: On Learning Chess as an Adult – From 650 to 1750 in Two Years

#183
post #93

You should use lichess.org instead. You would have unlimited tactics per day which come from real games played on the website, endless number of studies made by other players on opening theories, free analysis of your games, and all these statistics about your progress and more! Like "do I win more often or not when Queens are traded?". Good luck!

I’m a huge fan of lichess for playing and analysis but I think for tactics, it’s the one place it’s lacking, it’s always too easy for me for some reason and I go to chesstempo instead. Does anyone else experience this? By the way, when I say easy it’s for me that I’m an average player.

The puzzles on chesstempo are much better but the interface is much worse, particularly on mobile.

Honestly the puzzles on chess.com are better than lichess. The lichess ones just seem to have limited scope, I'm not sure why.

That said the interface is good and if you're finding them too easy then your puzzle rating should be rising to the point where it's offering you puzzles you'll find more challenging.

Re: On Learning Chess as an Adult – From 650 to 1750 in Two Years

#184

I did something very similar with an old strategy game called Age of empires II. Over the course of two years I went from a 1300 rating to 1850. I don't play chess, so it's hard for me to compare the scales, but I will say the highest players were rated around 2600. I think being 1850 put me around 90-95th percentile for active players-- there were less than 50 players over 2300, and only a few hundred over 2000. My…

There is not even a modicum of similarity other than both of them being called games.

I think the similarity being raised isn't really in the game or mechanics of the game, but the mechanics of being top tier. Aside from some very surface level similarities, you're right that RTS and Chess have pretty low overlap. But I think that the grind required to be top-tier in both is similar. They require you to play A LOT, and to do one of the hardest things a human can do, which is to try to be as objective as possible while analyzing when and why you lost.

Re: On Learning Chess as an Adult – From 650 to 1750 in Two Years

#185

I did something very similar with an old strategy game called Age of empires II. Over the course of two years I went from a 1300 rating to 1850. I don't play chess, so it's hard for me to compare the scales, but I will say the highest players were rated around 2600. I think being 1850 put me around 90-95th percentile for active players-- there were less than 50 players over 2300, and only a few hundred over 2000. My…

Hey there fellow AoE II player! Cool, to hear from some decent player. What time did you play? Around 2002? Since I was a 2k player at the time, let me assure you, that the top dudes at the time (Koven, Sheriff for example) were already so called pro gamers who got payed/sponsored and they were exceptionally good. The true story is, that many folks above 2k+ did what was called "points trading" back then. Koven once…

Played and followed the AoE scene many times: 2002-2004, 2013-2014, and now playing again on AOE 2: DE. The new training scenarios in DE are quite helpful and I'd recommend them to new or returning players.

DE has led to a massive resurgence of interest and a 3rd generation of players. First gen was AoE2 (CD), 2nd gen was the forgotten empires continuing things, 3rd is DE. Some players have spanned all 3. My current favorite streamers are Viper and Hera.

Re: On Learning Chess as an Adult – From 650 to 1750 in Two Years

#186
post #115

I would recommend chess for kids/teens, because it's an interesting way to teach certain self-control and tactical/strategy concepts which can be applied in real life. As an adult, chess is a time sink with very little upside if you want to be at least decent, especially at longer time controls. I've been playing chess for more than a couple of decades, but recently decided to stop partly because of the pandemic, but…

I came to the comments wondering about this. I have always wanted to learn chess, beyond the basic rules, but never dedicated to it. I think I had some version of Chessmaster, but didn't really do much with it. I just don't know if it makes sense to really spend time on. I have, spent so much time on video games such as Starcraft 2, and other RTS games even. They sucked me in way more than chess.

But, with a new daughter, I wonder if it makes sense as maybe something I can teach her in the future. As a way of teaching those concepts. Especially slowing down, and being on a screen less (something I am already a horrible influence on). I would like to teach her 'right' vs just some random horrible ideas I have (but also not crush her and discourage her)

Do you have any thoughts on that?

Re: On Learning Chess as an Adult – From 650 to 1750 in Two Years

#187
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think that almost everyone should be able to achieve a solid 2000 elo rating, with enough dedication over the years I think you are massively underestimating the natural range of human intelligence. I don't think the average IQ 100 individual could ever reach an ELO of 2000 regardless of how much they practice, and half the population has IQs of less than 100.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23888814 > GM Hikaru Nakamura famously took the Mensa online IQ test and scored a very average 102 His elo peak rating is 2816. Just one example for an extraordinary strong player with average IQ (there are many other examples). I don't think that a high IQ is required to become a decent chess player (like 2000). It may help though.

IQ test is bullshit and has been debunked a number of times.

Nowadays anyone bragging about their IQ should be considered a moron and left talking to themselves.

For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3oUqKUx2o0 (first thing that came off my head)

Re: On Learning Chess as an Adult – From 650 to 1750 in Two Years

#188

You should use lichess.org instead. You would have unlimited tactics per day which come from real games played on the website, endless number of studies made by other players on opening theories, free analysis of your games, and all these statistics about your progress and more! Like "do I win more often or not when Queens are traded?". Good luck!

Anyone know something similar for Scrabble, with ranked online play?

It is good once in a while to get the feeling of getting better at a game by putting in some time and effort. Scrabble looks like just the thing for someone who finds chess too abstract and deterministic.

Re: On Learning Chess as an Adult – From 650 to 1750 in Two Years

#189
post #115

I would recommend chess for kids/teens, because it's an interesting way to teach certain self-control and tactical/strategy concepts which can be applied in real life. As an adult, chess is a time sink with very little upside if you want to be at least decent, especially at longer time controls. I've been playing chess for more than a couple of decades, but recently decided to stop partly because of the pandemic, but…

I came to the comments wondering about this. I have always wanted to learn chess, beyond the basic rules, but never dedicated to it. I think I had some version of Chessmaster, but didn't really do much with it. I just don't know if it makes sense to really spend time on. I have, spent so much time on video games such as Starcraft 2, and other RTS games even. They sucked me in way more than chess. But, with a new daug…

As someone with two young Fortnite obsessed nephews my solution has been board games.

They are both taking very well to Catan and Ticket to Ride (with some handicaps).

Board games or card games can also be a great place to put time in if chess doesn’t catch!

Re: On Learning Chess as an Adult – From 650 to 1750 in Two Years

#190
post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23888814 > GM Hikaru Nakamura famously took the Mensa online IQ test and scored a very average 102 His elo peak rating is 2816. Just one example for an extraordinary strong player with average IQ (there are many other examples). I don't think that a high IQ is required to become a decent chess player (like 2000). It may help though.

IQ test is bullshit and has been debunked a number of times. Nowadays anyone bragging about their IQ should be considered a moron and left talking to themselves. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3oUqKUx2o0 (first thing that came off my head)

a test in isolation cannot be bullshit. when people talk about iq test many people imagine the person believes an iq test is a rigorous measure of all intellectual talent. or course it is not that. but it is also wrong to suggest it has no meaning at all. it does have some predictive power.

imperfect measures are not always useless, which is goof since all measures have some error.

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