Starting Chess as an Adult: How Good Can You REALLY Get? 

2000 would be nice

😂

That's pretty decent. My chess has been interspersed with long breaks. I played at school (no organised club), and in my last year at a club where I was one of the better players, but there were no ratings. That was 65. Then none until the late 80s where I took up club chess in Melbourne, Australia. My initial rating was 1152, a bit lower than my USCF rating would have been. One thing I found interesting, I came equal second in a club championship with a performance 1800+ with games played Wednesday evenings, and in a tournament in aother club with games on Friday evenings and my performance around 1300. I blame the mass of underrated juniors depressing the ratings of senior players.

@@Australianchessplayer You are still only a 1152...

I got about 6 mins into this video when I saw you comment....saved me 12 mins!-)

What an inspiring comment! It is never too late to start playing/improving at chess. I will surely add more videos that you will find relevant. Speaking about the criminal defense, you may like my Chessable course "Chess Crime and Punishment" :) www.chessable.com/chess-crime-and-punishment/course/116052/

I think everyone struggles around this level. The key, I think, is to eliminate one's blunders. If you can figure out why you're blundering (whether it's a matter of losing focus, not seeing more than the next move, not taking into account your opponent's plans, or missing traps that you might be falling into), you can find ways to overcome the issue and advance. I'm 61, so I'm close to your age and I've been around the 1000-1100 level for some time, and I'm just beginning to really see where I'm going wrong. Also, I tend to get really frustrated about my losses, but in the last couple of days I've started to work on having a better attitude towards my defeats - Dr. Can mentions this in the video, and I think it's great advice.

Don't get discouraged - I think 1100 is still a far better rating than most people we meet who only dabble in chess. I was shocked when my daughter mentioned that her college friends thought I was some kind of chess genius because I routinely play at around the 1100 level and my highest ever rating was 1244. I suspect the average rating for those who don't play chess regularly is around 500. So most people you meet outside of chess circles are nowhere near our level.

@@Beery1962 Blunders is a thing to work with but the most important thing is your strategy. You can eliminate at least obvious blunders if you take enough time to think, but you can't win a high level game without any plan. Besides, a reliable plan itself decreases probability of blunders. There is some fun to play dangerous game though. It's not to avoid at all cost.

Sorry, I beat you. I started at 66. I really don’t care, about the age thing! I love this game! I learned just basics of how pieces moved at 10, never got back to it, just like you. There were MANY OTHER PRIORITIES. Now, as I have time, the history, the GREAT craftsmanship of pieces and the study lends so much to learning!! That learning is what it’s all about! So play on! I have actually beaten players above 1700( not often!) Just keep learning and ENJOYING the other aspects, history and craftsmanship of so MANY different sets!!

Inspiring! Improvement should not be the only goal of engaging in chess.

Thank you for sharing this. It is never too late to improve at chess. Good that you are trying to learn those patterns and chunks! :) And yes, do not forget to have fun!

Thank you for your inspiring comment! Can you please briefly tell me how your training looked like when you quickly reached 1200 (online I assume)?

@Dr.CansClinic once I hit about 1100 I decided I wanted to take this somewhat seriously so I joined my local club and hired a coach. He got me on books and a daily regiment of puzzles, endgames, general chess study, and openings. It took probably a year over the board to hit 1300 due to nerves and making stupid mistakes. I did however manage to win clear 1st at my local tournament at a rating of 1141, lowest ever to win. Now with my wife due in a few months with our 2nd, studying and chess in general has taken a back seat. I still try and study during lunch and breaks at work or late at night. Thank you for your videos and keep it up!

@@jeffreyperdue1606 Thank you! An congrats on your great achievement in your local chess club!! I will keep them coming :)

I started at 30 too, also got to 1300 pretty fast by doing essentially nothing other than playing and watching a few chess streamers casually. I feel like this is probably the best you can get as an adult without serious training.

Thank you so much Mason!

Thanks! :)

Definitely!

Interesting stuff! I wonder how learning chess compares to learning a language

@@natalyawoop4263 seriously I think it's really a lot of overlap.

You're very welcome! Thank you for your kind words.

Will do, thanks!

Thanks so much!

You don't know how happy I get after such words. Thank you so much for your support ❤️🙏

Thank you!

Thanks, will do!

Thank you so much!

Thank you :)

Thank you so much for your encouraging comment! I am so glad that I have inspired you!

Thank you so much! And sorry for this technical issue as I am reawakening the channel. I need to learn chunks and patterns when it comes to improving on this technical side of things :)

Glad you liked it!

Thank you so much for your kind comment.

Thank you so much. That is one of my overarching goals for this channel :)

Thank you for your comment! The game is so beautiful, keep the passion and enjoy the journey!

2200 is too low for a GM

That is some achievement, congratulations! Keep up the good work!

@gehteuchnichtsan8306 I've been playing since 26. And which rating are we speaking about? Blitz? Classical? Bullet? Rapid?

​@gehteuchnichtsan8306probably online rating not FIDE or USCF

@gehteuchnichtsan8306 . I improved from 1400 to 2000 online in three years as well. In 5 years I reached 2300 online. I still have huge knowledge gaps which I'm working on this year. I had zero professional help and limited formal training via books or courses. 2000 rating is not as impressive as you might think. I fully agree that 2400 FIDE is possible for adult learners, perhaps at the limit of possibilities, but it comes down to effort. My goal is 2200 USCF and I'm giving myself 1-2 more years to get there. Don't listen to anyone that tries to impose limits on you.

There is a girl here on RU-vid who made it to 2000 rapid within two years so to do it within three years is absolutely achievable if you have some talent and put in the effort. @gehteuchnichtsan8306

Thank you so much for your encouraging comment. Such words give me big motivation to pursue this. You can contact me on lichess or chess.com for coaching. I would say around 900-1000 ELO is a good time, although you can obviously do it earlier as well. It also depends on the frequency of coaching and what kind of feedback you receive.

Thank you so much!

Thank you! Yes, we need to work on several different areas to get better. Tactical training is very important. Basic endgames and internalizing the opening principles are also important.

See my comments below for my thoughts on the matter.

Many thanks for your comment, glad it was helpful. The game is so beautiful indeed...

Thank you so much for your inspiring comment! It is surely the journey that gives the most pleasure. One can get big joy by staying in the zone and overcoming desirable difficulties - without necessarily aiming to become a master level player.

Thank you Daniel! I will surely make videos in the future regarding older adults.

Thank you so much for this great input! They surely deserve a future video. I took a note of your questions.

Thank you so much for your insights! Progress generally becomes more difficult on higher levels indeed. Can you please briefly mention how your training looked like when you progressed from 800 to 1600 in 5 years?

1600 is nothing. I'm older than you with a 2300 online rating. I also started at an older age than you are right now. If you're serious about chess and don't know how to progress get a coach that can at least point you in the right direction. See my comment below for my thoughts on improving to 2200 USCF or FIDE.

@@Dr.CansClinic 800-1500 was done in the first 3 years, and this was by just constantly playing (Rapid and Blitz) nearly every day, but also by watching lots of chess videos on ratings climbs and also openings. At the year 3 point I joined a club, and have since then climbed another 100 elo. My approach has been somewhat the same, except now I do more puzzles and also player longer time control games and tournaments through the club. My feeling is that to then get past 1600 I would need to get a chess coach and brush up a lot of opening theory and endgame theory. However, the trouble is that I don't really have the time (and don't take chess that seriously, as also have other interests). So for me 1600 feels like a sort of limit unless I invested a lot more time and effort.

@@Flying_Scotsman_1921 Thank you for taking your time and describing what you did during those years.

I grew from 900 to 1550 Elo in rapid time control, Over probably last three years. I watched a lot of GM Finegold and various other GMs and IMs the saint Louis chess club brought in back in the day. Then when Gotham started making content I started really advancing but I have sort of plateaued for now. Looking for the next break through.

Thank you so much for this nice comment. I think you are right, seeing experts thinking out loud is a great way to learn also in other complex domains. I will surely discuss this in one of my future videos!

Thank you so much Andy! Thank you for being part of this beautiful journey.

Thank you for your comment. Definitely interesting observations about uncorrected mistakes.

Thank you so much for your feedback! I am happy that the video helped you gaining self-confidence!

Thank you for your response and the subscription! This channel will hopefully provide a good community for people like you. I am planning to do a live session at some point in the future, with questions from the viewers.

Thank you for your comment! It is never too old to learn indeed!

Thank you! I have noted down your question and will consider making a video about it in the future.

I assure you (without giving away my age) that it can be done. You can go much higher than 2000 if you are determined enough. See my comment below for further thoughts on the matter. Don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise.

Thank you so much for your insightful comment! It is quite an achievement to jump from 1000 to 1800 in two years - despite all those plateaus. Can you please tell me a little how your training looked like during those 2 years? Chess can played purely for fun as well as you said :)

Thank you so much for your encouraging comment!

Thanks for the insight! Jag flyttade dit 2013 :)

@@Dr.CansClinic I have played in a few over the board tournaments in Västra Götaland, distriktserien. Väldig mysigt!

@@TerencePetersenAjbro Vad bra! Jag spelar för Limhamn SK!

vad sjuttsiken, är det en svensk kanal!

Thanks for your comment! Blitz can be too much fun indeed! :)

Thanks a lot for taking your time and sharing your progress across the years.

​@@Dr.CansClinic yeah no problem. I always try to do that because I remember how starting up I was looking for how others had gotten where they did, especially adult learners.

Good points! I think you nailed the reason why most people in general, not just adults, plateau. You need instruction to fill in those knowledge gaps such as better understanding of strategic ideas, positional play, pawn play, endgame theory, and opening knowledge. Clearly, if you fill those knowledge gaps your rating will increase. But it depends on your effort. I see a lot of beginners commenting that they improved hundreds of points by doing x-training program. The truth is that beginners will improve by mere exposure to the game. 1800-2000 elo players is a different story. See my comments below on further thoughts on chess improvement.

Thank you. I will fix this issue in my future videos.

That sounds really interesting! You seem to combine corrective and epistemic feedback there! It is really great that you explain WHY that move was wrong. I don't know of anyone using this precise method. Please let me know about your progress in the future with this training!

sounds like what the creator of chessable used to do. You may want to look him up

@@maksedits933 David Kramaley I believe?

@@maksedits933 Thank you for the suggestion! I'll look him up and see what he was able to achieve using this method. :)

@@Dr.CansClinic Thank you so much for giving your opinion! Can I ask what you mean by "epistemic feedback"? So far, I've managed to gain about 150 rating points on Lichess within a few weeks as a beginner and adult learner. I've found that the content and formatting of the flashcards makes a big difference and I'm still working on improving this. For example, I use the same position on the front and the back of the flashcard, but with arrows added on the back. The reason for this is that I want to be able to visualize the entire line (mostly about 2-6 moves) from the initial position in order to play correctly. I want to practice calculating a complete line before making a move. Sorry for rambling a little - I hope it's somewhat of interest :)

Thanks for your comment. I have also noticed that pattern. Let's see whether that trend will change in the future by the help of all the technological tools at our disposal that may speed up the chess improvement!

there are language learning schemes that get you fluent in months, real ones (in contrast to online scams), and what they have in common is they focus heavily on immersing you in the language and forcing to actually talk to people, while skipping over learning grammar and rules and theory. doesn't mean that you'll learn as quickly as small children, but it does show that a lot of these things CAN be forced on your brain even as adults. and that maybe rule/theory based learning isn't a very efficient way to learn things.

Thanks for your comment. Keep up the spirit! :) It is never too late to show progress.

Is your rating online, or OTB? Online ratings can be as far lower than OTB as about 500-600 ELO.

Thanks for this comment, and all the best wishes on your chess journey!

@@hypercubemaster2729 My ratings are online in Rapid. I understand that OTB ratings are a few hundred points lower, so I'd expect to be around 1400 - 1500 OTB. I live about an hour away from my nearest chess club, so it's much easier for me to play and learn online.

@@isaakvandaalen3899 Hey, that's great to hear! 1400-1500 in a couple of years is amazing progress!! Be proud! 😀

That's good progress

Thank you for your comment! Really great that you keep the passion for the game. Setting goals is good, but perhaps we should not fixate on a specific rating like 2300. Just focusing on the process instead of the end result :) Playing tournaments is really a great start - you learn a lot in those otb tournaments.

I love how you explained positional concept in "tactics alone won't make you a GM " I'm so glad you are sharing this.... I've been playing since secondary school. But I always knew that I can improve and do better

Thank you so much for sharing your inspiring journey! Congratulations on the significant jump you had recently. Just focus on the process instead of the end result, and see how far you will get!

@@Dr.CansClinic Thank you! Initially I started playing chess, because I was looking for a new hobby. I did a lot of competitve sports in my life, but due to injuries I had to stop and chess is a beautiful game, that you can play until you get old and grey. I also enjoy just spending time with people in the chess club, so there definitely is a social aspect to it. Meeting new people is a wonderful part of the chess journey. Due to my sports backrground ad my nature, I enjoy the competetive part of playing tournaments, but I definitely did not start with the goal of becoming a master or anything like this. I mean, I have some small goals, like reaching 1900 now and then I will go from there and I'm just curious about how far I can get. But I agree, if you don't enjoy the process, it makes no sense to spend time on it. And if you don't enjoy it, you won't have the motivation anyway.

Thank you so much for this feedback! f3-f4 is also a multi purpose move as it not only improves the terrible knight but also stops ...f5-f4 from Black, which would really bury that knight and activate the lsb. Bb4 is another logical candidate! But that pawn on b4 will become a liability for White.

​@@Dr.CansClinicTrue about b5. I like your videos and am wondering about the ravens in the background. An E. A. Poe fan? Best wishes and Happy New Year. SPB. PS: Despite being 60 and 1590 (age, then rating, should anyone wonder), my goal is to get to 1800-2000. I'll examine your courses on chessable. Cheers.

Thank you so much! I did my PhD. in the field of cognitive zoology where I studied the complex cognitive skills of the ravens. Hence the picture :) Thank you for considering studying my courses. Please keep my posted if you do study them!@@georgcantor8859

Thanks for your comment! I don't think you are doomed at that rating, as long as you do the work! I will soon release a series on how to reach certain rating milestones. Stay tuned! :)

Beautifully put! Thanks for the training advice and all the best to you in your journey!

Yes Lookup NM Philemon he became master as an adult

Yes! …g5!

Thanks for your inspiring comment! Wish you all the success in your chess journey - keep the passion! ☺

Thank you so much for your kind comment. Yes, the sound is low unfortunately - it won't happen again in my future videos!

Thank you so much for your kind comment. Sorry for this technical issue on my 're-awakening' video. I will fix the problem in my future videos (the next 2 videos of the clinic already has a better sound).

Thank you for the feedback and I am sorry for this technical issue. I have now solved it as you can see in my last two videos :)

Great achievement to 1700 in 2 years! Is it ELO rating? CM is not an impossible task I would say if you are serious about your training.

@@Dr.CansClinic Thanks for the quick reply, Dan! Yes, that is my ELO rating. What would you suggest I do then to train seriously so I can reach the CM stage before I'm 40? (I've heard that people deteriorate significantly after that stage in life, so I figure I will have to reach the rank of CM by that age, otherwise it might not be possible).

Thank you so much for taking your time and writing this encouraging post! I am sure you will inspire many adult improvers. You have mentioned you reached 2000 USCF mostly by brute calculation and tactics. Can you please describe a little more how your tactical training looked like during this period? Were you solving many puzzles/day? Were they mostly pattern recognition puzzles or deep calculation? Were you doing any woodpecker with those? Thanks!

@@Dr.CansClinic . Hello, I started playing chess 5 years ago before the explosion of online chess content and learned to play in what is perhaps an unorthodox method. I would say the bulk of my training consisted of deep calculation. In my personal OTB games I don't make a move until I can calculate relevant ideas at least 6 moves deep (12 depth). I don't leave things to chance and because I've been doing this for several years, I'm naturally faster than average at detecting tactical ideas and calculating accurate lines. More specifically, for the first 2-3 years the bulk of my "study" would consist of watching game reviews/analysis from channels like thechessnetwork, matojelic (now school of chess), and agadmator. After watching the games I would set up key game positions on a physical board and sit there until I could calculate the full combination with all relevant variations without moving any of the pieces. Some exercises would take me upwards of one hour and I would often calculate 9-10 moves deep. This thought me calculation techniques such as compartmentalizing my analysis in my head. I also had a mental checklist for every move to prevent silly blunders and to find a better moves. In short, I rarely did any standalone puzzles. In fact, I recently completed a course on checkmate patters. Many of the mating patterns were new to me. Imagine the embarrassment learning checkmate patterns as an online 2200 player. Its not that I can't calculate the patterns but if I'm not aware of the pattern then I have to work harder OTB to find them. Today, I can find them instantly. Over the past year or so I started doing some standalone puzzles but I'm not a fan of doing random puzzles. I'd rather work on puzzles by theme to improve my pattern recognition. That said, I have so much to learn that I feel that deep calculation will only get me so far and I find it more effective to work on my weaker areas. Before this past couple of years, I didn't have any formal training. In my games I would play basic opening principles that I learned from random places. Recently, I completed opening and endgame courses but I still have a lot of work to do in those areas. This year I'm working on my weakest areas which are strategic play, positional play, and pawn play. Then I plan to go back and improve my opening theory, and endgame technique. I prefer to read a hard copy book with a physical board. While studying I save key positions, games and personal annotations in lichess studies for review. I review my notes regularly to make sure I don't forget them. I estimate that it will take me about a year to go through all the new material. After that, I'll just need to fine tune my techniques and I see no reason why I can't reach 2200 OTB USCF and 2400 online. If I made it this far with such a handicap there is no reason why someone of average intelligence can't reach 2200+ (at least online) by focusing on the right things. A good coach would also be very beneficial to those who want to accelerate their training but I'm learning a lot on my own and don't plan on getting a coach at the moment. I hope this helps anyone looking to improve.

And how do you know you weren't just a natural talent in the game?

@@DarthMessias . I'm not sure what that means. I believe that all knowledge is acquired - hence its not natural in the sense that I was born with it. Perhaps, something in my brain clicked early in my chess career but it doesn't mean that others can't acquire the same knowledge.

@@MrSupernova111 The issue is the classic fallacy: If I can do it, anyone can do it. That is just an absurd statement as nobody is like you thus you can't say anyone can reach 2200 USCF because you did it. Natural talent exists, not in a sense that you were born with the rules, but that you have flair for learning the game, usually by easily remembering and visualising chess positions. Such potential doesn't necessarily disappear when you age, which explains your quick rise. People should really stop running around screaming "anything is possible!" when studies have shown the opposite for years. We are limited by natural abilities including our brains capacity to solve various task. Some have a brain built for chess, others for music, math, language and so on. Life is about playing to that strength, not pursuing illusory gold at the end of a beautiful rainbow.

Thank you so much for this generous contribution! I really appreciate it. Please do not hesitate asking any questions while watching the videos! 🙏

Hello! I can recommend my courses on Chessable when it comes to strategic puzzles. But if you are searching for physical books, I can recommend "Positional Chess Handbook" by Israel Gelfer.

I love it!

Thank you! This was mentioned several times, and I am sorry for this technical problem in my reawakening video. Won't happen again!

What did you do to get better. Did you read books, watch videos or not do anything and just analyzed your games?

@@who-pz4ck analyze games, puzzles, learn a few openings in depth (I play London and Italian as white, Sicilian and King’s Indian as black), play sometimes against weaker opponents and make ballsy sacrifices and practice saving your positions, sometimes trade everything off just to get endgame practice, learn pawn structures (pawns are so so so important, more important than pieces imo), sometimes play with the board flipped (you play from the top) to get used to “playing as your opponent”.

Is that rating online?

Inspirational! Please let me know here on this comment if you reach your goal in a year :)

i got 400 to 1500 in 9 months

Don't worry too much about the talent. Just do the work and go and play. Breed the love for the game.

Thank you 😊

I have a very good memory but I can't use that in chess

Is becoming IM possible? I also take coaching

If you started playing seriously before 12, IM or GM is more likely, according to one scientific study.@@spandanagudigeri1637

Thank you for your comment! Can you please briefly tell me what your training looked like during your journey from 1300 to 1500?

@@Dr.CansClinic Sure! It started with getting my openings to a playable state, which was done with books. Nothing too special, just creating files, recording some theory in the major variations then adding to my files overtime. I do use spaced repetition to learn the critical lines where move by move matters. I am for two games a week. Either two online rapid games (15+10 or longer) or one online game plus one OTB classical game (it’s very common in Australia for our classical events to be 1 game a week rather than all games in 1 weekend). Games are always reviewed. First by myself trying to check my calculation and strategy, then compared to master games, finally with an engine. The bulk of my study time is tactical or middlegame puzzles. This is 2-4 hours a week. I’ve recently started doing some “blindfold” training to improve visualisation, taking a position, moving X-play deep in my mind then identifying and solving for tactics. That’s it really! Play a minimal number of games, work really hard on calculation. If I encounter an opening line where I’m totally lost, I’ll put some real hours into learning theory, but otherwise I don’t touch openings much now. I have out a lot of hours into endgames (reading Silman’s book) and do a refresher now and again (I take it on holiday haha) but otherwise I don’t do regular endgame work; just middlegame and calculation work.

Did you have some prior experience with the game? 1300 FIDE seems quite high for a new player

@@Jefferson-ly5qe I played online and studied at home for at least six months before playing my first rated event (which went +2 -2 =2) so I didn’t just start at 1300 on day 1, I agree that would’ve been crazy!

@@fazzolarijames Thank you so much for your amazing insights! I am sure many upcoming players would find those tips useful!

All the best wishes to him! :)

My 10 year old girl does that to me :))

Thank you so much for your kind comment! It is a hard game indeed, but also very beautiful!

Good luck with your journey!

I am sorry for this technical issue. This will be solved in the future videos!

Thank you for pointing this out. I thought I had implied it when I talked about the growth mindset and the joys in engaging in this beautiful game.

@@Dr.CansClinic Yes I heard that, I'm no expert, but I think that it's a really important point. Thanks for answering!

@@EneldoSancocho Definitely! My pleasure.

Absolutely! Thought and Choice in Chess by Adriaan de Groot. A very influential Ph.D. thesis from 1940s.

Thank you for pointing this out. I have now fixed the sound problem and my future videos will be much better :)

@@Dr.CansClinic That sounds good! 👍

Thanks for asking! With that move, Black sacrifices the exchange to weaken the white king - as after bxc3 the pawn structure covering the white king is ruined. Is it clear now? :)

What an inspiring progress! Congratulations! Thank you for sharing those observations too. Can you please explain briefly how your chess training looked like until you reached 2000 in around a year? You said you have barely put any work into chess, so I got really curious on which technique has speeded up this process significantly.

@@Dr.CansClinic I kept getting checkmated quickly with traps and gambits. I also had no clue what pieces to move and where in the opening. So I looked for the most "anti-rush" opening, but also an opening I can invest time in long term. I identified the London System as an opening with the least amount of gambits and fast win tactical tricks, but also an opening that's still being improved at a Super GM level, telling me the opening is deep and I could spend decades finding new things to improve in my play. For Black, I tried the French Defense but the blocked in bishop annoyed me and scared me. So I switched to Caro-Kann. Against e4, I used what I called the reverse London, but it's Slav defense. Once I had my openings chosen, I tried to memorize how my pieces should be placed when the opening stage is completed. Didn't worry about the move order too much, just on getting everything set up and then playing chess. My rating immediately improved from 800-835 range to 1000-1050 because people could no longer cheese me. At the same time, I watched Ben Finegold's classes for kids to learn the chess lingo and get introduced to chess culture and thinking. I should also note I played 400 10+0 games in my 1st week of online chess but realized I'm making no progress and needed to improve my chess knowledge and skills. I started doing puzzles, learning basic patterns, trying to understand why a certain move order matters and what the computer wants from me. I struggled for two weeks to reach 1100 but finally broke through. Then I started identifying my blunders. I had a blind spot for playing Ng4/Ng5 early and dropping it to the enemy queen for free. I also kept losing pawns due to tactics and not keeping track of the number of attackers and defenders. Fixing these blunders wasn't a matter of me deciding I won't let it happen now that I know about it. Instead, I had to give myself mental checkpoints in the opening stage - "now is the time you blunder a pawn (or a minor piece), use more brain power to watch for it." It was difficult at first and I still kept making the same blunders but less because I was actively trying to avoid them in those key moments. Two weeks later or so, I reduced those blunders a lot, improved my opening move orders, and hit 1300 on chesscom and roughly 1500-1600 in puzzles on Lichess (maybe 1700 but can't remember now). The entire time I would say I spent 55% time playing, 40% doing puzzles, and 5% learning theory. After 1300, I kept identifying my weakest points, blunders, and blind spots. As I fixed these issues and made less and less blunders throughout the game, I reached 1600. My knowledge and understanding of chess in general improved by zero amount from 1300 to 1600, it was all just identifying one recurring blunder at a time and focusing on not making it again. At 1600, I realized I need a more precise opening move order to respond properly to my opponents and get more out of the opening stage for myself. GM Simon Williams was great to learn the basics, but I switched completely from him to IM Eric Rosen. And any other source I could find on RU-vid and Twitch. As my opening knowledge improved, I reached 1750 roughly in about six months (it would take me another 6-8 I think to hit 2000). Then I started doing puzzles more. I would say 60-70% puzzles and 30% playing. I hit 1900 but couldn't go further. So kept improving opening knowledge and doing puzzles. Still wasn't enough because the games would be equal and hard to push for a win. As a side note, during this entire journey, I played maybe 5000 games total or less. And did puzzles on my phone whenever I was bored or in the mood for it. I also went once or twice a week to a local chess club to play OTB casual blitz. And after my first two months of chess, I joined a chess club to compete in the national league. Back to the progress, so I was stuck at 1900. I stopped playing bullet (which I started playing when I became 1500/1600+ in rapid) and focused on 5+0 and 10+0 only. I started learning the endgame more. I broke 2000 thanks to one trick - eating a "sideways" pawn in a pawn chain in the endgame with a minor piece/rook because you regain material by taking an enemy rook if they take back with a pawn. That was it. I started winning equal endgames and broke 2000. I solved 20-30 puzzles every day, sometimes 100+ and played ten or so games, sometimes 50+. And I spent a fair bit of time watching Jonathan Schrantz' lectures, GM Ron Henley's London games analysis, GM Lamos opening videos, IM Alex Astaneh's videos (amazing), and GM Naroditsky's speedrun. I also attended a few 3am GM Akobian's endgame classes and watched his other recorded lessons (I learned b+k mate the easiest with his video on it). In addition, I followed all of the major online chess events, watching the live streams with GM commentary (Leko is amazing, Hess & Danya, IM Almira Skripchenko is a joy to follow through her flow of thoughts, etc.). Aftermath: After breaking 2000, I realized I didn't really know a single long line of theory. I bought Chessable courses to learn the theory (GM Erwin L'ami's Caro-Kann but it's all Lc0 lines, and IM Alex Banzea's London). Combined with solving puzzles, I peaked at 2100 on chesscom and 2300 on lichess. My FIDE rating was and is atrocious. I was 1534 since I jumped into OTB as a total rookie. Now it's 1596 or something since we barely play a few games a year. My best wins were against one CM and a few 1900-2000 players. I also have brain fart moments in OTB sometimes, especially if I try to study theory the day before a match, I'll play horribly and blunder in the opening. My first chess team had no team spirit, no sessions together, etc. So I changed teams. My current team is led by a 40+ years old 2k+ FIDE professor of architecture and arts. We have one more 2k+ in early 20s. Other guys and one girl are 1600-1900, all in their 20s. I'm also currently getting coached by IM Matvey Galchenko, who is amazing. I switched to Semi-Slav a few months into working with him and used it to draw in OTB classical format against a solid CM. We do 1h of coaching per week. Sadly, I don't do much work on my own due to life being life, so I plan to make more progress in the near future.

@@ChessJourneyman That's a lot of work, but a near 1600 FIDE rating is very respectable in a year! I still need to start playing in OTB tournaments so I can find out where I'm at. I drew my Square Off engine at 2100+ once, have beaten the 1700 engine multiple times, and have beaten in OTB my friend that is 1700 USCF many times, so I wonder where I will level out at. I've been playing for 26 years, though, so my progress is much less impressive than yours, even if I only got serious about it within the last 5 years!

@@hypercubemaster2729 @hypercubemaster2729 It's all relative. I meant I didn't have a disciplined regime like when you are studying at college or training seven days a week in a sport. Elite kids spend all of their free time on studying chess and improving. I pushed the climb in the first 1.5 years. Then spent 1.5 years not playing as much or doing any training. Now in my 4th year hired a coach to push again, making slow, small improvements. I think we can all improve regardless of age if we identify good focus points, things we want to work on, etc. I know people who have played chess for decades but don't ever think about their strengths and weaknesses, never focus their effort on something, they just play aimlessly. Like being in a canoe and smashing the paddle on the water's surface. You'll spend so much energy and get nowhere in particular, just drift around. But if you paddle with a direction in mind, you'll get that canoe going. So I wouldn't be too hard on yourself if you just played chess for years without any real goals or aspirations. Now that you have them, you'll certainly improve. As for OTB chess, especially 90+30, the biggest shock for me was how every opponent was extremely solid. I could no longer just make moves and wait for a big blunder like in online chess you often can. It still happens obviously, but I mean for example a 1504 FIDE guy made my teammate who is 1900 FIDE struggle for 2h before he finally managed to beat him 😂😂😂 He was mad at himself for it, but I'm like dude, it doesn't matter how weak your opponent's rating is on paper when his moves on the board are strong. Anyway, feel free to respond here in the future on your progress, would love to hear about your first OTB experience.

@@ChessJourneyman Wow, thank you so much for sharing your inspiring story! Thank you for taking your time and sharing those details with us. I am sure it will give inspiration to other ambitious players!

I started around 16 and reached 2153 ELO around 21. Becoming an IM is less likely, but CM/FM is achievable I think.

Thank you for your comment. All the best wishes to you!

@@Dr.CansClinic I'm having the hardest time improving from 1200 daily, 800 blitz and 500 bullet. Any advice? Puzzle rating is 2200 as of today. As high as 2300.

Thanks for sharing your chess experience! What did you mean by video processing of gm games?

@@Dr.CansClinic mostly it was video lessons of game analysis of grandmasters from chessbase. I learned a lot there, but I think I made the most progress solving puzzles.

​@@dimtodimwhat is your rapid elo

@@Insidia85 i dont play rapid chess online... So many cheaters even on 1 min or 3 min games...

@@dimtodim if you play just bullett you don t improve. Try to play rapid at least. If someone cheat he s been soon banned and your elo restored

Thank you for your comment. Interesting insights indeed.

Way to go! Let me know about your progress! ☺️

Great! How did you train chess during those 5 years?

@@Dr.CansClinic I am very stubborn person. I had a friend who was 1600 online (He is now 2300)and he beat me all the time so i started to watch online videos and solve as many chess puzzles as i can so i developed my tactic skills and my middlegame to some extend.Parellel to that i analyzed almost all my games that i lost with black pieces with lichess analyzer,especialy the openings. Than i started to learn endgames and at the end i started to learn some opening strategies ( I am still not good at this especially with white).PS: This 5 years i play online chess every single day,minimum 1 and maximum 15 games.

@@kikiritkov Great story, thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the comment! Impressive rating on lichess indeed! So you have not trained chess except for online play ever since you learned the game?

@@Dr.CansClinic , yes. That is it.

Apparently there is one such person: FM Nathan Rasika. Ben Johnson interviewed him in his podcast. Here is the link: www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/12/1/episode-204-fm-nathan-resika

❤️

Solving the last one quickly means you are on the right track in raising your floor! If you stop giving away games due to not seeing the threat or not checking for blunders, your rating will surely reflect this progress!

Thank you so much for these valuable insights! Beautiful improvement over the years and such consistency! Quality over quantity - 1 hour/day of intense training may be better than passive exposure for longer periods. Improvement indeed brings joy and motivation to go further - even though the aim should not necessarily be to become a titled player.

​@@Dr.CansClinic its less of a goal, more of an addiction ;) seriously: goal is to be better than yesterday.

Wow

Internet is a beautiful place to lie :P

That is likely equivalent to 1600-1700 OTB if that is an online rating. Still, that is a very good rating after only 2 years!

@@warnaoh It's an ugly place for jealousy, though.

@@hypercubemaster2729 You just made that up lmao

I am sorry for this technical issue, it has already been brought up many times. I will fix it in my future videos.

Those positions don't test for mastery unfortunately :) But good that you have found them in 2 seconds - it means you have absorbed those chunks.

Those were easy puzzles. lol. But yes, you can easily reach 2000 rating.

So true!