@OrangeKing2504 said in #10:
> > Many of you probably know that the difference between a 2000-rated player and a 2200-rated player is significant, even though it might not seem like a big deal. I have specific openings that I prefer. For example, I sometimes play the English Opening to surprise my opponents, as many of them don’t know the main line, especially after 1.g3. If I play 1.e4, it usually leads to the Ruy López and the Sicilian Defense; I play the rossolimo without hesitation. Against 1.d4, I play the King's Indian Defense, and if it’s 1.e4, then I go for 1...e5.
> >
> > Should I try new openings, perhaps exploring some closed ones? Which topics should I focus on to become a 2200-rated player? My puzzles rating is currently 2400, and I can calculate 6 or 7 moves ahead in a row. When I show some of my games to my coaches, they say my calculations are not at the level of a 1900/2000-rated player. How can I break out of this loop?
i heard bullet dosen't help you to improve at chesss
>
> Just play more bullet bro all my ratings naturally improved after I grinded it. I got 2700 bullet on cc so my otb and blitz on cc automatically improved. Lichess I just play for fun on
@reabr said in #11:
> > > Many of you probably know that the difference between a 2000-rated player and a 2200-rated player is significant, even though it might not seem like a big deal. I have specific openings that I prefer. For example, I sometimes play the English Opening to surprise my opponents, as many of them don’t know the main line, especially after 1.g3. If I play 1.e4, it usually leads to the Ruy López and the Sicilian Defense; I play the rossolimo without hesitation. Against 1.d4, I play the King's Indian Defense, and if it’s 1.e4, then I go for 1...e5.
> > >
> > > Should I try new openings, perhaps exploring some closed ones? Which topics should I focus on to become a 2200-rated player? My puzzles rating is currently 2400, and I can calculate 6 or 7 moves ahead in a row. When I show some of my games to my coaches, they say my calculations are not at the level of a 1900/2000-rated player. How can I break out of this loop?
>
> i heard bullet dosen't help you to improve at chesss
> >
> > Just play more bullet bro all my ratings naturally improved after I grinded it. I got 2700 bullet on cc so my otb and blitz on cc automatically improved. Lichess I just play for fun on
at your level 1796 blitz it will. I played over 30k 30 sec + 1 min games combined when I was like lower
@OrangeKing2504 said in #12:
> at your level 1796 blitz it will. I played over 30k 30 sec + 1 min games combined when I was like lower
like rapid you mean?
@reabr said in #13:
> > at your level 1796 blitz it will. I played over 30k 30 sec + 1 min games combined when I was like lower
>
> like rapid you mean?
no bullet rapid too boring my attention span too low for that. But my instincts are very fast this helped me reach 1970 fide and like 2360 peak lichess blitz which is like 2.5 cc blitz while just playing blitz in school with phone under desk. Now I need to focus and slow down to improve which will get a title. But to reach my level at least this helps and is easiest
@reabr said in #1:
> Many of you probably know that the difference between a 2000-rated player and a 2200-rated player is significant, even though it might not seem like a big deal. I have specific openings that I prefer. For example, I sometimes play the English Opening to surprise my opponents, as many of them don’t know the main line, especially after 1.g3. If I play 1.e4, it usually leads to the Ruy López and the Sicilian Defense; I play the rossolimo without hesitation. Against 1.d4, I play the King's Indian Defense, and if it’s 1.e4, then I go for 1...e5.
>
> Should I try new openings, perhaps exploring some closed ones? Which topics should I focus on to become a 2200-rated player? My puzzles rating is currently 2400, and I can calculate 6 or 7 moves ahead in a row. When I show some of my games to my coaches, they say my calculations are not at the level of a 1900/2000-rated player. How can I break out of this loop?
i am 2300 rapid on my main and 24-2500 tactics so your tactics are not the problem. try mastering your openings more by looking at master games and creating an opening repertoire using a study on lichess. also try reading a few books to increase positional understanding (like reassess your chess by jeremy silman).
"... going from good at tactics to great at tactics ... doesn't translate into much greater strength. ... You need a relatively good memory to reach average strength. But a much better memory isn't going to make you a master. ... there's a powerful law of diminishing returns in chess calculation, ... Your rating may have been steadily rising when suddenly it stops. ... One explanation for the wall is that most players got to where they are by learning how to not lose. ... Mastering chess ... requires a new set of skills and traits. ... Many of these attributes are kinds of know-how, such as understanding when to change the pawn structure or what a positionally won game looks like and how to deal with it. Some are habits, like always looking for targets. Others are refined senses, like recognizing a critical middlegame moment or feeling when time is on your side and when it isn't. ..." - What It Takes to Become a Chess Master by GM Andrew Soltis (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093409/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/review857.pdf
“... I consider the approach towards the study of the endgame must be multi-staged and always keep the same pace as the player’s overall playing level. ...
In the first stage, it is enough to master the basic checkmates, King + Pawn vs. King endings, and to know which main material relations are winning or not; in addition a few exceptional and frequent situations, such as the Bishop + Wrong Rook’s Pawn ending, etc.
A second step in this first stage would involve the Philidor and Lucena Positions in Rook + Pawn vs. Rook endings, as well as some more ideas in pawn endings and opposite-coloured bishop endings. ...
... and actually that is enough until the moment one reaches, say, a FIDE rating of around 1900-2000. Beyond that point, greater endgame skill is a must. ...” - 100 Endgames You Must Know (2008) by GM Jesús de la Villa
https://www.amazon.com/100-Endgames-You-Must-Know/dp/9056916173?asin=9056916173&revisi&format=4&depth=1
The difference is in endgames.
You can observe it at the top boards in the first round of any Swiss tournament.
Here is an example:
https://lichess.org/broadcast/fide-world-senior-championship-2025--open-65/round-1/Cb9z7AQN/vmJj5crT
Black is a grandmaster rated 2491. White is an untitled player rated 1984.
Opening is equal. Middle game is equal. Time use is equal. The endgame makes the difference.
@BulletHyperUltraOnly said in #15:
> > Many of you probably know that the difference between a 2000-rated player and a 2200-rated player is significant, even though it might not seem like a big deal. I have specific openings that I prefer. For example, I sometimes play the English Opening to surprise my opponents, as many of them don’t know the main line, especially after 1.g3. If I play 1.e4, it usually leads to the Ruy López and the Sicilian Defense; I play the rossolimo without hesitation. Against 1.d4, I play the King's Indian Defense, and if it’s 1.e4, then I go for 1...e5.
> >
> > Should I try new openings, perhaps exploring some closed ones? Which topics should I focus on to become a 2200-rated player? My puzzles rating is currently 2400, and I can calculate 6 or 7 moves ahead in a row. When I show some of my games to my coaches, they say my calculations are not at the level of a 1900/2000-rated player. How can I break out of this loop?
thanks i am actually reading it . any more books ?
>
> i am 2300 rapid on my main and 24-2500 tactics so your tactics are not the problem. try mastering your openings more by looking at master games and creating an opening repertoire using a study on lichess. also try reading a few books to increase positional understanding (like reassess your chess by jeremy silman).
@kindaspongey @tpr @BulletHyperUltraOnly @JEEprep2374 @KMcGeoch @OrangeKing2504 Thank you everyone for sharing your knowledge.
One thing I'll add is that reason advice given varies is that it depends on what you're aiming to achieve.
For example if wanting to be 2200 in bullet then you'll focus on quickly finding candidates that put opponent under pressure and finding moves that give an opportunity to quickly blunder. On the other hand if wanting to be 2200 in standard then you'll have a much greater focus on accuracy since if you play a speculative sacrifice in bullet your opponent may only have 5 seconds to work out a refutation while in standard they can spend 10 minutes working out all the lines.
So basically rapid controls like bullet and blitz rely on a player's intuition while longer controls like standard rely more on calculation. The skills are transferable since good intuition can give you an idea what to calculate while good calculation skills help build your intuition or find follow ups if you do an intuitive sacrifice.
Most over the board events are standard time controls so that's usually one I focus on if trying to improve since faster time controls train you not to think in depth although blitz and bullet are fun especially since opponents more easily miss tactics so I can get a lot of nice quick wins.