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How long does it take to "get good"?

Got from 1200 to 1500 in three month, just started working with chesstempo debut training daily. So, the article makes a lot of averaging I guess, casue according to it I should never ever reach 1500 at all. IMO, the progress is not the result of how long you play chess, but a result of how much you study chess, and can not be shown in a graph like this.

Got from 1200 to 1500 in three month, just started working with chesstempo debut training daily. So, the article makes a lot of averaging I guess, casue according to it I should never ever reach 1500 at all. IMO, the progress is not the result of how long you play chess, but a result of how much you study chess, and can not be shown in a graph like this.

I am quite a low elo player. Let’s test it:
The numbers are the elo changed since I joined lichess(3-4 months)
Ultra: 279
Bullet: 193
Blitz: -876 since my elo started soo high due to my first rated games came from a tournament
Rapid: 173
Classical: 139
Correspondance: 445 since I lost my first one then had an 11-win streak

I am quite a low elo player. Let’s test it: The numbers are the elo changed since I joined lichess(3-4 months) Ultra: 279 Bullet: 193 Blitz: -876 since my elo started soo high due to my first rated games came from a tournament Rapid: 173 Classical: 139 Correspondance: 445 since I lost my first one then had an 11-win streak

It's not that surprising that a bunch of online blitz games don't make you any better, you can't just "play chess" to get good.

If I walk into a PHD level physics class and take the exam 400 times I might pick up something resembling knowledge eventually but mostly I'm going just going to be handing in a test with a bunch of wrong and randomly chosen multiple choice answers and not getting much benefit. I have to read up on and learn that material (chess study etc) outside of the exam (the chess game) and/or get the exam back with corrections and learn it that way (analyzing your own games etc).

It's not that surprising that a bunch of online blitz games don't make you any better, you can't just "play chess" to get good. If I walk into a PHD level physics class and take the exam 400 times I might pick up something resembling knowledge eventually but mostly I'm going just going to be handing in a test with a bunch of wrong and randomly chosen multiple choice answers and not getting much benefit. I have to read up on and learn that material (chess study etc) outside of the exam (the chess game) and/or get the exam back with corrections and learn it that way (analyzing your own games etc).

On chess.com I went from 500 to peak 2k blitz in the last year and 10 months. I've played 10,500+ games so far. In my experience games played has a huge effect on skill level. More mistakes means more learning means better player.

On chess.com I went from 500 to peak 2k blitz in the last year and 10 months. I've played 10,500+ games so far. In my experience games played has a huge effect on skill level. More mistakes means more learning means better player.

It also depends on who you are playing. If you consistently play higher rated players, you may not necessarily win a lot of games, but you could improve your game. I am fortunate that one of my colleagues at work grew up in a chess-playing family, is a coach and has played in tournaments. When she found out I like chess, we started playing during our lunch breaks, and although she wins most of the time, I can see my game has improved just by watching and understanding what she does during games.

It also depends on who you are playing. If you consistently play higher rated players, you may not necessarily win a lot of games, but you could improve your game. I am fortunate that one of my colleagues at work grew up in a chess-playing family, is a coach and has played in tournaments. When she found out I like chess, we started playing during our lunch breaks, and although she wins most of the time, I can see my game has improved just by watching and understanding what she does during games.

This information is good. I like it!

This information is good. I like it!

damn, that's intense..

damn, that's intense..

@mrbumba1287 said in #30:

According to this data, i'm improving faster than Hikaru Nakamura did... :/
(Edit) I'm only pointing out that some of the stuff he said is a bit flawed. I'm not by any ways saying i am better than Nakamura, he was almost a GM by the time he was my age...
Sorry if it looked like i was boasting, i wasn't, and great work @jcw024 :)
You could be. I do believe practice is more important than chess talent as long as you're young. Now all you have to do is continue doing the same thing for at least 9 more years. It could be at the end of 9 years you're not young enough anymore to get to the same level as Hikaru. Hikaru improved for 15 years, but possibly he could have done it a bit faster, as he got tired with chess for a bit at some point.

@mrbumba1287 said in #30: > According to this data, i'm improving faster than Hikaru Nakamura did... :/ > (Edit) I'm only pointing out that some of the stuff he said is a bit flawed. I'm not by any ways saying i am better than Nakamura, he was almost a GM by the time he was my age... > Sorry if it looked like i was boasting, i wasn't, and great work @jcw024 :) You could be. I do believe practice is more important than chess talent as long as you're young. Now all you have to do is continue doing the same thing for at least 9 more years. It could be at the end of 9 years you're not young enough anymore to get to the same level as Hikaru. Hikaru improved for 15 years, but possibly he could have done it a bit faster, as he got tired with chess for a bit at some point.

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