How to Quickly Get Past 1000 Elo Ratings in Chess? Tips!
I am a late bloomer. Unlike some of the kids that I have known, I am not really that interested in chess.
In fact, I was terrible. I was so bad at the game that I quit and played it entirely during my childhood.
After watching a lot of chess videos, I have started to become better, but not so quickly that it allows me to surpass 1000 elo easily (I lost a lot at first). I was terrible at my first tournament.
I won some games, but I have lost more than I have won.
Today I have, of course, surpassed 1000 elo. I have been playing for years at this point in time. Looking back, I made many mistakes that have hindered my progress along the way.
This article is for the new version of “me” reading this article struggling to get past the 1000 rating point.
This will contain my advice for you to quickly get past this stage. With all of that in mind, let’s get started.
How difficult is it to get past the 1000 elo rating mark in chess?
In my opinion, getting pass the 1000 elo rating mark is not that difficult. Most people in fide will receive a starting rating of over 1000.
In fide, you don’t get a rating unless you have a performance of over 1000 elo.
Before then you are classified as an “unrated” player, basically someone who doesn’t have any rating.
One of the classifications is you have a performance of over 1000 elo, after that you’ll be given an initial rating based on your overall performance.
You’re most likely starting rating is above 1000, in order for you to get below that means that you have lost a number of games.
Even in chess.com, your starting rating is supposed to be higher than 1000, you must have lost some games in order to go below that. This is not uncommon, there are players that lose their games after getting their starting rating.
Some people will struggle to get pass 1000 elo, which is understandable. Not everyone will have a good time keeping up with a competition as a beginner.
Just because it is easy for some people does not mean that it will be the same for others, it is fine to struggle. This guide is for those who are struggling to get pass the 1000 elo point.
My advice to you:
In my years of playing, I have learned a couple of lessons here and there. From what I’ve seen on beginners, there is a pattern on why they find it hard to improve.
These flaws are easier to fix than you think, you don’t even need the pay for any “premium lessons” in order to do this (although it will be helpful).
If you want to quickly get pass the 1000 elo rating mark, this is what you should do:
1.) Play about 2 hours of chess per day
Most of the time, people don’t improve because they don’t have a lot of experience. You see, visualization is important in chess.
Visualization is also intuition, something that you will need in order to find the good moves available in any position.
If you look at some videos of Magnus Carlsen, you can see him suggesting moves where he doesn’t even know why they are the good moves.
Basically, he knows the good moves without actually seeing the actual combinations that makes them good. This is a result of years of playing the game, you just get “the feel” of a position.
This is not something that you get from playing a limited number of games, you need to play a lot of them.
I suggest playing for at least two hours a day, the time control should also be balanced.
Some are classical, some are rapid, and a handful are blitz. Make sure that one time control does not overwhelm the schedule of others, keep the mix of time controls varied.
Playing online is a good option, you can access your phone and play with ease.
Playing over the board is also an option, although it will not be as convenient. If you want to practice over the board, you will need to a playing partner, which might be tough to get in some days.
This will allow you to develop the visualization necessary to become a good chess player. Quickly getting out of the 1000 elo trap will be easier because of this.
2.) Analyze your own games
This is important. You will be surprised how many chess players do not analyze their own games, it is so fundamental yet it is often overlooked.
Most of the time, people are just lazy to analyze their games, they are in a rush of having as many games as possible so they forget about it. Playing is important, but it is not the only thing that you should do.
You should also allows some time to analyze a couple of your games. You don’t have to analyze everything, not every game is worth spending time on.
However, there are games that are so rich and lesson that you just have to analyze them. Maybe it is a position that you should have won but lost, or maybe a game where you don’t know how you lost when you’ve played the right moves.
These kinds of games carry the most lessons, you should be able to absorb them. With engines, analysis is not that difficult, it would not be a hassle for you to include this.
Again, you don’t have to analyze everything, just analyze the important ones that comes your way.
3.) Don’t waste time on learning any chess opening
This is a trap that I see a lot of people falling into. They spend so much time learning openings that they wouldn’t even play in real games.
Due to the countless videos popping on the internet that are about openings, some beginners are led to believe that they should study this.
Titled chess players also (unintentionally) put so much emphasis on learning openings, this adds more to the confusion.
Openings are important, but only to those who have a already built a solid foundation to their game.
Most beginners shouldn’t study any openings, I bet that you don’t even understand the moves being played in a typical opening.
What is the point of knowing the actual moves if you don’t understand why they are you good in the first place?
This is kind of backwards thinking, instead of learning the actual moves why not learn what makes them good and improvise?
It is like procrastinating because you have a cheat sheet on an exam, except the answers are only applicable at the first part of the exam.
After the first part you don’t know anything, that is because you have never took a time to study the other parts of the exam.
Openings are the same, they are important, but you shouldn’t focus on them as a beginner. If you really want something to focus on then you should choose the endgame.
The strongest chess players ever are all a virtuoso of the endgame, it contains the essence of chess.
If you are good at the endgame, it is also guarantee that you will do well in the opening. This might be the more intelligent way to go about it.
4.) Watch beginner friendly chess videos
Due to the advancement of the internet, there is more information about anything online.
This is also true about chess, now you can see a lot of instructional videos on the internet that you can get for free. You should take advantage of these free resources.
Although good instructional videos on youtube are hard to find, they are available. I suggest finding these free videos in order for you to improve your game.
Let’s say you analyzed your games and have learned that you are bad at rook endings. You should find a good video on youtube about rook endings in order to improve your game at this particular aspect.
You should also find those that are more beginner oriented. Basically, the concepts are explained in terms that are broken down to the fundamental level that even a beginner can understand.
There are videos that do not really speak to beginners, you should avoid videos like this (since you are literally below 1000 elo). Just find a youtube channel where you can understand what they are saying.
Some of the best (beginner oriented) chess channels that I recommend are Gotham chess and St. Louis chess club. St. Louis chess club videos in particular are severely underrated.
They are giving you so many lessons online that are discussed by strong grandmasters.
You should take advantage of these resources if you want to improve.
Why do some people find it hard to get past the 1000 rating mark?
I think that beginners find it hard to get past 1000 elo because they are too inexperienced. They finally get their rating after being unrated, and think that they already have what it takes.
The thing is, in order to get a high rating you don’t only need strength, you need consistency.
Playing like a god in one game and flopping on the other is not an option. In the elo rating system, quantity is treated higher than quality.
Even if you play a perfect game on one occasion, it will be equalized once you have lost your next game (or you can even reduce your rating).
The lack of experience is not playing it safe, this is the right approach if you want to maintain a high rating. You don’t have to win every other game, but you at least need to not lose a lot (drawing is an option).
This play style needs some cultivation to fully develop.
I think that with experience, a below 1000 rated player can easily increase their rating. It is really just a combination of practice and studying the right things.
Conclusion
If you want to increase your rating beyond 1000, you need to play at least two hours of chess everyday, analyze your own games, avoid studying the opening, and watch the appropriate beginner friendly chess videos on youtube.
Do this for some time and I guarantee that you will surpass 1000 elo fairly easily. If you go about it the wrong way you could be stuck at this level for years, which is horrible.
Just be smart in what you do and you can easily overcome this hurdle.
In my opinion, 1000 elo is quite easy to overcome once you have started to become serious.
Using these tips as a guide, I have no doubt that you can quickly get there and become a stronger chess player. That is all for this article, thank you for reading.
