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Chess Tactics Server

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U
All Bark, No Bite

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So I've seen countless threads comparing RHP ratings to FIDE and USCF etc. but how do ya'll fare on the Chess Tactics Server at chess.emerald.net?

I'm thinking tactics may be an even bigger weakness for me than I thought.

p

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Originally posted by UmbrageOfSnow
So I've seen countless threads comparing RHP ratings to FIDE and USCF etc. but how do ya'll fare on the Chess Tactics Server at chess.emerald.net?

I'm thinking tactics may be an even bigger weakness for me than I thought.
I haven't been there for a while but I think my highest rating on it was around 1650. I am skeptical of it now though because I have been studying tactics from a book and doing well in that but when I went back to cts yesterday night I was doing absolutely terrible because of the short time controls and things they have.

w
If Theres Hell Below

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Originally posted by UmbrageOfSnow
So I've seen countless threads comparing RHP ratings to FIDE and USCF etc. but how do ya'll fare on the Chess Tactics Server at chess.emerald.net?

I'm thinking tactics may be an even bigger weakness for me than I thought.
the scaling of the CTS ratings probably just throws you off. your average 2000-2200 FIDE player scores around 1600 on CTS at around 80-85% success rate. IMs & GMs around 1800-1900. the success rate makes huge difference, as does whether you're heavily tactically oriented or not. but surprisingly, CTS doesn't seem to correlate with blitz strength practically speaking at all.


1653 at 83% (latest session), but maybe around 95% of my training have been tactics for the last 1½ years.

U
All Bark, No Bite

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Originally posted by wormwood
the scaling of the CTS ratings probably just throws you off. your average 2000-2200 FIDE player scores around 1600 on CTS at around 80-85% success rate. IMs & GMs around 1800-1900. the success rate makes huge difference, as does whether you're heavily tactically oriented or not. but surprisingly, CTS doesn't seem to correlate with blitz strength practically ...[text shortened]... (latest session), but maybe around 95% of my training have been tactics for the last 1½ years.
I'm about 1200 on there with about 70% sucess, is this particularly low given my rating here or should I not worry about it?

w
If Theres Hell Below

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Originally posted by UmbrageOfSnow
I'm about 1200 on there with about 70% sucess, is this particularly low given my rating here or should I not worry about it?
looks about right, and it's a good place to start from. I went down to 1050 when I first started.

s

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I registerd an account on CTS an hour ago and my rating first went down but it seems to be quite steady now on 1380 with about 85% success rate. My question though is how you can actually get better by doing these puzzles. When I play the wrong move there are no explanations what kind of theme it was etc. Does anyone have any tips?

U
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Originally posted by sleightjacke
I registerd an account on CTS an hour ago and my rating first went down but it seems to be quite steady now on 1380 with about 85% success rate. My question though is how you can actually get better by doing these puzzles. When I play the wrong move there are no explanations what kind of theme it was etc. Does anyone have any tips?
I click "retry unrated" until I get it right. You could also just look at the solution.

s

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Yes, I try that too, but it always helps to know what kind of theme it is. I tried a little more now and managed to get over 1400 rating with 89% success rate. I get some 1500 puzzles now that are a little longer variations but still not very hard. Doing it very quick is hard though. I usually take about 3-10 s on all my puzzles which I guess is a bit long. The question though is if this is a good way to get better. Any success storys someone would like to share?

J

back in business

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I'll hover between 1650-1750 CTS. OTB 2000.

EDIT: 1720 CTS now.
EDIT2: And I think its an excellent way to get better. Of course, combined with playing and studying.

b

Sydney

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I'm almost 1500 on CTS under the same nick at RHP. I've improved pretty fast I'm sure anyone is capable of it no matter how old you are. I think its a great site to practice tactics and combinative play. As for the "no explanation" question, look at the solution and question why that is the solution, after looking at the solution it doesn't take me long to figure out why that was the solution and thats how I learn from it. I hope this helps.

z

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CTS is a joke. The ratings should start at 2000 rather than 1200. A 1200 player just knows the moves and it is a shame when given the unfamiliar format you are given a low rating.

If the board was as big as the Fritz screen then I would view the games much easier, however the screen is too small. Tactics like this is bogus because you do not have the opening skills to extract such a position.

w
If Theres Hell Below

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Originally posted by sleightjacke
Yes, I try that too, but it always helps to know what kind of theme it is. I tried a little more now and managed to get over 1400 rating with 89% success rate. I get some 1500 puzzles now that are a little longer variations but still not very hard. Doing it very quick is hard though. I usually take about 3-10 s on all my puzzles which I guess is a bit l ...[text shortened]... n though is if this is a good way to get better. Any success storys someone would like to share?
I'm now at 1840 RHP after 81K problems on CTS. I started doing it maybe a month or two after I learned how the pieces moved. I've started playing faster games only recently, so it's pretty much the 81K problems combined with my 200 games here which got me where I am now. I've done other things as well, but the time spent on CTS & RHP just dwarfs everything else. tactics from CTS, strategy & openings from CC. seems to work pretty well.

I feel it's best to try keeping your success rate around 82-85%. the higher the percentage, the more you learn. but it also cuts to the volume you can get done. it just slows you down considerably if you aim for a higher percentage. also, always make sure you find out exactly why you failed a problem. there's a lot of people who don't process their failures, and they don't seem to improve even doing massive amounts of problems.

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