hardest rating increase

whats the hardest jump in ratings 1500- 1600 1600 to 1700 etc just wondering

1600-1700 definitely

Originally posted by exigentsky
1600-1700 definitely

Umm.

Originally posted by kmac27
whats the hardest jump in ratings 1500- 1600 1600 to 1700 etc just wondering

The higher your rating, the better your typical opponents will be (assuming one plays clan & tournament games) and winning will consequently be harder. And even if you play against weaker opponents, the points gains will get smaller as your rating goes up.

At the risk of generalizing, the pattern here seems to be:

Against 1300 - 1400 (perhaps even 1500) players, the formula for winning is to know a little bit of opening theory, build an aggressive yet solid position, and wait for your opponent to make a blunder. Then you grab material and consolidate for an endgame.

Against 1600 - 1700 players you actually need to have a plan and execute it to get wins. Knowing well a couple of openings that typically lead to middlegame positions that you are comfortable with helps a lot. Here, endgame technique also becomes much more important as you are much more likely to enter pretty even endgames.

Against 1800 and above, I am not really compenent on commenting...

Cheers,
T.

I would guess it depends on what is keeping you at your current level. if it's only one single thing, it's relatively straight-forward once you realise what it is. but if it's a broader issue, it'll take a lot more work.

say, if somebody had been playing for 20 years around 1600, studied almost everything the whole time but neglected tactics totally. a short intensive work on tactics could give a huge effect on rating. on the other hand, someone could have neglected all strategical and positional training, but wasn't dopping any pieces, and just couldn't outplay people in a materially equal situation, being also stuck at 1600. now, this player probably has a lot broader area to work on than the former.

Point spread doesn't matter, the closer you get to your true performance level, the harder the points come.

Originally posted by General Putzer
Point spread doesn't matter, the closer you get to your true performance level, the harder the points come.

Well said.

The General is correct on this one.

I don't think it works the way you're suggesting. The largest jump in rating comes when you go from absolute beginner to competent fledgling, because your understanding of the game is so limited or you've developed too many bad habits before you began a proper study of the game. Once you overcome all the bad programming or gaps in your knowledge, it becomes near impossible to see any large jump in rating and every successive increase becomes harder and harder to achieve. A lot of players plateau around 1600 (USCF) and stop progressing because it requires so much time and effort. Think of it this way: Once you reach 1600 (USCF), it will take twice as much effort to reach 1700, four times as much to reach 1800, sixteen times as much to reach 1900, etc.

Originally posted by kmac27
whats the hardest jump in ratings 1500- 1600 1600 to 1700 etc just wondering

1800-2000

After that I heard 2200-2400 is pretty hard.

2000/2100 to 2200.

Originally posted by RahimK
1800-2000

After that I heard 2200-2400 is pretty hard.

It really depends on what mountains you want to climb. Unless you want to put some serious effort into it and have some talent, you're going to be stuck in the sub-2000s. Thereafter, the rise in ability is pretty stratospheric. More so after 2200.

2700-2800+ is the hardest of all

Originally posted by RahimK
1800-2000

After that I heard 2200-2400 is pretty hard.

1800 - 2000 is definitely the most difficult to get through. I read that a lot of players get to 2000, but most never maintain that rating. It's because you have to devote so much time to maintaining a 2000 OTB rating. But, like Lasker said, anyone who has a good plan of study can become a master, but grandmasters are born to be grandmasters.

Originally posted by der schwarze Ritter
I don't think it works the way you're suggesting. The largest jump in rating comes when you go from absolute beginner to competent fledgling, because your understanding of the game is so limited or you've developed too many bad habits before you began a proper study of the game. Once you overcome all the bad programming or gaps in your knowledge, ...[text shortened]... rt to reach 1700, four times as much to reach 1800, sixteen times as much to reach 1900, etc.

I'd be satisfied with an 1800 USCF rating. Not that difficult to maintain, and the chess is still interesting. An 1800 play has a chance in any game. A-class all the way!

Originally posted by powershaker
1800 - 2000 is definitely the most difficult to get through. I read that a lot of players get to 2000, but most never maintain that rating. It's because you have to devote so much time to maintaining a 2000 OTB rating. But, like Lasker said, anyone who has a good plan of study can become a master, but grandmasters are born to be grandmasters.

How can you say that 1800 -> 2000 is harder than 2000 -> 2200?
Here's my take, the hardest rating increase is the one you haven't made yet.

Also 1800 OTB? I'll let the readers judge that for themselves.
Game 1913457
IN PROGRESS