I’ve recently organized chess players in a small town and had a question from one of the players that I couldn’t answer. Perhaps you can.
“I’ve got a question for you… Do you know of any adults who have gone from 1300 (as an adult) to 2100 in their rating? The reason I ask this is because I personally wonder how much of my rating is learned and how much of it has to do with just being born with it. If I really dedicate myself to the books and to a deeper study beyond just “playing” how far can I (or anyone for that matter) reasonably expect to progress (in their rating)? The only way I can get past the mental block is by producing some evidence that says that block is not there.”
Only 3? That’s kind of discouraging. Of course, that’s also only looking at that one particular slice of time. And even if someone doesn’t break 2000, there are still plenty who start at 1000-1400 as adults and end up rated over 1800. That’s still not half bad.
I’ve noticed that those who go up Big (2000+) go up quickly.
For most of us, it seems we reach our rating high range in two to three years and then hang there bouncing 80 pts either way until middle age sets in.
Working hard and consistently with the right material such as Reassess Your Chess or some solid tactics workbook may gain an adult 100 to 200 points for a while but the minute they relax they slip right back down. Sorta like weight gain/loss: You see a friend looking really good at minus 50 lbs and then you look again in a year and it’s all back on.
The Big Number is some combination of pattern recognition, hard work but the right work, and temperment.
I remember an adult who came in pretty raw to our club. His rating started out as 1300 (in the mid 70s); It came up rating supplement by rating supplement. He would reach positions and then suddenly say “I see mates everywhere!” And he would be right in post-game analysis. I would look at the same position and see that it looked winning but I would not see “mates everywhere!”
Doug Gragg could have gone places in chess that I will never see.
I was talking to an IM once who said “Anyone can make IM.” He meant it in the same nice way I think “Anyone can make 1800.” And then I look at the hordes of adult players (smart adults) who never break 1400 or 1500 or 1600 or 1700.
For the Big Number, you either got it or you don’t.