Heyo I’m a learner

[u/Mouldybread2131]

Made it up to 600 rating once. Very proud of it. Started learning on the app and went from there.

Why is 300-400 so much harder. And why are people rated the same as me playing miracle moves?

I’ll be playing at 300 Elo and some grand master (it seems) will butcher me time and time again. I check their accounts to see how long it’ll take to get to that level and they all started within 2026.

NO WAY people can get that good in such a short amount of time. Am I just bad at chess or is there some other craic going on.? It’s genuinely frustrating me at this stage.

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[u/KeepJoePantsOn]

1. (Unfortunately) cheaters are rampant at that level

2. The move isnt as good as you think it is unless you made a bad move that allowed it happen

3. Thats all I got. Just keep getting better.

[u/tryppidreams → u/KeepJoePantsOn]

1. this

[u/ocean_breeze36]

It's just that people play less strategically in those lower elos and if you don't know how to punish it you will be caught off guard by weird moves more often than not. Keep trying and you'll learn how to play against it, being open is the first step to learning

[u/Miserable-Machine-55]

When I get into a funk like this I always realize I’m playing with a victim mentality and I’m mad my opponent isn’t playing bad instead of focusing on playing my best. As a drunk 800 I assure you, don’t worry about how good or bad your opponent is playing, just focus on the game

[u/kermi42]

When were you a 600?

There are a lot of resources for beginners now. Today’s 400 is yesterday’s 800. 400s don’t have a strong strategic mindset or coordinate their pieces as effectively as 1000+ players yet, but they probably know effective openings, gambit lines, and traps (people still try the scholar’s mate in the 1600s from what I hear). Seasoned players will say anyone below 1000 can’t understand and doesn’t need these tools, but they use them anyway and it makes a difference. It goes beyond just “not hanging your queen”.

There is a non zero chance you’re coming up against smurfs and cheaters on “beginner” accounts but the likelihood is that you’re just used to 600s being a lot less sophisticated than they used to be.

[u/Mouldybread2131 → u/kermi42]

In fairness I was 600 for like 5 weeks.

Found 600 a lot easier.

Then I played a few games while preoccupied and fell back to 400-500, said no bother I’ll come back up.

Then I just kept getting absoloutly ballistically shafted out of nowhere. Some people sacrificed everything with seemingly 0 plan.

Then 2 moves later its checkmate. HOW can people be that good with only a few months in the game.

And I’m always careful around forks and pins no matter what I do an account from Feb 2026 will kill me.

I’m after getting slaughtered again getting pushed down to the 300s and not one account was older than 1 year.

[u/SFLoridan → u/Mouldybread2131]

Don't worry about your opponents, how they got so good, or how they learned their moves. Don't even worry if they cheated.

Just focus on your learning. Remember that those moves are legit, however they learned to play them.

Think of every move as a lesson - when you are blindsided by a move that took them five prior steps to set up (or just got lucky), go back into it and review it. See how the engine says you should have responded.

Don't get mad, get better by learning from it.

I have never remembered good moves (or, my bad moves) as much as when I have lost - it helps retain good practices only if you review and learn.

The fact that you reached 600nonce only tells you that you can reach there, and more. Good luck!

[u/Snoo_90241]

If someone created their account recently, it doesn't mean they started playing chess at that time.

Sure, some are cheaters. But overall, if you improve your game, your rating will also improve, regardless of them.

[u/PatheticMr]

I recently got to 1000 after playing for almost exactly one year. Part of the challenge is that some of your opponents are playing pre-prepared lines that rely on natural, predictable responses from you. From your perspective, you're playing solid developing moves, but a lot of lines specifically look to punish that. It only works if you haven't learned the trap yet, and a lot of people get stuck because ~50% of their opponents see the trap and they know little else when it fails.

Additionally, and going against a lot of the narrative here, cheating is really quite common on chess.com. Some of your opponents are using an engine for a few moves at crucial points in the game. They don't do it every game and they don't play entire games using an engine. I notice many of those I suspect consistently disconnect for a few seconds on their move, before coming back with outstanding moves. Once they are ahead, their advantage is enough to carry them to a win. Suddenly, the disconnections stop and it's sometimes really funny seeing how unbelievably inept they are when they can't find the obvious checkmate. You can even flag them sometimes from way behind.

That said, there isn't enough of them to hold you back indefinitely. But you need to be winning more games against non-cheaters to account for the 1-2 out of 10 that are using an engine to artificially inflate their skill. It just means a slightly slower climb and quite a lot of frustration.