HOW TO GET RANKS AND RATING POINTS?
Let’s clear one thing up early. Getting ranks and rating points in chess is not about playing more games. That idea sounds logical, sure. Play more, get better, rating goes up. In real life, that’s not how it works. Most players spam games, lose half of them, tilt, and wonder why their rating hasn’t moved in months. Or years.
If you’re serious about improving, especially online, private chess lessons are usually where things start to change. Not because they’re magic. But because they force you to slow down, reflect, and actually fix mistakes instead of repeating them. A lot of players don’t want to hear that. They’d rather believe the next blitz session will unlock something. It won’t.
Understand What Rating Actually Measures
Your rating isn’t a badge of honor. It’s not a personality trait either, even though it feels personal when it drops. A rating is just a rough measurement of how often you make fewer mistakes than your opponent. That’s it. No mystery. No drama.
People get stuck because they focus on winning games, not improving decisions. Winning can be random. Improvement isn’t. You can blunder less and still lose. That’s progress. But most players don’t track progress that way. They only see red or green arrows next to their rating.
If you want points, stop obsessing over points.
Play Fewer Games, Review More
This is where almost everyone messes up. They play ten games in a row and review none. Or they “review” by clicking through moves quickly and saying, yeah yeah, missed a tactic. That’s not review. That’s pretending.
Strong players do the opposite. They play fewer games and spend more time understanding why things went wrong. Even one serious review a day does more than twenty rushed games. That’s not theory. That’s experience talking.
Metal Eagle Chess pushes this idea hard, and for good reason. Structured review changes how you think. Slowly. Quietly. But it sticks.
Fix One Thing at a Time
Trying to fix everything at once never works. You can’t improve your opening, middlegame, endgame, time management, and calculation all in one week. Pick one problem. Maybe you hang pieces. Maybe you misplay endgames. Maybe you panic under time pressure.
Focus there. Stay there longer than feels comfortable. Improvement feels boring before it feels rewarding. That’s normal.
This is where working with a chess personal trainer actually makes sense. Not someone yelling ideas at you, but someone who helps identify the one leak that’s sinking your rating. You fix that leak, the rating usually follows.
Stop Copying Openings Without Understanding Them
Memorizing openings feels productive. It looks productive. It’s also misleading. Most rating losses don’t come from move eight theory mistakes. They come from not understanding positions after the opening ends.
You don’t need twenty openings. You need one or two that you understand deeply. Plans. Ideas. Typical mistakes. Metal Eagle Chess emphasizes this a lot in their training approach, and honestly, it saves players months of wasted effort.
Play simple. Understand it well. Fancy comes later.
Mindset Matters More Than You Think
Tilt kills ratings. Not tactics. Not openings. Tilt. One bad loss turns into five bad games. You start rushing. You stop thinking. You chase rating points instead of playing good moves.
Strong players walk away. Weak players queue again. That difference alone can be 200 points.
Learning how to reset after a loss is part of improvement. No one talks about it enough. A good coach will. A good chess personal trainer definitely will, because mindset issues show up on the board fast.
Training Beats Motivation
Motivation fades. Training doesn’t rely on motivation. That’s the uncomfortable truth. Waiting to “feel like playing” is how ratings stagnate.
Short, focused training sessions beat long emotional ones. Thirty minutes of real work beats three hours of random games. Every time.
This is where private chess lessons quietly outperform self-study. Not because you can’t learn alone, but because structure removes excuses. You show up. You work. You improve. Slowly, then suddenly.
Conclusion
If you want ranks and rating points, stop chasing them directly. Focus on decision quality, not win streaks. Play fewer games, review properly, fix one problem at a time, and simplify your approach. Ratings reward clarity, not chaos.
Metal Eagle Chess builds training around these exact principles. Not hype. Not shortcuts. Just steady improvement that actually shows on the rating graph. And if you work with the right chess personal trainer, you’ll realize improvement isn’t mysterious at all. It’s just consistent, honest work done the right way.
FAQ
How long does it usually take to gain rating points?
It depends on how you train. Random play can stall you for years. Focused training can show results in weeks, sometimes months.
Are private chess lessons worth it for online players?
Yes, especially if you’re stuck. Private chess lessons help identify mistakes you don’t notice yourself.
Do I need to study openings to improve my rating?
Some, but not deeply at first. Understanding plans matters more than memorization.
What’s the biggest reason players stop improving?
Lack of review and emotional play. Tilt ruins progress fast.
Is a chess personal trainer different from a normal coach?
A chess personal trainer focuses more on habits, mindset, and long-term improvement, not just moves.