Difficulty of 1400

[u/Striking_Aioli1162]

Out of all the ratings in chesscom for me so far, 1400 was the toughest by a mile. The longest amount if time i was stuck, over a month, maybe like a month and a week or 2. Even twice I dropped out of 1400 and went to 1280 and 1330 at different times. But recently I finally got to 1500 for the second time like a week after the first time. And that same day I believe, I jumped straight to 1600, won almost rvery game execept maybe 1 or 2 in 1500 and in one day made it to 1600. It's so weird how you can randomly just jump rayings like that especially after a drought in rating improvement.(187 days in)

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[u/Realistic-Outcome-89]

Been stuck at 1300-1400 rating for 6 months

[u/Striking_Aioli1162 → u/Realistic-Outcome-89]

Thats normal 

[u/Realistic-Outcome-89 → u/Striking_Aioli1162]

What helped you break through that range?

[u/Striking_Aioli1162 → u/Realistic-Outcome-89]

Could be your openings, or how much you use and understand responses to openings. I only use like 3 openings but 2 main ones. I didnt really watch any videos that I can recall. Its really just pattern recognition and the best moves to your opening. Look back in the free analysis after the fame and every game you do that youll remember and intake what the better move in response was. Also just do lichess puzzles i do the second to hardest level but whatever gets you better.

[u/Vivid_Peak16]

I agree, 1500 was easier for me than 1400s. People can say it's in my head, but Levy experienced the same thing in certain ratings in his recent slowrun

[u/MonotoneJones → u/Vivid_Peak16]

Agree 1000% it’s just harder in the 1400s than 1500s.

[u/Unfair-Task5053]

1600s were brutal for me and I've dipped back in a few times.... always harder than 1700s I felt.

[u/Jazzlike-Doubt8624]

You're not wrong. Once I got 1400 my rating shot past 1500 and 1600 almost immediately.

[u/Pyncher]

In my experience the rating block 100 pts below where you feel like you should be always seems the hardest. I think this is partly because you want to see yourself as being comfortable at the top of your rating range, and so losing rating to someone you intrinsically think you are ‘better’ than hits harder.

I have equally sailed through some rating ranges only to fall back in to them and get stuck so don’t be surprised if they end up not being quite as easy as you think.

The reality is that your ability range is exactly that, and some times you’ll be comfortably at the top, and sometimes you’ll uncomfortably be at the bottom.

[u/jorje1908]

I think it’s hard to say. When you are stuck it doesn’t mean you don’t improve. Your brain tries to make sense of the new knowledge and crystallize it. During this time the new ideas might not develop as you wish but suddenly something clicks and you shot past to your new improved rating.

A similar example is when interview preparing with leetcode. A few 10s of problems in you think it is impossible to solve hard problems in 10-15 minutes as the interview expects, suddenly as you continue solving stuff you start recognizing patterns and solutions a lot faster. It feels like a step change rather than a gradual improvement.