Chess's 2700 Rating Club: The Hardest Leap

“It takes time, for sure. It took me like four years to get to 2700 after becoming 2600 at 15. Moving from 2500 to 2600 is relatively smooth for most people. But 2600 to 2700 is really difficult. Because chess is very competitive and there are a lot of young kids who are trying to get to 2700. The thing is there’s also a lot of pressure involved, you know?”

“I think the secret to reaching 2700 is just to keep improving. Obviously, not everyone can achieve 2700. But if you just try to keep improving, playing better, you’ll get it eventually. It depends a lot. Because obviously, if you reach 2700, you have a good chance to be a chess professional. You can make a living, good money if you reach 2700.”

“I’ve spoken to a few people and I think the solution is to play more tournaments. So first, you need to do some training (camp) for two or three months and then you need to play back to back tournaments to gain ratings. I think this is the way which might be interesting to try and I’m going to do it soon.”

“Even before the GCL started, I was training (for breaching into 2700). So for me, the process has already started. I train about 6 to 7 hours daily for this.”

“For me, it was strange, because I jumped from 2600 to 2700 over the course of a summer. But when I got there, I still had to be consistent to stay there. It took me a few years to have a standout result as a 2700. I first made it to 2700 for the first time in 2008 and from there on it was always like being between 2680 and 2730 for like three to four years. The 2013 World Cup was really a breakthrough tournament where I reached the semis.”

“In general we do everything a little bit better. 2600 players can do things extremely well. We saw at the World Cup that there were so many good results from 2600-rated players. But sometimes we are a bit better prepared, bit more experienced, better in endgames, better in handling nerves. There’s no one particular aspect. But whatever we do, we do a little bit better than 2600.”

“I’ve actually asked many people (what the secret is to making it to the 2700 club). I have been in 2600 for the last two and a half years. In this phase, I have been trying a lot of things, changing a lot of things, talking to different people like coaches. But finally you just have to do what works for you because what works for someone else may not work for you. So you have to find your own path and hopefully something clicks.”