From 631 to 1385: my chess journey
This is my real chess journey on Chess.com: 2,117 rapid games, from my first game at 631 on January 10, 2024 to a peak of 1385 on November 23, 2025. I'm Ignacio, I build Chess Coach, and every game here was reviewed with Stockfish, the same engine Chess Coach uses inside Claude.
The numbers so far
| Rapid games | 2,117 |
| Wins / losses / draws | 989 / 1,068 / 60 |
| First rating | 631 |
| Peak rating | 1385 |
| Current rating | 1216 |
Nothing here is made up: every evaluation and every "better move" comes from the engine, and the games are public on Chess.com. I write down what I got wrong, what I learned and what I'd tell a beginner facing the same position. If you want the same review for your own games, connect Chess Coach to Claude or read how the analysis works.
Milestones
Week by week
- Week 1 (Jan 2024): how to analyze chess games as a beginner
- Week 2 (Jan 2024): 10-minute rapid and a 9-game losing streak
- Week 3 (Jan 2024): is the London System good for beginners?
- Week 4 (Feb 2024): three queen mistakes and a 5-game win streak
- Week 5 (Feb 2024): stuck in the 800s after nine straight losses
- Week 6 (Feb 2024): +53 with Bf4 setups and the Englund Gambit
- Week 7 (Feb 2024): best accuracy yet and still a losing week
- Week 8 (Feb 2024): touching 1000 Elo for the first time
- Week 9 (Mar 2024): best chess openings at 1000 Elo, my data
- Week 10 (Mar 2024): 9 games at 1000 Elo and 0–4 with Black
- Week 11 (Mar 2024): 0–6 with White and back under 1000
- Week 12 (Mar 2024): my cleanest week, and a missed mate in 3
- Week 13 (Apr 2024): how to beat the London System as Black
- Week 14 (Apr 2024): eleven losses in a row, back under 1000
- Week 15 (Apr 2024): early queen attacks and 3–9 with Black
- Week 16 (Apr 2024): knight forks I missed and one I allowed
- Week 17 (Apr 2024): back above 1000 and what that rating means
- Week 18 (May 2024): one win in ten games with Black
- Week 19 (May 2024): a rook, a bishop and a pawn left hanging
- Week 20 (May 2024): six losses in a row, and why
- Week 21 (May 2024): 1026 → 975, stuck at 1000 again
- Week 22 (Jun 2024): 91 blunders in 29 games and a stalemate
- Week 23 (Jun 2024): back to 10-minute games and back over 1000
- Week 24 (Jun 2024): the forks and loose pieces I kept missing
- Week 25 (Jun 2024): I missed a mate in 3 and it cost the game
- Week 26 (Jul 2024): new peak at 1112 on the way to 1200
- Week 27 (Jul 2024): from 1090 to 1018 with my London setups
- Week 28 (Jul 2024): 48 games and three losses on time
- Week 29 (Jul 2024): 1–6 with White and three opening blunders
- Week 30 (Aug 2024): switching to 1.e4 as White
- Week 31 (Aug 2024): six games and my chess improvement plan
- Week 32 (Aug 2024): the Englund Gambit and a seven-game skid
- Week 33 (Aug 2024): my Zukertort setup and an en passant shock
- Week 34 (Aug 2024): 7 games, no wins, 6 winning positions
- Week 35 (Sep 2024): stuck at 945 and the forks I didn't see
- Week 36 (Sep 2024): ten wins in a row and back over 1000
- Week 37 (Sep 2024): 93 blunders and stuck at 1000
- Week 38 (Sep 2024): 1044, two stalemates and bad captures
- Week 39 (Oct 2024): 60 rapid games in one week for -2 points
- Week 40 (Oct 2024): a knight hung in a won endgame
- Week 41 (Oct 2024): pins, pins and hanging on at 1001
- Week 42 (Oct 2024): 13 blunders in 9 games and four clean wins
- Week 43 (Oct 2024): 12–5 with White, 3–12 with Black
- Week 44 (Nov 2024): 13 wins in 18 games, back to 1058
- Week 45 (Nov 2024): a new best of 1147 with the London System
- Week 46 (Nov 2024): a new peak of 1159, then seven losses
- Week 47 (Nov 2024): 40 blunders in 13 games, down to 1074
- Week 48 (Dec 2024): my best accuracy and an endgame king walk
- Week 49 (Dec 2024): six losses from winning positions
- Week 50 (Dec 2024): 35 games, 83 blunders, two quick mates
- Week 51: reaching 1200 over Christmas
- Week 52 (Jan 2025): back over 1200 with the Pirc Defense
- Week 53 (Jan 2025): Pirc Classical 1–4, Black 4–10
- Week 54 (Jan 2025): +96 in a week and my first 1300
- Week 55 (Jan 2025): two time losses from winning positions
- Week 56 (Jan 2025): Pirc vs Modern, 0–3 with Black
- Week 57 (Feb 2025): one London System game, one bad castle
- Week 58 (Feb 2025): a queen hung in one move, 58% accuracy
- Week 59 (Feb 2025): hanging pieces on both sides of the board
- Week 60 (Mar 2025): Black goes 1–4 in the Modern and the Pirc
- Week 61 (Mar 2025): the Zukertort Chigorin and an 8–1–1 run
- Week 62 (Mar 2025): back over 1300 after 53 games in the 1200s
- Week 63 (Mar 2025): 0–3 in the Pirc Geller System
- Week 64 (Apr 2025): a sudden losing streak, explained by data
- Week 65 (Apr 2025): 68 blunders in 24 games
- Week 66 (Apr 2025): the Modern Defense lifts me to 1317
- Week 67 (Apr 2025): Zukertort Chigorin, 0 wins in 3 games
- Week 68 (May 2025): the Englund Gambit and a bishop on h6
- Week 69 (May 2025): Pirc Classical, saved by stalemate
- Week 70 (May 2025): a Pirc main line mate, an Englund collapse
- Week 71 (Jun 2025): Pirc and Modern as Black, 3 wins, 4 losses
- Week 72 (Jun 2025): 11 London games and my best accuracy yet
- Week 73 (Jun 2025): 34 rapid games and a 1277 ceiling
- Week 74 (Jun 2025): London vs King's Indian, 0 out of 3
- Week 75 (Jul 2025): five winning middlegames, seven losses
- Week 76 (Jul 2025): 91% accuracy and a rook endgame I let go
- Week 77 (Jul 2025): Modern Defense 0–4, Pirc Invitation 1–0
- Week 78 (Jul 2025): the knight forks I missed three times
- Week 79 (Jul 2025): a queen and a bishop left hanging
- Week 80 (Aug 2025): back to 1200, seven months later
- Week 81 (Aug 2025): the London Zukertort setup at 1200
- Week 82 (Aug 2025): 23 blunders in 11 games, down to 1171
- Week 83 (Aug 2025): the Modern Defense and six wins in a row
- Week 84 (Sep 2025): clean openings, messy middlegames
- Week 85 (Sep 2025): 1252, and an endgame saved by stalemate
- Week 86 (Sep 2025): how my opponents beat the Modern Defense
- Week 87 (Sep 2025): 47 blunders and a loss on time
- Week 88 (Sep 2025): stuck at 1200, sliding to 1168
- Week 89 (Oct 2025): Pirc Classical, and I forgot to castle
- Week 90 (Oct 2025): London vs Accelerated London, same setup
- Week 91 (Oct 2025): Pirc vs Modern Defense, 0-3 against 4-0
- Week 92 (Oct 2025): 43 rapid games, +99 and back to 1301
- Week 93 (Nov 2025): losing winning positions, 1301 to 1229
- Week 94 (Nov 2025): 11 wins in a row and a London Qb6 lesson
- Week 95 (Nov 2025): my 1385 peak, with the Pirc going 4-0
- Week 96 (Nov 2025): after the peak, two London lessons
- Week 97 (Dec 2025): grabbing the b7 pawn cost me the game
- Week 98 (Dec 2025): a rook captured with check
- Week 99 (Dec 2025): learning to convert an advantage
- Week 100 (Dec 2025): London System vs Qb6 cost me a rook
- Week 101 (Jan 2026): up to 1351, then a six-game losing streak
- Week 102 (Jan 2026): what the Modern Defense taught me
- Week 103 (Jan 2026): a pin on c6 and back up to 1292
- Week 104 (Jan 2026): London System mistakes and a 31-point drop
- Week 105 (Feb 2026): one game and my fianchetto's weak spot
- Week 106 (Feb 2026): when to castle queenside (not like this)
- Week 107 (Feb 2026): three losses and back down to 1204
- Week 108 (Mar 2026): my queen could have been trapped, twice
- Week 109 (Mar 2026): +35 and the double attacks I missed
- Week 110 (Mar 2026): 30-minute games at 10-minute speed
- Week 111 (Mar 2026): knight forks, a stalemate and 15 games
- Week 112 (Apr 2026): counting attackers before I capture
- Week 113 (Apr 2026): three winning positions I still lost
- Week 114 (Apr 2026): 46 blunders in 12 games, still +9
- Week 115 (Apr 2026): five games with White, five losses
- Week 116 (Apr 2026): why I keep blundering pieces at 1200
- Week 117 (May 2026): Pirc Classical wins, London losses
- Week 118 (May 2026): a Pirc trap for White my opponent missed
- Week 119 (May 2026): Zukertort Chigorin wins and a +15 week
- Week 120 (May 2026): a pawn fork, then a Modern Defense win
- Week 121 (Jun 2026): a winning endgame thrown away
- Week 122 (Jun 2026): three games, three double attacks
- Week 123 (Jun 2026): the queen move that allowed mate in two
- Week 124 (Jun 2026): stuck at 1200 despite 83% accuracy
- Week 125: two rapid wins without blunders
- Week 126 (Oct 2026): a Pirc Defense draw I should have won