Week 51: reaching 1200 over Christmas

Reaching 1200 over Christmas was the milestone of this week. Between December 23 and 27, 2024 I played 28 rapid games: 15 wins, 12 losses and a draw, and my rating went from 1141 to 1184 (+43). On December 24, in game 1237, it touched 1205, the first time I had ever been above 1200. That crossing came 1,237 games and 349 days after a first game that finished at 631 on January 10, 2024. And as the week shows, getting there and staying there are two different things.

For the evergreen question about the time needed to reach 1200, see my 800-to-1200 guide. This diary records one particular week, rather than a timetable for other players.

The week in numbers

December 24 alone had 15 games, more than half of the week. I went 9–6 that day and climbed from 1173 to 1208. The week also started well: after losing the first game, I won six in a row (games 1223 to 1228), with accuracies between 78.1% and 96.2%.

The opponents were tougher too. Their average rating was 1225, and 23 of my 28 opponents had a higher rating than mine. Against them I went 11–12. My best win of the week was game 1236 against Forbidden_Wargod (1301), with 91.3% accuracy. My average accuracy in wins was 87.6%; in losses, 71.6%.

Reaching 1200 over Christmas: how it happened

I'd love to say I crossed 1200 with a perfect game. I didn't. Game 1237, against CrunchySheet (1249), was an English Defense where I blundered twice in a row on moves 13 and 14 and the engine had me at −5.61. The game ended when my opponent abandoned it. Rating after the game: 1205. The peak of the week came three games later, 1216 after beating Uzbekistannnnv (1211).

Then reality. I stayed at 1200 or higher for ten games. Game 1246, a London System against buldog64 (1198), had a forced mate for me on move 35 (the engine saw mate in seven) and I played f4 instead, after which the evaluation was 0.00 and the game ended in a draw by repetition. Then I lost the last three games of the week and finished at 1184.

Two positions from the week

Game 1222: moving the piece that was blocking a file

The week started with this one: White against mikethyoiri100 (1163), who played the Englund Gambit against my 1.d4 (game on Chess.com). I was clearly better, +2.20.

r n . r . . k .
p p p . . p p p
. . . . . . . .
b . . . . . . .
. . . . . . b .
. . P B P N . .
P P . N . P P P
R . . . . R K .

Both moves look the same: the bishop steps back one square. But look at the d-file. Black's rook on d8 was aiming down it, and my bishop on d3 was blocking it from my knight on d2. After Be2, the engine's best reply is Rxd2: the rook takes the knight and then attacks both my pawn on b2 and my bishop on e2, neither of which has a defender. The engine adds that the rook can be captured, but the line still works for Black. The evaluation went from +2.20 to −2.24. My opponent played 13...Bxf3 instead, so I escaped that moment, but I lost the game later anyway (my last move, 26.Rd6, allowed mate in two).

Game 1225: giving away my best bishop

With Black against oswaldo_aaron (1231) in a King's Indian Defense (game link), the position was roughly balanced, −0.92 in my favour.

. . r . . r k .
p p . n p p b p
. . . p . . p .
q . . P . . . .
. . . . P P . .
. P N . . R . P
P B . . Q . P .
. . R . . . K .

My bishop on g7, fianchettoed on the long diagonal, was my best-placed piece. I traded it for a knight, and after 19.Bxc3 White's bishop takes back while attacking my queen on a5, which has no defender. The evaluation swung from −0.92 to +1.80. The engine preferred Qb4, putting pressure on the same knight without giving up the bishop. I did win this game by checkmate, but only after five blunders from my side.

(The third key moment, 11.Qa4 in game 1224, was a quieter version of the same story: my queen went to a4, got chased by 11...b5 and came back to c2. The engine wanted 11.e4 instead, and my advantage dropped from +2.93 to +0.80.)

The lesson of the week

When I move a piece, I should look at what it was blocking. In game 1222 the bishop on d3 was doing a second job: it closed the d-file in front of my knight. The moment it moved, the rook on d8 was looking at d2. This is a very common way to blunder at my level, because the move you make looks safe on its own; the problem is what it uncovers. Two days after reaching 1200 this Christmas week, I was already below it again. The number moves both ways. What I can control is the checklist before each move.

All games this week

Read the week before, week 50, or go on to week 52, where I tried to get back above 1200. All posts are on the journey hub. The positions here come from the same engine review that Chess Coach runs on your own games.