Infos

Is 1000 Elo Bad? Chess Rating Benchmarks Explained
Key Takeaways at a Glance • One thousand Elo sits in the lower middle of the world pool.• The figure is relative. It measures results against others.• Online pools read higher. A web one thousand often equals about seven hundred fifty FIDE.• Cutting blunders and mastering basic endgames pushes you past twelve hundred.• Six months of focused play and study can add two hundred or more points for most adults. Understanding the Elo System How ratings are calculated with the expected score formula Each game compares your result to a... Read more...
Is Stalemate the Stupidest Rule in Chess?
Key Takeaways at a Glance Stalemate = draw, not win — a rude surprise for many newcomers. The rule is 500-plus years old and keeps attack–defence in balance. “Stupid” moments arise when a winning side slips; sound endgame technique prevents them. Masters deliberately use stalemate as a resource to steal half-points and flag opponents. Drilling common patterns (especially queen-vs-king) eliminates accidental stalemates. What Is Stalemate? Definition & Origins History from shatranj to modern FIDE law Stalemate predates modern checkmate notation. In shatranj (6th-century Persia) a cornered king with no legal... Read more...
Does Chess Really Increase IQ? Science Backed Facts
Key Takeaways in 30 Seconds Chess–IQ correlation ≈ 0.35 – solid link, but talent and hard work still rule. Kids can gain a few IQ points after four-to-five months of structured lessons. Magnus Carlsen’s legendary “190 IQ” is a meme – no clinical test confirms it. For adults, chess acts as brain-gym: great for cognitive reserve, modest for raw IQ What Do We Mean by “IQ” vs “Chess Skill”? IQ, in a lab: Modern tests such as WAIS-IV or Raven’s Matrices probe fluid intelligence (pattern finding) and crystallised intelligence (stored... Read more...