From 1933 elo to 2400+ in 1 year! Meet Avinash Ramesh

Is it really possible to gain almost 500 elo in a year? With the right mood, effort, and direction, it’s definitely possible!

Have a look at Avinash's progress! (The blue line represents Standard elo)

Avinash joined ChessMood during the COVID-19 lockdown when he was 1933 elo. And in around 1 year, he crossed 2400 elo and scored his first IM norm!

Behind this phenomenal growth, there’s a lot of hard work and smart work! He not only binge-watched almost all of ChessMood’s courses, but he also did it smartly.

“I was studying openings which I didn’t know in the morning so that it’s easier to grasp them. And middlegame or endgame in the afternoon to divert myself from the openings. And then revising the openings that I already know in the evening.”

A secret ingredient that helped Avinash scale his rating so fast was becoming good at SLP(Saving Lost Positions). Previously, he would let a bad game affect his entire tournament. But then he learned how to fight and make comebacks.

“Like I got the fighting spirit which I didn't have earlier. This helped me save a lot of games during tournaments, and the blogs also helped me a lot!”

GM Avetik witnessed his growth firsthand when he used to play in the simul events. At first, it was easy to win against Avinash. But over time, the results started to change.

“Avinash was always with us and playing the events. And at first, I was winning against him. Then there was one game where I barely managed to win in the endgame. And then during one simul game with Black, he made a few very strong moves...and crushed me with a very nice tactic.”

He also shares the improvements he made to his game, training, and mindset that helped him grow so fast. You can find out all about that in the interview below.