Guide 6 of 6

Clocks, ratings and the coach: getting better online

Playing many games is not the same as improving. The players who climb fastest choose their time controls carefully, understand what their rating means, and study their own mistakes.

Time controls

A time control like 5 | 5 means each player starts with 5 minutes and gains 5 seconds after every move. Mòpyon.net groups games by speed, and each speed has its own rating:

• Blitz: short games (for example 3 | 2 or 5 | 5). Great for practising patterns quickly.
• Rapid: 10 minutes or more. Enough time to calculate forks and defences properly.
• Untimed: no clock, only a limit on how long you can wait before moving.

If you are learning, slower games teach more. You have time to apply the defensive routine and to look for double threats on every move.

How ratings work

Your rating is a number that estimates your strength. Everyone starts at 1200. After a rated game, the winner gains points and the loser loses points. Beating a stronger player gains you more than beating a weaker one, and losing to a weaker player costs more. Over many games your rating settles close to your real level.

Ratings only change in rated online games. Short games that end in an agreed draw after a few moves are not rated, and the same two accounts can only play a limited number of rated games against each other each day, to keep the ladder fair.

Titles

As your rating rises you earn titles, from Debitan for new players up to Mòpyonye, the highest title on the site. Titles appear on your profile and next to your name in games, so opponents know what to expect.

Using the coach

After a game, press Review. The coach replays the game and stops at the important moments: a forced win you missed, a block you forgot, a brilliant attack. At each missed chance it asks you to find the better move yourself before showing it. This is the single most effective way to improve, because it trains exactly the positions you get wrong.

A simple weekly plan

• Solve a few puzzles every day.
• Play some rapid games and review each loss with the coach.
• Replay one game by a top player in the Game database.
• Join an arena on the weekend for practice against many different opponents.