# Help. I suck at chess **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** board-card-word-game, chess\ **Created:** [December 5, 2020, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-suck-at-chess/927267 "2020-12-05T04:49:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 28
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-suck-at-chess/927267/28 "2020-12-08T16:29:00Z")
> [@What sort of mental skills/gifts are basic to becoming a good/great chess player?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-mental-skills-gifts-are-basic-to-becoming-a-good-great-chess-player/926158/10): > > P.S. I should add that when I reached 2390 (and won a national chess title), I had an amusing conversation with Grandmaster Nunn (a world-class player and decent chap.) “Seriously, glee” he said “Nobody rated below 2400 understands chess.” I was flabbergasted - but after analysing with him (and reading some high-level chess books), I had to agree. fearful Yes, I can crush players rated 2000. But there is so much more to learn. Thankfully I never turned professional! > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Simplifying a bunch, GM Nunn’s comment that “Nobody rated below 2400 understands chess.” says he sees a divide there between uncomprehending piece-movers and understanding chess players. Well that’s my quote…and I’m afraid I disagree completely with your interpretation. I don’t expect you meant it, but it came across as insulting. 😡 ‘Uncomprehending piece movers’ only applies to beginners. There are various stages in chess: - beginners - weak club players - good club players - regional players - national players - FIDE Masters - International Masters - Grandmasters - World class I reached FIDE Master (and a rating of 2390) and I can assure you I knew a whole lot more about chess than being an ‘uncomprehending piece-mover’. By that time I’d spent well over 10,000 hours studying and practising chess. I was an English National Chess Coach and a full-time chess teacher. I could give simultaneous displays to good club players and score 90%+ Grandmaster Nunn’s point was that, **even at my level** , there was more to chess than I knew. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-suck-at-chess/927267)._