To raise your Chess.com rating, pick one main time control, play mostly longer games in it, solve rated puzzles most days, keep a small opening repertoire, review every loss, and study basic endgames each week. A simple weekly plan that mixes these steadily works better than playing many fast games in a row.
This guide gives a weekly training plan built on Chess.com's own tools, with notes on how to track progress on your RankSurge Chess.com stats page. It is current as of October 2026. If you want to know how ratings move first, read Chess.com Ratings Explained, and for what each number means, see Chess.com Stats Explained.
Which time control should you play to improve?
Choose one main time control and play most of your rated games there. Chess.com keeps separate ratings for bullet, blitz and rapid because, in its help article on live ratings, it says shorter and longer games use largely different skills. Spreading games across all of them splits your progress.
If your goal is to improve, rapid is a good main choice. Rapid covers games estimated at 10 minutes or more, counting the increment over a 40-move game. That leaves time to calculate, which builds habits you can carry to faster games. Keep bullet for fun if you enjoy it, and do not judge your progress by it.
What does a weekly chess training plan look like?
This plan assumes about an hour a day. Shrink each block if you have less time, but keep the mix.
| Day | Main focus | Chess.com tool |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Rated puzzles, then two rapid games | Puzzles, Game Review |
| Tuesday | Opening study for your weakest line | Practice: Openings |
| Wednesday | Rated puzzles, then two rapid games | Puzzles, Game Review |
| Thursday | Endgame practice | Practice: Endgames and Drills |
| Friday | Puzzle Rush, then one or two rapid games | Puzzle Rush, Game Review |
| Saturday | One longer game, reviewed in depth | Game Review, Retry |
| Sunday | Weekly check of your stats and rest | RankSurge stats page |
How should you use puzzles to train?
Use rated puzzles for accuracy and Puzzle Rush for speed. According to the Chess.com puzzles help article, your puzzle rating rises when you solve and falls when you miss, and harder puzzles earn more points. Basic members get 3 rated puzzles a day plus one Puzzle Rush and one Puzzle Battle, while Premium members get unlimited puzzles.
Solve slowly and try to see the whole line before you move. A hint stops you from earning rating points on that puzzle, so use hints only after a real attempt. Custom Puzzles let you choose themes and a rating range with no rating impact, and you can include only puzzles you failed before. That is a good way to drill patterns you keep missing.
How do you build an opening repertoire?
Learn one opening as White and one answer each to 1.e4 and 1.d4 as Black. A small repertoire means you meet the same ideas often and learn them faster. Chess.com's Practice area has an Openings section where you play a chosen line against a bot that plays the moves you need.
Use your stats to pick what to study. RankSurge lists the openings you played most in recent games, split by white and black, with your score in each. A line you play often with a low score is the best place to start. Game Review also flags your last book move as a key moment, with the opening name and how you have scored in it.
How do you review your games properly?
Review every loss, and some wins, soon after the game. Chess.com's Game Review gives a game graph, an accuracy score from 0 to 100 and a label on each move, from Best and Excellent down to Inaccuracy, Mistake, Miss and Blunder. Free members get limited reviews, and Premium unlocks unlimited Game Review.
- Think first. Before you open the engine, note where you felt the game turned.
- Find the first big drop. Look at the game graph for the first move where the evaluation swung against you.
- Use Retry. Replay key moments and try to find the better move yourself before revealing it.
- Write one lesson. One short note per game is easier to remember than a list.
Chess.com notes that the Game Rating shown in a review only estimates how you played in that one game. It can differ a lot from your real rating, so do not read too much into a single result.
Why should you study endgames and play longer games?
Endgame skill turns good positions into wins and saves bad ones. Spend one session a week on basic endings: king and pawn endings, rook endings and the basic checkmates. Chess.com's Practice area includes Endgames and Drills on themes such as pawn structures, played against an engine at the strength you pick.
Longer games support all of this. With more time you can use the habits you train, such as checking your opponent's threats and calculating forcing moves. A weekly game at a slow time control, or a few daily games, gives you more to learn from in review.
How do you track whether your training is working?
Check once a week, not after every game. Ratings swing from game to game, so a single loss says little. On your RankSurge stats page, compare your current rating in your main time control with last week, look at the accuracy column in your last 20 games, and check whether your score is improving in the openings you studied. Your dashboard also shows a 0 to 100 Performance Score and Improve next tips, and you can ask RankSurge AI about your own numbers. To compare your progress with a friend, use AI Profile Pick.
There is no official target for how fast a rating should rise. Measure yourself against your own past numbers.
Start this week: look up your username on the Chess.com stats page, find your weakest opening, and make it Tuesday's study topic. RankSurge is not affiliated with Chess.com.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest way to improve your Chess.com rating?
There is no shortcut, but the most reliable approach is steady practice in one time control. Play most of your rated games at a single speed, preferably rapid, so you have time to think. Solve rated puzzles most days, keep a small opening repertoire, and review every loss to find the first big mistake. Add one endgame session a week. Track your rating weekly rather than after each game, since single results swing a lot.
Should I play rapid or blitz to improve at chess?
Rapid is usually the better choice for improving. Chess.com classes games estimated at 10 minutes or more as rapid, counting the increment over a 40-move game, which gives you time to calculate and check threats. Those habits carry over to blitz later. Chess.com keeps separate ratings for each speed because they use different skills, so pick one main time control and play most games there instead of spreading them across all of them.
How many puzzles should I do a day on Chess.com?
Chess.com does not set a recommended number. What it does set is a limit: Basic members get 3 rated puzzles a day plus one Puzzle Rush and one Puzzle Battle, while Premium members get unlimited puzzles. Quality matters more than volume. Try to see the full solution before moving, avoid hints until you have made a real attempt, and use Custom Puzzles to repeat the themes you keep missing.
Is Game Review free on Chess.com?
Partly. Chess.com's help center says free members can use Game Review for key information such as accuracy, move classifications and self analysis, but unlimited Game Review requires Premium. Reopening a review you already generated does not count against the free daily limit. Game Review shows a game graph, labels each move from Best to Blunder, and lets you retry key moments to find a better move yourself.
Why is my Chess.com rating not going up?
Ratings often stall when games are spread across several time controls, when most games are fast, or when losses are not reviewed. Ratings also move up and down from game to game, so a short slump is normal. Check one time control over several weeks. Look at your accuracy in recent losses and your score in your most-played openings to find a repeated problem, then build your week of training around fixing it.