Sam Belnap - How He Moved From 700 to 2000 ELO on chess.com in 3.5 Years 🎙️ [No Board Needed]

About this episode

Sam Belnap shares his journey of improving his chess rating from 700 to 2000+ on chess.com in 3.5 years, detailing his study routine and training strategies.

Sam's Training Plan: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E1r69Q46gZX02mE5hYPjdVw4VXdz0KfjrTjvLdf3z3s/edit?tab=t.0Sam's chesscom profile: https://www.chess.com/member/eyecandewit In this podcast episode, I’m joined by my own student Sam Bellnap, who moved from 700 to 2000+ Chess.com Rapid (peaking near 2100) in around 3.5 years. Sam tells the full story and shares the study routine that helped him reach 2000. If you’re an adult improver chasing a rating goal, this conversation is a reality check and a roadmap.We get very practical: Sam explains his study plan, why he keeps openings simple (plans over memorization), how he uses targeted training to fix weaknesses (rook endgames were a big one), and how he studies strategy without getting lost in engine “best moves.” We also talk about the weekly group lesson format, how coaching helps identify high-impact leaks you can’t easily spot yourself, and why Sam believes structure beats “random grinding.”The real gem is Sam’s routine: clear start/stop cues, a pregame process goal (instead of Elo goals), and a postgame method that reduces tilt. If you struggle with rating anxiety, inconsistent performance, or not knowing what to study next…

People in this episode

Host: Can Kabadayi

Guest: Sam Belnap

Topics covered

• chess improvement
• ELO rating
• study routine
• adult chess improver
• coaching
• endgame training

Keywords

• adult chess improver
• chess improvement
• how to reach 2000 elo
• chess.com rapid
• chess study plan
• chess routine
• rating anxiety
• endgame training
• rook endgames

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: chess.com

More episodes of The Chess Cognition Podcast

• FM Kamil Plichta - Building Openings That Create Early Pressure · April 30, 2026 · 1h 27m
• FM Niranjan Navalgund - How to Beat Stronger Players in Chess · April 24, 2026 · 1h 6m
• GM Lars Schandorff - How the Chessable Author of the Year Creates His Courses 🎙️ [No Board Needed] · March 10, 2026 · 1h 8m
• GM Aman Hambleton - His London System Course, Chessbrah, and Winning Habits 🎙️ [No Board Needed] · February 20, 2026 · 1h 21m
• FM Tarık Selbes - How Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş Became the Strongest 14-Year-Old in Chess History · February 13, 2026 · 2h 13m
• GM Surya Ganguly on Openings, “Why” Questions, and Chess Improvement 🎙️ [No Board Needed] · January 20, 2026 · 1h 2m