I wouldn&#x27;t say that&#x27;s the case. If you play online as a complete beginner your rating will drop like a stone at first and then you&#x27;ll be matched against other people of your level. At that point, the system will take care of you, generally keeping you at a 50% win rate as you progress along.<p>There&#x27;s only a huge cliff if you expect to be able to win against 1500 rated players as a complete beginner, a totally unreasonable expectation.