I'd like to apologize to anyone who clicked on this blog expecting actual advice on becoming a master. That is not what this blog is about. This blog post is a continuation of the series "How to become a Master". Part 1 is available here. As you may already know, Mike Mirzayanov holds a magical event every year centered around the New Year where you can both change your rank and your handle. Of course, the rank-changing feature is much more interesting for anyone who wishes to become a Master or higher. To activate it, you can go to your profile page, click on the Magic tab, and choose a new rank. For it to work, you must believe in Santa Claus!

I'd like to apologize to anyone who clicked on this blog expecting actual advice on becoming a master. This post is a sequel to my previous post titled "How to not become a Master", so I thought that this would be a complementary title.

Previously:

Now:

It seems in the previous contest I participated in, I earned an extra rating point, so this contest was now able to get me to master.

I don't think I'm qualified to give advice on how to become a master since I nearly didn't. But here's what you should do:

1. Get good enough to have a rating of 2099 after a contest.
2. Wait for ratings to get rolled back.
3. Get +1 after ratings are fixed.

I never thought that I'd say this, but thanks, cheaters!

Part 2 will be released in a few days (hopefully).

Update: I guess it only took a few hours. Here's Part 2.