Rating guesses are rarely random. If you play enough EloGuessr, you start to notice that every Elo range has a very specific set of habits. The 1500s will play solid openings but blunder tactics in the middlegame. The 1000s will play aggressively but have no defensive skills. But the 600s? The 600s write their rating on the board almost immediately.
Here are the surefire signs that you're watching a true 600-level game, often identifiable before move 10.
1. The Early Queen Sortie (Wayward Queen Attack)
If the game starts with 1. e4 e5 and White immediately follows up with 2. Qh5, you are almost guaranteed to be in the triple digits. The Wayward Queen Attack is the ultimate beginner opening. The idea is to go for a quick Scholar's Mate on f7, but it usually backfires spectacularly.
Higher-rated players almost never play this because Black can easily defend the mate threat while developing their pieces with tempo (like playing Nf6 to attack the queen). But at 600 Elo, attacking with the queen on move two is considered a masterclass in aggression.
2. One-Move Threats and Tunnel Vision
Beginners focus almost entirely on the move right in front of them. If they can attack a knight, they will push a pawn to attack that knight, regardless of whether that pawn was defending their own bishop. This is what we call "one-move tunnel vision."
You'll often see situations where a player spends three moves maneuvering a piece just to threaten a trade, completely ignoring the fact that their king is standing in front of an open file with no defenders.
3. The Random Rook Pawn Pushes
It's move 4. White has played e4 and Nf3. Black has played e5 and Nc6. So naturally, White plays h3. Why? Nobody knows. There's no bishop coming to g4. There's no immediate threat. It's just a move played entirely out of a vague, generalized fear that something bad might happen on that side of the board later.
Unprovoked h3 or a3 pawn pushes in the opening are a massive red flag. It shows that the player doesn't have a plan and is just trying to pass the turn without hanging anything obvious.
4. Leaving Pieces En Prise (Hanging Pieces)
This is the big one. At 600 Elo, pieces aren't carefully traded; they are dropped on the floor and forgotten. If you see a bishop sitting on an attacked square for two consecutive turns without moving, and the opponent just ignores it to push a random pawn, you have your rating.
Board vision takes a long time to develop. Beginners simply don't see the entire board at once. They might be laser-focused on the queenside, entirely missing the fact that a rook is hanging on the kingside.
The Takeaway
When playing EloGuessr, don't overthink the early moves if you see these patterns. If someone brings their queen out on move two and then hangs a knight on move five, you don't need to analyze their endgame technique. Lock in that 600 guess and move on to the next one.