How to get out of a slump

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killajoshd

Jul 3, 2015

Needing some help getting out of a slump. I've been playing some really bad chess here lately. I'm by no means a great player but I'm not this bad, and for this long. Usually like all players I have a bad day, maybe two, but it's been two weeks of horrid losses. Any help or insight to get back on a roll would be greatly appreciated.

notmtwain

Jul 3, 2015

killajoshd wrote:

I assume you are talking about blitz, which is what you play the most.

Your rating is down a little from its peak but the decline doesn't seem so significant on the graph of your long term ratings. As you can see, you had a worse slump in February, which you quickly recovered from.

Omega_Doom

Jul 3, 2015

Yep. What do you mean slump? I was 1550 and went down to 1150 in one day. 400 points loss. It's the slump.

VyboR

Jul 3, 2015

Can you justify your move here? You played 23...Rxg2??

Also, in the same game you put your king in a mate in one (27...Ke8??), although the game was already decided at that point anyway.

Because if you consistently play these kind of moves, then it does not surprise me that you get the feeling that you play bad chess.

I don't want to bash on your chess play, but it just seems that even for a blitz game these moves could have been easily avoided.

killajoshd

Jul 3, 2015

Omega_Doom wrote:

Yep. What do you mean slump? I was 1550 and went down to 1150 in one day. 400 points loss. It's the slump.

I don't play enough games to drop that many points. If I lose 5 games in a row I usually quit for the day.

killajoshd

Jul 3, 2015

VyboR wrote:

Can you justify your move here? You played 23...Rxg2??

Also, in the same game you put your king in a mate in one (27...Ke8??), although the game was already decided at that point anyway.

Because if you consistently play these kind of moves, then it does not surprise me that you get the feeling that you play bad chess.

I don't want to bash on your chess play, but it just seems that even for a blitz game these moves could have been easily avoided.

Well in that game I was losing with no chance of winning. I was thinking that I could create mate threats of my one and avoiding the looming mate threats of my opponent. I was relying on my bishop for help. I realized that my bishop was no help after rook takes g2. The self mate is the thing I'm talking about. For some reason I am dropping pieces and missing mate in one's like crazy lately. If you care to look when my rating is at its peak my play is much better.

okeller

Jul 3, 2015

i wud attempt to recieve a stalemate

killajoshd

Jul 3, 2015

bb_gum234 wrote:

Diet sleep and mood can affect your performance even if you don't really feel much different. Even something as simple as eating a heavy meal before playing can make you drowsy.

Get a good night's sleep, eat regular meals, and do a few warm up puzzles and your games should be fine. If you can't focus after that then I'd guess there are emotional stresses.

Thank you for a legitimate answer. Will give it a try.

cryptic_shrink

Dec 17, 2015

Take a look at this post and see if it helps - http://www.chessfiles.com/chessfiles-blog/oh-man-am-i-in-a-slump-again