Yeah it's very possible that simply bad form makes you seem much worse than you really are. The key is to always keep your mind sharp and focused (which can also include good diet and rest/sleep) so that you will always have a "good day".
Add physical exercise to that list.
It seems that recently I have not been playing chess very well(making lots of mistakes,blunders etc.) and I have lost games that I really should have won.
Am I just being careless or does everyone have a spell where their form goes bad?
Thanks,
Henster
Well, Henster, if you really want some helpful answers to your question you'll need to post some games so that we can see what you're doing. I'd be glad to take a look as i'm sure many others would do as well...
Thanks to all who have posted. This is one of my games that I want to forget soon:
Thanks to all who have posted. This is one of my games that I want to forget soon:
Very very sloppy game. What was the time control? Do you have any games that are not so bad so we can get a better idea of not only weakness but strenght as well?
Thanks to all who have posted. This is one of my games that I want to forget soon:
Very very sloppy game. What was the time control? Do you have any games that are not so bad so we can get a better idea of not only weakness but strenght as well?
lol what a jerk 
The thing that almost makes these loses bearable is that everyone has them... the loss they'd like to forget or was embarrassingly worse than they usually play etc. From world champions all the way down to us. I may not make you feel any better, but we can all relate :)
Thanks to all who have posted. This is one of my games that I want to forget soon:
Very very sloppy game. What was the time control? Do you have any games that are not so bad so we can get a better idea of not only weakness but strenght as well?
It was 24 hours a move. I don't know what happened. I must of lost concentration on that game completely. Here is one in which I beat an opponent with a higher rating:
Thanks to all for your help!
It seems that recently I have not been playing chess very well(making lots of mistakes,blunders etc.) and I have lost games that I really should have won.
Am I just being careless or does everyone have a spell where their form goes bad?
Thanks,
Henster
Sometimes when tired or pre-occupied I make incredibly stupid blunders (high IQ notwithstanding.) I have not been playing much lately because of the fear of those blunders,the fear of losin; became a psychological issue in my case. Many player say they have those episodes. I sugest you take it in a stride and make sure you are rested and clear-minded.
Thanks to all who have posted. This is one of my games that I want to forget soon:
Very very sloppy game. What was the time control? Do you have any games that are not so bad so we can get a better idea of not only weakness but strenght as well?
lol what a jerk
How does losing a chess game because of me playing sloppy make me a jerk? I'm only 13 and I have a lot of schoolwork to do at the moment so I may not be too concentrated (even though that loss really was poor regardless of my schoolwork) on chess.
Are you in a bad mood? Or do you take joy in insulting children?
Thanks to all who have posted. This is one of my games that I want to forget soon:
Very very sloppy game. What was the time control? Do you have any games that are not so bad so we can get a better idea of not only weakness but strenght as well?
lol what a jerk
How does losing a chess game because of me playing sloppy make me a jerk? I'm only 13 and I have a lot of schoolwork to do at the moment so I may not be too concentrated (even though that loss really was poor regardless of my schoolwork) on chess.
Are you in a bad mood? Or do you take joy in insulting children?
lol he wasn't talking about you man...
tactical opportunities win games.
you might win a few within a game, but loose the one that matter most.
perhaps your opponent knows more tactical lines than you, or he created a situation that will force a tactical line on you.
to loose is to win.
to win is show off.
winning make someone feel good, but we cannot live on feeling good alone.
We have to loose against a stronger line.
Thanks to all who have posted. This is one of my games that I want to forget soon:
Very very sloppy game. What was the time control? Do you have any games that are not so bad so we can get a better idea of not only weakness but strenght as well?
lol what a jerk
How does losing a chess game because of me playing sloppy make me a jerk? I'm only 13 and I have a lot of schoolwork to do at the moment so I may not be too concentrated (even though that loss really was poor regardless of my schoolwork) on chess.
Are you in a bad mood? Or do you take joy in insulting children?
lol he wasn't talking about you man...
Oh, sorry. I really am being stupid at the moment!
Yeah I have to agree with you there Henster
Perhaps this could help you in the future, Henster97?
http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/my-mental-energy-is-gone
Lesson: avoid playing correspondence games and live games in the same time period! 
Henster97How does losing a chess game because of me playing sloppy make me a jerk? I'm only 13 and I have a lot of schoolwork to do at the moment so I may not be too concentrated (even though that loss really was poor regardless of my schoolwork) on chess.
Are you in a bad mood? Or do you take joy in insulting children?
Henster97, you certainly have a right to defend yourself, but only one person said anything degrading to you. Consider all that contributed some help. There are many from around the world willing to help you. Forget that one person that did not. I hope I did not miss anyone.
PrawnEatsPrawn
jason17
-waller-
channet
Ckhaan
Sceadungen
MrWho2010
DC_cookie_G
Sirami
Elubas
orangehonda
paul211
pyramider
dschaef2
fireballz
chessmates
uhohspaghettio
Dimitrije_Mandic
Maybe you didn't consintrate on the game a lot like you rush to do a move because you have a lot of other games to play.
These suggestions and encouragements are helping me, too. Thanks to everyone.
Thanks very much guys for all your hope. I admit that I don't really have an opening that I know that works and how to use it effectively so thanks to paul211 for his advice on openings. I will try them out in any new games. I do make mistakes and miss opportunities and I will try to watch out for them in the future.
I am very impressed that you all spent time to help me. I must admit that I thought that I would only get a few comments about people all telling me to concentrate etc. but I owe a lot of thanks to all.
Big thanks once again to all that have helped me so far,
Henster
Yeah it's very possible that simply bad form makes you seem much worse than you really are. The key is to always keep your mind sharp and focused (which can also include good diet and rest/sleep) so that you will always have a "good day".