how work chess.com ?(My struggle to understand the logic)

Hi fellows

I’m writing this because I saw the topic question, and it perfectly describes my situation. I've been on chess.com for a while now, but I just can't figure out the logic behind what's happening to me, and I'm hoping someone here can explain the arcane secrets of this platform.

A little premise: I play regularly at an over-the-board club every Friday. I’m not a master, but occasionally I manage to beat people who play in tournaments and have FIDE ratings around 1600. So I have some idea of what a 1600-strength game looks like in person.

Here on chess.com, however, I can't seem to break through 800. That might be understandable, but tonight something strange happened. I don't know if the algorithm changed, but I'm only being paired with people who have fewer points than me (like 620-700) who, frankly, play like they wouldn't look out of place in a Candidate Masters tournament. I’m not saying I’m Carlsen, I make my fair share of dumb moves. But I started the night at 757, and now I'm struggling to hold 700 against 600-rated players.

The pattern is always the same: I start the game fairly well, and then after a slight pause from my opponent, boom—I can't land a single punch. They start finding the most absurd yet incredibly effective moves.

I'm not accusing anyone of cheating, not at all. But I need to understand. Is this because of the leagues? Every time I play, after a while, a message pops up saying, "Bravo! You've been promoted to the Crystal league!" or something similar.

So my main question is about these leagues. Does the rating power of a player depend on which league they are in? Do the leagues work like hidden skill brackets? For example, if I am in the Crystal league, will I face 700-rated players who actually play like 1000-rated players? And then if I finally get promoted to Silver, will the 600-rated players there play like 1600s?

Is that the secret? That a 700-rated player in a higher league is infinitely stronger than a 700-rated player in a lower one? Because if not, I can't explain it. As soon as I signed up, I climbed to nearly 800 quickly, and now I’m crawling to stay above 700.

If someone can solve this mystery for me, I would be very grateful. I just want to understand the system I'm playing in.

Thanks

Just looked at your last game where both you and your opponent repeatedly hung pieces in a 10 minute game. That's not what Fide 1600 rated play looks like at all, or even 1200 (before the floor became 1400).

Thank you so much for analyzing the games—yes, I saw that too, I often make stupid mistakes, as I already mentioned in the post above, if you had just read it carefully. I'm not saying I'm Carlsen, nor am I saying I'm a 1600 or a 1200, let alone a 1400.

What I am saying—and I'll repeat the question so it's clear and to avoid misunderstandings—is whether the strength of a 700-rated player depends on the league they're in. Because otherwise, I can't explain how it's possible that yesterday I was facing people rated 750, 780 and beating them (not all of them, obviously...), and today I'm only losing.

Again, I'm not saying everyone cheats and I'm Carlsen. I just want to understand how chess.com's algorithm works for pairings, and whether there's a logic based on time—like, if I registered two days ago, do I face weaker opponents compared to someone who's been registered for years because they have more history?

I'd like someone who actually knows to explain it to me. I'm not interested in shouting to the world that it's unfair that I'm losing my little chess games. I hope I've been clear... No hard feelings.

ummmmmm

No, the strength of the players does not depend on the league they are in, but how many rated games they play over a period of time. It has nothing to do with skill which is based on ratings