HUGE unexpected rating drop (2100-1700)

So after getting back into chess a few months ago, I managed to get my way back up to around where my peak was (1700) and began to climb up as expected as I was continuing sot study and a lot mroe like that. I managed to get all the way up to 2098 (so close!) but then suddenly, it was literally like the power went out in my brain and I yet again dropped back to 1700-1800 level in pretty much like 3 days. I'm honestly not quite sure if ive ever a seen a 400 rating drop happen to anyone before. And keep in mind that the buildup to 2000 was over several months, so its not like it wasn't an accurate rating for me.

I figured that maybe my issue was that I needed a short break from chess for a few days, but that still didn't seem to fix my issue. Any possible explanations or advice?

Also its my first time using forums.

You know whats crazy? The same thing happened to me lol, I got to like 970 then I've lost the last like 8 games and im down to 900 now

Woah ! That's indeed huge. (I too lost around -200 but that's in bullet so pretty normal I guess)

I guess what happened with you was due to a mixture of many variables working together. For example - burnout, Stress from nearing a Milestone (2100) which created a subconscious pressure on you and hence maybe you started playing to “not lose” instead of playing to win which affected your decision-making and made you second-guess, play passively, or time-pressure yourself, leading to loses... Or it could also be due to tilt-queuing games emotionally. (first rating drop ~ frustration ~ rushed games ~ more losses)

And finally, change in your opponent pool after you were continuously growing, might have led to you matching with stronger players and then losing rapidly in your tilt stage which also could have contributed to your losses...

I think, you yourself would understand the best what would help you to get out of this situation as others may recommend general tips but not personal ones that will suit you the best.. But still, I recommend you to not jump back into rating games. Do puzzle rush, puzzle battle, puzzle race, endgames, or unrated games only. When you return, play 1–2 slow games per day max, and analyze them deeply. Don't rush. Take time to reflect. That's all.

Most 400-point collapses come not from being “worse” — but from emotional tilt, subtle or not.

@nolinlc, what happened to you is absolutely normal -- what I mean is that you should expect what happened, as I can imagine you played LOTS of games in a very short time.

In simple terms, consider the following:

1- It is absolutely and totally normal to have fluctuations in how you play chess, even from day to day. One day you can find yourself play as a magician, the following day you can play much worse games.
2- Given it is normal and natural, you better stop wasting time in "understanding why" and "trying to fix it". You'd be better in employing a simple method to limit the negative effects of what IS happening and will always (pretty much always) happen:
You need to set for yourself a maximum number of games you're going to play on every given day or - if that it's too difficult - the maximum number of games you're going to play one-after-the-other. In this latter case, you can play some other games, but not before 3 or 4 hours have passed. The number, in my very personal opinion, shall never exceed 5.
1- On some days, you'll play great, and after the 5 games you'll enjoy a well deserved rating increase.
2- On some other days, you'll play disastrously, and you'll enjoy the fact that you saved (part of) your rating from a disastrous decline. On the following days, the wheel will turn again, and you will probably re-gain (all or part of) your lost rating.
HTH
AG

I agree with @ChessMasteryOfficial

Rating drops as large as 400 points isn't unheard of, but it's almost certainly the result of some forms of tilt. Getting angry and screaming, or breaking things isn't the only way someone could tilt. Check out my preventing tilt playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTXwNMbhsy4uh2e7swLXpYA-7_2AXTeF3

The second video in that playlist might be especially insightful for you, but it's probably best to still view them in the order I listed them, since the stop-loss concept I mention in the first video is important to prevent drops like 400 rating point losses.

Thanks for all the support. I will say that im not exactly the type of person to break something and get angry lol but like all people it does get to me a bit.

I am trying to limit how much chess I play everyday, and I don't quite even find it a big deal if I dont play any chess in a day. I think that the only way to improve in not just chess but anything is to enjoy what youre doing, and while Im hating it Im definitely not enjoying it with my current state of mind, so hopefully Ill get back.

Take a break for a few days. Also, if you start losing games, do not continue to play! Take a break and play chess the next day. I'm sure that you can regain the rating. Good luck!

Remember, just because your rating climbs to 2100 does not mean you are a 2100-level player. I know that seems illogical, but hear me out: The 2100 rating was the result of a localized set of games you played where you defeated other players rated higher than you. It does not take into account the mistakes they made, the openings they used, the openings you used, the level to which they were prepared to meet your openings, the level to which you were prepared to meet theirs, etc. In other words, your rise to 2100 was, potentially at least, the result of a statistical cluster wherein you were paired at random with a series of players who, for the most part, didn't play as well as you did in those particular games - and this truth is especially magnified if you were playing blitz.

It sounds like what is happening is that you are having a "rating correction." Your variance is returning to the expected value, so to speak. The way you know that you are really a 2100 player is that your rating remains at or about 2100 over a statistically significant number of trials ( or games, in the case of chess specifically.)

I'm sure it's quite an emotional ride and I'm sorry for the anxiety you are experiencing. My advice would simply be to stop looking at the rating as a measurement of yourself as a chess player. Your metric should be: Am I constantly and effectively working at improving in a reliable and consistent way? If the answer to that question is objectively "Yes", then you are on the path that is going to one day deliver you to a high rating level that becomes stable. In the meantime, your actual ability is not going to be accurately reflected in the peaks and valleys of your rating. It's probably somewhere above 1700 but it's almost certainly below 2100. Keep working at it. Don't worry about it. Unless you are so good at chess that you are getting paid to play it, your rating only determines what strength of players you get matched with for your games.

I hope this helps put it right in your head. I know it's painful. We are humans and, as such, we are saddled with all the same human frailties. Call a friend and go out and enjoy something together in the nice weather. Tell them your problem. They'll let you know it will be alright.

I agree with Towbat. Here are some points that are useful to remember. 

1. Bullet, blitz, and rapid ratings on chess.com are unreliable. Ratings vacillate widely, often by 100 points or more.

2. Ratings should be thought of as a measure of performance and not as a measure of skill. A person’s chess skill tends to be rather stable. Howerver, performance is affected by many factors—fatigue, distractions, motivation, WiFi connectivity, and many others. Changes in rating are often due to changes in these conditions and so do not reflect a change in ability.

3. A rating that is above average is actually more likely to be an overrating than an underrating. Consider a player with a rating of 2100. It is possible that the rating is accurate, that it is an overrating, or that it is an underrating. Now consider the number of people whose skill level is in the range of 2000-2200. If people’s ratings vary by an amount up to 100 points, then there are many more people in the 2000-2100 range who are overrated as 2100 then there are in the 2100-2200 range who are underrated as 2100.

This last point also applies, but in the opposite direction, for ratings that are below average.

More than likely it's not because of lack of tactics training but of missing threats to your King & hanging pieces.

That’s a very unusually large drop in rating, especially considering it’s in the rapid time-format where you’d hope declines would be slower as it’s harder to spiral into a 3am tilt session.

It’s also a little surprising considering the strength we’re talking about here. I can see how a 700 could tilt to 300 or 400, and I could see how easily a 2900 could tilt to 2600 ish. Maybe I’m biased because I’m in between the two ratings you’ve fluctuated around, but the level difference between a 1700 and a 2100 is genuinely huge. I’m sorry mate :/

Ay what's up, 2200 here. I examined your account, and found out that you play approx. 10 rapid games daily. Limit it to 3 or 4 and analyse them well. It's easy to tilt if you play so many games regularly. I believe you have the skill of a 2100, but overplaying and lack of analysis limits you. Good luch on your comeback

yo this is crazy wth

They’re very different skills - some people need the time to think, some people panic at very low time. Some people just play certain time controls a lot more than others. Usually someone’s blitz will be 100-200 points lower than rapid, but that’s just a guide.

I quite agree with what youre saying. I know I said I considered my rating to be accurate, but only at around the 1900-2000 level, and I knew that that 2100 was probably just a series of wins that happen on a lucky day. I usually wouldn't consider someone's peak to be their actual rating unless they were there for a while.

it is a rat race, you have to get used to.
most people wants to get higher and higher elo, with implies that you need put more effort than your competitions. 
I'm very suprized I didn't fall off.

Many of the above listed issues that are internal to you, like tilt and being tired etc, are indeed important and worth reflecting on. However there are also external reasons that might explain a sudden 400 point rating drop. One reason is cheaters that are rated 1200 and play a game with a CAPS score of 98.62 and steal your rating points. To chess.com's credit they do refund points once they catch cheaters and ban them..... but that is ONLY when they catch them. What did the recent news article from yesterday say.... 100,000 cheaters caught last month alone! Another external issues is sandbaggers. Finally chess.com's controversial use of the RD factor in their rating system can cause HUGE swings in your rating when you haven't been playing in a while.

Bottom line..... it takes a long grind to raise your rating. And any number of internal or external factors can suddenly throw it off the cliff!

A consistent 400 rating drop makes no sense, a 2100 should be able to beat a 1700 in rapid every time effortlessly. Maybe something is causing you to play a lot worse than before or your rating was inaccurate to begin with (like maybe a lucky win streak or something)