What do you do to deal with the frustration of losing?

hehehhaw

Hello everyone! It really is the worst feeling when you lose a lot of games in a row! But if chess was easy everyone would play it😜! I personally had a huge losing streak and know i started getting back to my feet. My experience taught me not only the reasons why i lose, but also what to do in these situations to minimize the damage! This is what i want to share today

Firstly, the reasons of a losing streak:

• Playing too fast time controls, while you are still learning/trying out new openings! (As a coach, this is something i do often 😂)
• Playing chess without being focus/ or forcing yourself to play when you don't feel like it!
• Playing too many games per day/week, without taking a break.
• Caring about rating too much without worrying about quality of play/your own improvement. Basically, playing for fast attacks/ cheap tricks for quick wins/rating points
• Playing without having a goal in mind!

In order to fix this you need to focus on your calculation training and start solving more puzzles in certain time

And know how to minimize the damage!:

• When you are still learning a new opening, you need to take your time to digest the ideas, and try to come up with your own/use the ones you learned in your own game.
• Just like you focus in a school test, in a basketball game etc, chess is no different. You need to play in order to win (I also fall victim to this, as i don't usually play like that in online platforms due to my coaching profession😜)
• I always advise my own students to play no more than 10 good rapid games per day, 5/7 days per week. The other 2 days you can spend reading about your main chess opening, watching games, practicing your endgame, solving puzzles Etc.
• Setting up realistic goals is in my opinion one if the best ways to motivate you to play better, as it is a matter of motivation really! For example gaining 100 rating in 2 months with the help of your chess coach is a great start!🏆

If anyone wants additional emotional or practical help, feel free to ask me whenever! I am always happy to help every chess player who wants to improve!

Why are you bothering with chess then ?

I deal with the frustration of losing by not losing.

By remembering that you are playing a game! You are allowed to enjoy something without being good at it! People who enjoy football generally aren't all that brilliant! Same goes for most games and sports, I'm not sure why people feel they must improve at chess or be brilliant at it! 😲 just chill and enjoy your game silly goose 😊🧡

Well humans are generally competitive by nature so i think it is a good thing wanting to excel at whatever you do. I firmly believe this journey of improving has a lot to offer to Everyone as long as it is done correctly, and at a normal point (meaning not being addicted to it). Chess offers a lot of benefits! Some people might also want to make a living from chess which is not so difficult to do, despite common belief!

I have decided not to play daily chess anymore. I really suck at it. (After losing 9 games in a row i finally won one)

I really enjoy playing 1 min bullet and 3 min blitz!

I'm with you! I only really play daily and bullet, enjoy both but mostly bullet, it's having to resign yourself to knowing that playing bullet will not allow you to improve it all. If you're determined to get better for what ever reason then its all tactics, learn a couple openings and end games in depth and take 30 minutes per move and play higher rated players. I think for the most part we know how to improve but it's putting it into practice when actually 1 minute is much more exhilarating for some!

Play and learn openings named after animals ,  it is so much fun, you have Orangutan, black lion, hippo, english rat, norwegian rat, elephant, etc. You will see chess become more nature friendly and much more fun.

There are several ways to deal with the immediate situation of a fresh losing streak----go break something(s)--nothing valuable or nostalgic, and certainly NOT your phone, lol l--which may relieve some of the frustrations associated with the losing streak; also one could go beat up on a low-rated Not (the "whipping-boy" approach, I know, but hey if it helps, why not?); and of course one may always meditate/play some other type of game.

Bot, not "Not"...sorry for the typo...

As in "low-rated bot"

I cry. Then I cry some more. Then I play another match, get a winning position, blunder, then cry again.

I don't know how long you've  played  but,  I started a few months ago and I seemed to rapidly improve, and then it became harder to improve,  then almost no improvement.  Like hitting a wall.   So my only advice is to not expect the same rate of improvement over time.   It's no wonder that people spend say a decade to become a master.

I usually just watch some sonic videos to help cool myself down