Blundering periods

Hi,

I'm trying to learn chess seriously from July and I found out I'm blundering awfully lot. I asked about it in this topic and I received some (a lot of) valuable advice. But now, I don't feel, like it helped a lot, as I believe, that the problem, in this case, is deeper than that. The point is, that I'm a) doing tactics basically everyday and I'm 2281 (max 2399) in puzzles and 1183 in puzzle battles, b) mostly not nervous, or extraordinarily tired/upset, c) trying to "blunder check" my moves.

Now, my observation is, that I suffer from "blundering periods", where I'm playing well for my level and raising to higher ranking and all of sudden there are several days (usually 1 to 4), where I'm losing literally everything and lose like 60 points of ranking just like that. My problem is either a) playing too slow, b) hanging pieces or c) missing completely winning positions (overlooking mates even if looking for them etc.).

If you look at my games for the last 4 days, you'll see both winning and losing periods very clearly.

So, my questions are:

1) Is there any way to reduce blundering other than "do tactics" or "give it time"? I'm starting to have a feeling, that you're either possessing some innate ability, when it goes away pretty soon (with a grain of salt), or not at all.

2) I'm basically sure, that puzzle solving itself is almost not helping me to improve my game - as my puzzle rating is 2281 and my Blitz ELO 802 (max 854) and my Rapid ELO 1021 (max 1033). I'd expect them to be both few hundreds higher, with such a gap. Is it a situation when I'm missing something vital in my preparation?

3) Is this common (especially the longer losing periods) or is it a sign of some problem like ADHD etc.?

Thank you very much for your answers!

Everyone blunders.   Everyone wonders why they blunder sometimes and not others.

#2 Of course Do you have any idea how to improve it then? As I said, I'm doing tactics everyday and in this aspect I'm improving, while it doesn't really translate into my games (especially Blitz...).

@1

"I'm blundering awfully lot"
++ always check your intended move is no blunder before you play it.

"a) doing tactics basically everyday" ++ 4 tactics puzzles are a good warm-up, but in a real game nobody tells you there is a tactic or for which side

"b) mostly not nervous, or extraordinarily tired/upset" ++ Good

"c) trying to "blunder check" my moves." ++ Do not try, do blunder check, always.

"a) playing too slow" ++ You only play too slow when you lose on time in a won position

"b) hanging pieces" ++ That is why you need to blunder check

"c) missing completely winning positions (overlooking mates even if looking for them etc.)"
++ analyse your lost games and learn from your mistakes

"winning and losing periods" ++ Is related to sleep, health, real life worries, disturbances...

"1) Is there any way to reduce blundering" ++ Blunder checking

"2) I'm basically sure, that puzzle solving itself is almost not helping"
++ 4 puzzles are a good warm-up, but that is it.

"3) Is this common (especially the longer losing periods)"
++ Whenever you lose a game, stop playing and analyse it first.

@3

"especially Blitz" ++ To improve do not play blitz, play 15|10 rapid.

I've steered clear of blitz and bullet, and recently decided to work on tactics and playing bots with hopes to get to the 2000 bots and then focus on solid chess till I can beat them consistently. It's been refreshing having a break from the rating rollercoaster. I usually have periods like you say where I get into a rut, tilt bad and then it snowballs. Ending with me throwing my toys out the pram and deleting my account. Trying to change bad habits.

I had\have a similar problem. I think for me it's due to three main things:

-getting overconfident when rating improves

-focusing too much on "rating grind" (which leads to playing faster)

-underestimating opponents who try harder because your rating is "scary"

You knuckle down for awhile, play carefully and implement all you've learned... You have a batch of good games with higher than usual win-rate, your rating goes up, and then you get more confident, and along comes a fresh batch of players rated 50-80 points lower than you (basically the level where you just were)... They see your higher rating and then play extra carefully because they know they'll likely lose if they don't bring their A-game.

What seems to help me the most is to try not to watch my rating at all, just try to keep practicing, studying, and playing... And likewise try not to look at my opponents rating either... Just try to always bring my best game.

Blundering happens on all levels in blitz. The only way to stop blundering is stop playing blitz and migrate to 15/10. Then go back to blitz once you have improved and accumulated more experience from rapid play.

Theres also nothing wrong with playing thru the back and forth blunders; have fun.

Instead of rated puzzles, which I have around 2350 and had at 2400 at some point, I now prefer, puzzle survival and custom puzzles and some puzzle battle for quickness in time trouble.

I try to set the custom puzzles to a level where I get them correct almost all the time and then raise the bar a little by little, trying to not take all too much time solving them. That way I think it will be more useful for online chess, because apparently almost no one plays longer than 15|10 games online and well, there is not enough time to think for 5 minutes per move every move when you only have 15 minutes per game and 10 seconds per move.

I only recently started trying this method so I don't know if it works, but I think it has a certain logic to it.

Thank you for your replies! I tried several Rapid games today and even if I try to play well, it was a complete disaster - 1st win and 5 losses in a row... I will continue with longer time controls, but I'm really afraid, that the pattern will continue, just in a slightly different manner - now I'm not blundering as much as before, but I play really bad overall, even against people rated around 940...

It happens. Take a break. Study some master games, do some tactics and so on for a couple days so you get your confidence back.

There are a lot of people who try hard to become good at chess, so it is not like you are facing people who don't work for it at all around 1000 rapid rating, even if it is still considered beginner level.

Also, we all have good and bad days or sometimes good and bad weeks, when our brains seem to work better or worse than usual. Maybe you slept bad, had a rough day at work, ate too little or too much, felt stressed out. Could be anything... But it will pass.

"Blundering periods" was initialy what Herge wrote as Cpt. Haddock's catchphrase  Arr!

I blunder all the time too

#14 Pairings with bots? I'm not sure, that they're any bots in live games...

And for the continuation... Yesterday and today I played other Rapid games exclusively and while it's somewhat better, I'm unable to get past 1000 ranking suddenly. Basically all of my lost games are due to an extremely stupid blunder - and what's worse, yes, I DO blunder check... But sometimes I still overlook hanging piece etc. even when spending time exactly on that very move. It's really frustrating...

Also, today another "period", when I lost almost 100 points on puzzles and lost every single puzzle battle - never happened to me before. I really feel, like sometimes I have a huge lapse in concentration and even when forcing myself to focus on the game / puzzles, nothing helps.

Blunders happen on all levels. There is this notion that you stop blundering at the 1500 level which is a joke.

I watched the US Championships live and witnessed a GM blunder a minor piece in a basic Petroff line and the US Woman’s Championships went down with Jennifer blundering a bishop for free and GM Irina Krush gives the championship back with a weakening pawn move.

Learn the psychology and change your mentality to playing thru the multiple blunders and build winning habits.