Getting depressed

So I am really taking everything super personally at this stage. I have spent the last week learning everything I can and feel like I'm getting worse. Really just want to give up on myself

Im not an expert so I would wait for some better advice but i was around 900 on blitz but recently moved over to rapid. I think rapid gives more time to think, and I went up to 1060 on rapid. I think its better for newer players who are learning, but then again Im no expert.

Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a go

 

Play slow games to improve, fast for fun. 15|10 (15 minutes with 10 second increment per move) is fastest you should be playing to have time to think and evaluate. Play slower if you can. I play 30 minutes. This means each game can take an hour. Allow another 15 to 30 minutes to analyse afterwards and reflect on what you could improve. If you enjoy blitz then keep playing it but try and find time for longer games every week if you want to improve.

I have already started playing 15|10. I am feeling more confidant, even if I'm not improving yet. Thanks for the support guys

 

Give it time. It can take a while for the improvement to come through. it's a good sign you are feeling more confident.

As illogical as it may sound. I feel like I should be improving by at least 50 given the amount I have been studying. I guess I don't understand what's wrong with my games so I can't focus on the areas to improve. It's just disheartening

I'd say study is like scaffolding. Without it, you're screwed, so you have to have it.

But then playing is like everything else

Study gives you the footholds you need to climb up there, but without experience, without getting out there and making all the relevant mistakes and trying again, you're not really going to improve much.

It's a common complaint, by the way, that a period of intense study is (temporarily) followed by worsening results. It's normal because you're thinking about many new things so you're using more time and you're generally confused about when to make a move you would normally make, and when to try and apply something you've learned to do something different... so not only do you take more time you play worse!

But of course as you continue to play, you'll incorporate the new things you've learned, and your results will improve.

An old rule is that the newer the player, the more it's like 10% study and 90% playing, and this slowly shifts towards more study as the player improves until a professional might be the opposite, 90% studying and 10% playing (maybe a lot more studying heh).

So don't give up, your enthusiasm means you will improve, but:
1)  Give yourself time to learn how to apply what you've studied, don't expect immediate results
2)  Play more often (and time controls long enough to give you time to think)

It doesn't work that way. First of all it takes time for improvement. Study basic concepts, principles and practice tactics with puzzles. And it takes time for you to absorb it and apply it. Secondly don't expect progress that way. It mostly happens in leaps. One day you're 800, and you're 800 for a month, and in one day you jump to 1000.

Haha, i am 2300 and have been playing for four years

You have to be patient, usually more you get mad and worst you play, I am offering a free lesson if you want

Fair enough, i have taken it seriously though, hence my rating

Nice

I find that taking a break for a day or so and then come back can do wonders. I use to play chess in person with a friend of mine and we would play every single day multiple games it got to a point I was making stupid blunders and feeling like I was regressing. I took a little break for a few days refocused and thought of my games and when I went back to the board I was much more fluid. There is so much to learn and consider that your brain can go into freeze mode. Good luck!

Yeah I've found this too.

I'll be X rating for a while. And I'll be playing for hours each day, solving puzzles, improving my opening repertoire and refining my endgame technique. But my rating will barely seem to improve for weeks. And I'll get discouraged and feel like quitting.

Then one day, out of nowhere, I'll just start going on a winning streak. And I'll reach a new peak. I'll now be 50-100 rating points higher than my previous peak.

And this cycle will continue.

So don't be discouraged OP. Just practice a different part of your game. Whether it's tactics, openings, endgames, positional understanding, etc. Try mixing things up a bit, then going back to grinding out more games. Soon enough, you'll experience a rating leap too.

A couple of these I know very well, some others I know in theory but I can't say I would be successful in practice, and others are brand new to me! Thank you for this resource, it is new to me!

Buy a copy of Reuben Fine's "Basic Chess Endings."  Play through the basics until you know them.

It isn't necessary to become a very good chess player very quickly, or even at all. Study the games of players from the past that you admire. Play against a computer. Find people here who are around your level and play against them. 

Enjoy the game for its artistic beauty and mathematical precision. Maybe, in time, you will become a much better player. Maybe not. Enjoy whatever level you are at.

Someone in this thread said that she has been playing for 25 years and is only rated around 1200 (I think that's what she said). I have been playing for more than 50 years, and the glory days of my youth are long gone. I'm rated around 800 today. So what? Stressing out over one's level is not a healthy thing to do.

I love the game of chess for the reasons I mentioned above. I enjoy it at least as much as Carlsen, Nakamura and all of the elite players. To me, chess is "the other beautiful game."

So I’m not gonna take the time to read this whole thread but I will say this, I was experiencing the exact same this in the very beginning. I felt like the more I tried to learn openings, theory, etc, the worse I became, I would blunder constantly because I would try and play an opener I didn’t understand. If I were you I would only focus on E4 openings for white and E6 openings for black, although it seems boring but I think it teaches you good fundamentals. Focus on leaving no pieces unprotected and playing solid.

Also if you wanna get better do the free premium member ship and then buy the gold membership after it runs out, it’s seriously insane how good of a learning tool this app is, I don’t even feel bad bout shamelessly promoting it. Do game analysis and find out what you’ve done wrong and do the lessons that it recommends at the bottom. and ALSO idk if this is gonna be posted on their website but I only play chess through the app and was playing on my phone, if you do this consider playing on an iPad or something with a bigger screen, it was seriously a game changer.

Trust me bro I went all the way down to 180 in rating at one point lol, I don’t think I’m much higher right now (like 500ish) but over the past 3 days since I switched to iPad I understand the game SO much more, I’ve been playing hot as fook as of late. I’ve been playing one of my friends who’s rated 1400 and I just started beating him.

So don’t give up man, if you are getting burned out take a break. Keep trying and learning and I promise you you’ll get better, there is no one in the world who is too “stupid” for chess, that’s what I thought of myself when I was getting frustrated and although I’m still a beginner I feel like my knowledge right now is waaaaaaaaaay better than my rating so hopefully I’ll clime fast.

You can do it homie

I would recommend watching videos and then playing games specifically to practice curtain skills you learn on vids.