getting worse at chess and will quit if this continues

Hello, I just started playing chess for the ones reading this and was actually making some sort of progress in the game, hitting about 500 elo. Suddenly though, I have lost game after game after game and am about to hit 400 elo, and I'm thinking about quitting chess. This post is a last resort for me to get better at this game or just quit. The worst part of this is that I'm trying everything. Had bad vision during some games and I began doing vision tests. wasn't very good with openings so started to take lessons on this website. Decided to do puzzles before games to warm me up so I played better, but nothing has worked out, and I'm just getting worse and more stupid in my games. Can someone please help me?

If you quit because you kept on losing, what sports do you think you can play that you can keep on winning?

Why are you playing chess? Because of a score on chess.com? If you aren't playing chess because you enjoy the game then you probably wont be playing long. Get used to losing because it will continue, forever.

Your rapid record is 37-40. That really isnt bad. Winning about half your games is normal. Then maybe after a few months you will be winning 55% of your games and get a little rating.

You just have to keep playing. Getting better will come with time. Analyze each game and find the mistakes. For example your last game they did a fried liver on you. Look it up and find out how to stop it. There are ways to prevent it far out, there are ways to stop it at the last second, and there are some counter blows with a side by side attack. But you may not come across another fried liver for 10 games. And there will be 10 more things to learn from those games. It just takes time. Lots of it. Or you can just play because you like chess and not care. Good luck.

I would consider getting a coach to pinpoint exactly what you are doing wrong and fix it as soon as possible. Here to help if you are interested.

If you want to study by yourself, here is the advice that I usually give that helped me a lot:

Play a lot, analyze your games, and primarily study tactics. Your knowledge of openings, endgame, middlegame, etc. will come from analyzing your games and going over grandmaster games. Only study one of those specific topics if it is clear you are specifically losing because of that topic.

Source: https://www.gautamnarula.com/how-to-get-good-at-chess-fast/

As a coach, I can help you with any part of that process. Good luck!

What @user6783645 said is absolutely right.

If you want to quit after playing a few dozen games just because you went from 500 to 400, it means that you are not interested in chess, only in the rating. Maybe quitting wouldn't be a bad idea, there are a lot of people who are obsessed with that stupid number ( which by the way is not Elo and has no official value ). You'd save yourself a lot of unnecessary frustration and you will use your time more satisfactorily.

Hello, firstly, your elo will go up and down all the time do not stress about that. Go to FIDE rating site and check out other players. Often in OTB chess you will see more then 100 elo point chenges in a short period of time.

Secondly, do not expect that training will have immediate effect one your game. It takes time to fully understand what you have learnt and a bit more time to use it correctly in a game. But the good thing is that practice will have positive impact on your game.

Lastly, as others pointed out, coach can make you progress faster because some things are hard to learn from books or videos.

Don't worry... my elo fluctuates by about 200 rating points on a regular basis. Your elo doesn't really matter yet, only your enthusiasm.

This tends to happen at all levels.

I've been playing for decades, and I dropped about 200 points the other day, from my brain simply not working very well.

It comes and it goes. But it's like the stock market - if you stick with it for the long haul, things will generally keep going up.

My suggestion is that you go somewhere where you are not logged in to play puzzles. Places use algorithms that immediately shift to some different aspect of play when you solve properly. This keeps you from cementing your understanding and developing actual confidence and ability. By clearing cookies and cache between sessions, you can start fresh as the computer sees fit. this way you will see stuff you have done before which is a good thing. It will make it so you really learn something. Then you can move through the puzzles you can easily solve quickly and get to new stuff. Pay attention to the puzzle study suggestions.

I would also suggest you play a computer after puzzles rather than people. People and computers play differently. So the puzzle prepares you for the engine basically. If you get good against an engine, you will get better against people. Besides, people may get upset over time taken and basically anything really. The engine won't complain.

when i first started playing i found playing at my local chess clubs and talking to other players helped me out a lot. The game can get frustrating sometimes but you learn something from every move and thought process you have, don't give up!

Oh. And look for good youtube videos. I like Gotham's teaching videos, One of them he says beware of fake study. The point he makes is that if you can't clearly and completely recite an opening in full with explanation of why each and every move with implications. Then you don't know it. And you aren't really studying it.

But 4-600? Spot traps, pins and discovery for both you and your opponent against you. Each and every move before you move. Spot all checks (and mates), captures and attacks for you AND your opponent against you each and every move before you move. If you really do just that then you should stroll right out of the 4-600 range. I would suggest you play unlimited time against an engine to develop these habits as it will try people's patience. Once it is habit, then it is faster and better, so people will not notice so much.

And IMHO, playing rapid when in the 4-600 range does more harm than good. Never train yourself to produce slop.

Thanks everyone for recommendations. I'll continue to play chess although I'm getting worse, and put these tips to work.