I can’t get above 500 rating and stay above it😡

Focus on 1e4 opening Learn how not to make game changing mistakes in the first few moves that give up a queen or scholars mate Castle before you start any attack Do not attack with a single piece. You need multiple pieces to attack unless opponents just overlook pieces they left hanging. Simple attacks are easily rebuffed... Often losing material and leaving you worse off When you get an advantage swap pieces of equal value. The less pieces on the board the more your advantage is worth.

And probably the most helpful thing is to work puzzles, lots and lots of puzzles. If you don't get it right make sure you understand why the correct move was a different move. Exchanging a piece where you come out a pawn ahead is a good move..... Exchanging where you come out a pawn behind is not........ If you have a move that gains you a pawn or a piece... Making other equal value sacrifices at the same time makes your gain stronger.... The less pieces on the board the more your advantage is worth. It only takes one pawn advantage in the end game to win it

Do not worry my rating is well below 500. you are doing fine just relax and play the game everything will be fine breath in and breath out. If you need to here some relaxing music see my profile.

Practice makes you play better, learn from your opponent and know how to counter attack, turn defence into attack with discovered checks and pins. All the best.

You're not the only one - as soon as I think I'm making progress I seem to hit a run of bad games which sabotages my rating - London system has been a major break through for me recently and I actually seem to be climbing more towards 600 rating - I've been using a mixture of London system as white and Caro Cann for black (occasionally throwing in the london system as black too)

@1

"Starting to think my brain ain’t working"
++ The problem is not your brain, it is your hand moving without thinking.

"how can I consistently play well"
++ Always check your intended move is no blunder before you play it.
Imagine your intended move played on the board.
Check it does not hang any piece or pawn, or does not run into checkmate. Only then play it. That little mental discipline alone is enough to reach 1500.

"I’m going to learn the London opening" ++ Do not worry about openings.
You do not win or lose because of the opening, but because of tactical mistakes.

"opening to learn for black?" ++ Simplest and best is to defend 1 e4 e5 and 1 d4 d5.
You do not need to learn: just play and analyse your lost games to learn from your mistakes.

"I might buy a puzzle book" ++ You do not need to. If you really want, then 
Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess - Fischer
and Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games - Lazlo Polgar

Hi!

You might be interested in my post on how to improve your chess skills:

https://www.chess.com/blog/maafernan/chess-skills-development

Good luck!

I usually do not like to post in the forums, but I felt I must respond. I really feel this is very misleading.
Regarding learning: you need to learn things, because not everything in chess is discovered easily.
"The problem is not your brain, it is your hand moving without thinking."
No, you need to give some advice about what to think about and how to analyze a position. Beginners usually do not figure that out themselves. I did not know anything about positional chess until I was helped by a friend and some online resources. Therefore, this is also wrong: "
You do not win or lose because of the opening, but because of tactical mistakes."
Similarly,
Regarding reaching 1500, let me copy and paste what I wrote somewhere else.
To your statement -- "Wrong. Beginners do not know much. I did not reach 1500 until learning about active pieces, castling, protecting the king, using tempos, pawn storms, mating nets, and simple tactics. Of course, also check your move is not a blunder before you play it."
You keep on saying the same thing in multiple places, but in @llama_l 's words, "Repeating this doesn't make it any less wrong... you really don't have a clue about what it takes for a person to be 1500 or 2000."

I have seen many of @tygxc 's posts. I advise everyone to read this person's posts with caution. My friend even once referred to @tygxc as a troll.
I do agree learning specific openings is secondary at this level. Better to focus on good opening principles.

Don’t solely focus on rating, just keep laying the game, think before you move, and your rating will naturally go up.

Just avoiding blunders and mistakes is practically enough to win these lower levels. That seems to be the biggest challenge.

Picking the best move consistently is, to me, the challenge.

There are a number of books on openings for black. Practically everyone seems to favor the Sicilian. I'm starting to have doubts about the "old" openings because they've been studied so much and it seems like there's plenty out there on how to mess them up, or even trap the unaware. Maybe it's time for The Cow opening.

I think that checking for blunders indeed makes a big difference at this level, but i also think you need a bit more to reach 1000.

I don't think you should focus so much on openings. You can play the Cow or Sicilian or something else. As long as you are playing reasonably, I do not think that that the opening you play makes a huge difference at your level.

go to you happy place

I'm starting to think that maybe I should learn more about The Force and use some sort of mind trick.

Moooooo!

Ensure that you have a good grasp of basic chess principles like controlling the center, developing your pieces, and ensuring king safety. Strengthening your fundamentals can lead to more consistent play.