Losing Unloseable Games

So I've started playing chess again after about 30 years and enjoying myself immensely. My Elo is around 650, mostly because I've lost about 15 games where I was up around 5-10 points of material. I'm not kidding--just today I lost two games where I was up a rook, and up a rook AND a bishop, and in both cases had my opponent completely cornered. 

How do I keep snatching defeat from the jaws of victory? Just about every way imaginable! I somehow managed to surrender like 5 back row mates before I finally caught on that I should maybe give my king an escape hatch. I surrender pieces that are under obvious attack and could easily be moved to safety. And I make blunders of such jaw-dropping stupidity and I can barely bring myself to watch the game review to "learn" from my mistakes. 

I feel like I have the "yips". Which is a golf term for people whose brains misfire when they have a six-inch putt. Their brains go kablooie and they can't make the easiest shots imaginable. That's how I feel right now with chess--I'm making mistakes that I simply can't believe. 

I don't have these problems playing bots, and I wonder if the fact that games are timed is causing my some sort of anxiety that's short-circuiting my brain. I literally just lost a game where I had mate in like three, I just needed to not move my queen to a certain square where it would be unprotected. There was nothing my opponent could do--so long as I didn't make a blunder a five-year-old could avoid, I would win. And I made that blunder. Just as I've made so many others. 

I don't know if anyone else has had these issues, or what the solution might be. I need to play slower, that's for sure. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to play more games, except that my confidence is kinda shattered right now. I was cruising past 700 elo and figured I'd keep going from there. Now I'm back below 650 and I've been stuck there for weeks, and its because I keep losing games where I am way, WAY ahead, and make mistakes that I just can't explain. 

Sorry to rant. It was either this or lock myself in the basement and scream. Which would probably wake the kids up. 

LOL just lost another game like this. Managed to turn a totally winning position into a loss because I got my queen pinned to my king. I might be done, time to take up Parcheesi.

I think there are lot of people who either create new accounts or sandbag their ratings. They like to beat up on beginners, gives them some sort of weird rush. My guess you're playing someone way above your rating.

Improving Your Chess - Resources for Beginners and Beyond…

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/improving-your-chess-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond

Oh, it's good of you, and kind of you, to think that maybe I got sandbagged by an actually good player who'd come to ruin my life. But I don't think that's the case, because some of the games I lost were to players who were, well, as bad as me. Maybe even a smidge worse!

The one game, and it hurts to write this, I had the guy completely dead to rights. I had mate in three for like eight moves (I know, I know). I moved my Queen to checkmate him and...the game didn't end. I didn't get it--he didn't have a square to move to. It took me 15 full seconds to realize that I'd left my queen totally undefended (bishops move diagonally, oops). The other guy sat there for another 30 full seconds, I think also baffled why the game wasn't over. Then, and only then, did he realize that I'd made a blunder so horrific it flummoxed us both.

Even after he took my queen I fought back until I again had the advantage, then gave away another piece. Fortunately I was in my home office and not on a bridge at the time, else I might've jumped. It was a rough night.

So I continue to completely stink, losing about half the games I play, and more than half of those are games where I make a catastrophic blunder and lose. But I think I've figured out what my problem is, at least so far as why I keep losing games I should easily win.

It's the clock.

For some reason I refuse to take time to think before moving. If my opponent is ahead of me on the clock, I start to get antsy. Even if they have 8:58 and I have 8:31. I need to take my time before making a move. I need to THINK. And, imagine that, actual thinking might improve my chess results.

I cannot tell you how many times I've missed things that in retrospect are so obvious that when I watch the replay I start to worry that I've suffered some kind of brain injury. I just played a game where my opponent started well, and then he made a mistake and I turned the tide and had him nicely boxed in. I actually missed a mate in one (because I didn't stop to examine the situation) and then, when he desperately moved a knight to give his king some breathing space, I completely ignored the fact that his knight now threatened my Queen. Instead of seeing an obvious and desperate threat to my most important piece, a move that only delayed the inevitable, I made a nonsensical move that my opponent probably didn't believe was real. I think that because it took him nearly 20 seconds to take my Queen, he probably thought it must be some kind of brilliant trap. No, I'm just terrible.

Need to play more, take more time, get a bit better in the opening, and stop giving away massive advantages through rank stupidity. That's the key, if I can just eliminate the RANK STUPIDITY I think my rating will increase.

Welcome back to chess! I completely empathize with losing games you *should* have won. It happens to everyone, especially after a long break. Digging into some Chess Analysis might just reveal those hidden mistakes and help you convert those advantages!

I'm just about 1200 and still manage to do this sometimes. For the most part, I'm not one to get flustered when time trouble sets in, but occasionally it does happen. And then there are times where, even with plenty of time left, I'll play an obviously bad move and immediately cringe.

Chess is fun.

Oh, clocks! My speciality is looking at my clock and forgetting my opponent's. My last game, I looked at the position I was in, realised that although I was 8 points ahead on material having just taken my opponent's queen, I had really no clue how to win from where I was, had only just over 3 minutes on my clock, with my opponent having two active rooks that they could easily get onto a single file, two active minor pieces, and my bishop hemmed in by their pawns. Given the time available, I knew I couldn't win against that combination, so I resigned. And then I noticed my opponent had only 54 seconds, so basically provided I didn't actually lose in a minute, I'd win. (Though to be fair I hate winning on time in situations like that; it doesn't feel like real chess). But it all goes to show that judging what to do, with a clock ticking, isn't easy, and there are lots of ways to lose without actually playing bad chess. Here's the game:

There are several reasons that contribute to your recent losses in winning positions, but I believe they aren't the ones you give. It’s not about making stupid blunders, it’s about making better strategic decisions.

Unlosable

First of all, the positions you are describing are not unlosable. Not at your level, anyway. Being up a Rook is not a guaranteed win at your rating, not even close. 

Sure, you had a massive advantage against  Opponent BCIYA after 14. Qxa2+, with +8 material and an evaluation of -7 or around that.. But 5 moves later (19. f6) it was your opponent who had a completely winning position. But your opponent is rated 600 too and it’s not over yet. Because after another 5 moves (24. Kxd8) it’s you with +4 material again and a -4.4 eval. Yet again, 5 moves later (29. Qb2) white’s position is completely winning (+4.75 eval). That is until 36. Qe5+ when the game is back to equal. This is just an example of a game with multiple swings with an eval difference of 10 points, but they happen all the time. 

If you believe that you must win these games easily you are asking too much of yourself. They are considered winning positions, but that doesn’t mean they are practically won. If you practice these positions against Stockfish (at full strength) you would find out just how easily you can lose these positions, you would quickly stop calling them unlosable.

Conversion

The second problem with your belief that winning these positions is absolutely easy. is that you aren’t correctly assessing what these positions require to actually win them.

For example, your position against castagna-v after 20. Qxc3+ is very strong, you’re up a Knight and a pawn (+4 material). With a King that’s much safer than white’s the position is around -7 even.

• But your Rooks are very passive. Playing 21. Rfe8 was good. If you had played 22. Rac8 next the position would be very hard to beat. 
• Playing 26. Qxc6 after only 4 seconds is indeed an unnecessary blunder that should be prevented by doing a blunder check before playing. But it’s not why you lost, the position after losing the Queen is still equal in material and the eval is ~ +0.3.
• White is threatening to take the Rook on a8. The Rook has to move. But even without that threat, you should get all pieces involved. That’s always the case but more so against a Queen. The online logical moves are Ree8 or Rae8. 27. Ne4+ is just wasting time. It wasn’t just a stupid blunder that made you lose your Rook to 31. Qxa8+, with 31. Re8 32. Qxe8# even. You didn’t pay attention to that Rook at all, it was just standing idly on a8 for the entire game. It was a matter of time until an enemy piece would attack it, and because the Rook was in your blind spot at all times it wasn’t unexpected that you missed the threat. It was your lack of development, keeping your pieces passive that cost you the game, not a quick loss of focus.
• This even seems a recurring theme. It also happened in your game vs Gurvit12. Your Rook remained on a8 for the entire game, just standing there uselessly. Until they attacked it and you didn’t notice. The final move of the game was 26. Qxa8+.
• If you want to convert winning positions, you should keep developing your pieces. Get them involved in the game. You’ll cover more squares, your pieces will be better defended, etc.

Another example is against Ani3570. To you it seems that you lost the game on move 20 with Qe7+. But there is a more fundamental problem a couple of positions earlier, after 16. Qg6. This position is completely winning. 

• Nxe5 is Mate in 6. Next move Bd7 is checkmate. Black has several moves to delay, but it can be over in a handful of moves, no matter what black does. Stockfish gives Qd7+ as a mate in 8, but that line can be ignored. After Kf8 Qd6+ Ke8 we are back in the same position as we are now, where we can play Nxe5 for a mate in 6.
• But what concerns me most is that you didn’t find the third and fourth best moves 17. Rad1 and 17. Rfd1. By lining up the Rook with the Queen you create an unstoppable battery. You should take a moment to analyze the position from black’s perspective. You’ll see immediately how terrifying your threat is.
• The Rook behind the e-pawn (17. Rfe1) does practically nothing for your position, except defending the e-pawn?
• The key message is that a Queen with two Bishops is not automatically winning against a Queen with two Knights and two Rooks defending the back rank. Bring more pieces. You’ll need to bring the Knight and or your Rooks.

Good luck, OP, hope this helps.