Taking a break

Dein Deutsch ist super! Ja, Schach lernen kann richtig viel Spaß machen. Ich kann zwei Frauen empfehlen: Anna Rudolf und Elisabeth Pähtz (du kannst sie ja verstehen). Die find ich super.

Lmaooo I guess that's what Google translate is for. 🤣🤣🤣 I was an exchange student in Germany so any chance I have to speak to German I jump on it. Lol turns out one of the guys on this post had a German flag next to his name, so I seized the opportunity. 😎

@BigFoxy90, you know that chess is very difficult to learn, right? It takes years of practice to become even remotely skilled at chess. No offense, but you seem to expect everything to come easy, and when it doesn't, you go at it on these forums. It seems you're rushing your progress, and you're playing way too much chess. There's other things more important than a silly little board game.  

I understand and agree with what you said. Many things have come easily to me in life. I gained remarkable fluency in the German language in 4 months and was able to win a scholarship to Germany for a year long exchange two years later. Do I expect chess to come as easily? No. It's apparent at this point that it won't. Chess maybe just a boardgame, but it intrigues me on a different level. It challenges some of my personal weak points and I feel that makes it a worthwhile pursuit. Sure, I get a little too in my head about it. But the forum simply helps me to get that frustration out whether people see the post or not. It's the void I can shout into. Yes, I agree. I was expecting to progress quickly. And I thought I was on the upswing and then I got knocked down a peg. It's a sobering feeling. Unfortunately, I have never handled failure or losing very well and in that regard I have some work to do. Especially when it comes to chess. No one will be undefeated playing this game. I realize that. I just don't want to suck at playing chess forever. 🙄

Yeah. Hey, it's ok. Even if you haven't made the amount of progress you wanted/expected, you are still learning at what I would say is an above average level. It may take most people a looooong time to get to 700, 800 like you have in 3 months. So, next time you lose some games, don't be so discouraged. The key is to take everything in moderation. For me, I only play a few times a week. I don't care too much if I win or lose, I just have fun! In my rapid games, I try my best to play well, afterwards I analyze my game. I also do puzzles daily. Look where I am now, after a few years on and off, I'm quite decent, I would say! 

But it is obvious to me that maybe you are getting too much chess. Chess takes a lot of mental energy to play and study well, so studying chess 24/7 definitely isn't the best strategy. And you know what, regardless of your progress, you should just have fun! If you're having fun, it'll be 100 times easier to improve. 

Just stay humble. Chess humbles everyone. Even Magnus, who hung a rook today! 

As do I. I use the forums to vent my frustration by...   ...trolling!

Take cue from the OP of the following post. His positive energy will bring him to 1000 in a few months time or even a few weeks.

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/for-beginners/at-lowest-point-elo-was-350

One important thing to note is that your peak rating is not equivalent to your true playing rating. Reaching 900 rating after a single game and dropping below 900 thereafter, for example, does not mean that a player is of a 900 rating calibre yet. Most likely he could be 850, for example. If his rating hovers heavily around 850, for example, his approximate playing strength could be 850.

As such, it's actually normal to see a rating dip after hitting a peak. Once you enter the deeper waters of chess, your rating will naturally climb over time - and your playing strength will also improve in tandem with your gain of rating.

I´ve also apologize for jumping into german language. It was too much of a possibility. It´s more easy to express yourself in your mother tongue...

To the OP: if I´ve too harsh with my short comment, I´m sorry. But there are too many people here who howl about something they dislike (the opponents who don´t resign or resign too early, about supposed cheating, about rejected remaches and so on). So I´ve been maybe too harsh to you.

Chess is a complex game. If you love it, it´s worth to explore. And that is it for me, something to explore, to go deeper, to see, where I´m week and to become better. My worst opponent is always sitting on my side of the computer!

If you would like to learn more about the great game:

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/for-beginners/the-evergreen-question-from-beginners-how-can-i-get-better

That's actually my post. Lool I was doing really well at that point in time and then I got tilted bad recently. Enough for a bit of a breakdown in confidence and self esteem. 

This happens to me too. I feel like I'm suddenly about to make a leap and then instead of gaining 50 on my rating I lose 100. It can be really frustrating... like I want to throw my phone frustrating. But like others have said, this isn't a linear progression. I'd say reduce the number of games you play or change time controls (or take advantage of slower time controls) to give yourself more time to really sit and process each move.

But I'm 950 right now so take it with a grain of salt, cuz I SUCK 

This happens to me too. I feel like I'm suddenly about to make a leap and then instead of gaining 50 on my rating I lose 100. It can be really frustrating... like I want to throw my phone frustrating. But like others have said, this isn't a linear progression. I'd say reduce the number of games you play or change time controls (or take advantage of slower time controls) to give yourself more time to really sit and process each move.

But I'm 950 right now so take it with a grain of salt, cuz I SUCK 

That is because you play 10+0 all day. 10+0 is for scum. Maybe you should try to play some classical.

What comes down must come up!

*What goes up must come down. 

Not in my lands !

People who are good at chess have years invested in it, usually at the expense of all other areas of their lives that provide purpose and meaning.

Chess is an overrated game, that’s all.  You should spend the time playing on other, far more constructive pursuits.