Ratings screwed up lately?

What's up with the rating system recently? I was a comfortable 1100 blitz player for years. Now I am in the toilet at ~700, and all players seem to play like demigods even down there. I guess it could be me, but have a hard time seeing how I could lose all sense of playing chess all of a sudden

There's nothing wrong with the rating system

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Your profile shows you haven't been close to 1100 since 2016, and you're currently ~800.

But ignoring that nitpick, the player pool has definitely increased since 2016, especially the 2020 chess boom. Ratings are all relative and usually don't hold up well over time. I think FIDE ratings are a bit more consistent over time by the nature of over the board play.

And also, you just took a three month hiatus. It can be tough to shake off rust, especially if you're playing blitz which doesn't build skills as much as demonstrate them. I'm sure if you get yourself back into form you'll not only be back to 1100, but reaching new highs.

Do not lie about my rating, please. I was over 1100 on chess.com for long last year/2023 (Blitz).

I still think the ratings are weird lately. Also, seems to be problems with loooots of sandbagging at 650-750 level. The level at ~ 900 is easier.

Even nostalgia isn't as good as it once was.

According to the records, you were 1100 back in 2016 and in January 2017 (8 ears ago) you were back to 700.

You haven't been over 1100 since 2016 and by January of 2017 had dropped below that level

My mistake, I was talking about bullet all along. I don't play blitz

Can't believe I mixed the two. English is not my first language, but still

Anyway, not really relevant to my original point, which I think stands still.

Your bullet is over 900. +/- 200 in a rating pool, especially bullet, isn't abnormal

Still can't get over this though. I am in the toilet fluctuating between 900-1000 with very limited understanding and theory, but why are sub 800 players harder opponents than ~1000? In my experience, anyway. It's just weird

Lower rated players tend to play differently, often less principled. That can make it harder to understand what they're doing.

This is true to some extent, but not in the sense that you use it. Lower rated players are easier opponents than higher rated players.

The "less principled" moves that low rated player make are often unpredictable because they are silly blunders.

It depends.

There are often many moves that could be unprincipled but are not exactly blunders that can be exploited easily. Some positional mistakes that can be inaccurate but not generally bad.

The result can provide unfamiliar types of positions, that while they may be much better from an objective evaluation standpoint (engine-wise,) may not be something that a player can accurately evaluate and navigate.

Add to that a difference of 100-200 points doesn't necessarily mean the opponent is always going to be easier, just that the past performance means they make more mistakes overall that can be taken advantage of.

I've had plenty of games, even OTB, where players 400+ points lower rated seemed harder to play against than someone closer to my rating. In most cases they end up making a game changing mistakes or two but can still find very good continuations, playing stronger than might be anticipated by their ratings.

Confidence and momentum matter a lot in chess. When you start losing more often, it’s easy to play worse due to frustration, leading to a downward spiral.

ok is good

Yeah but I am now down in 800, in my last game we both had an accuracy of 1450 players. It is really strange this. How can I be at 1100 and then 800 a few months later? So you can not actually play casually and just enjoy the game without it all falling apart because you are not "sweating"?

And by the way, the bot thing is absolute BS. Ie. a 700 bot plays like a stupid toddler every freaking time. Nobody plays like that.

I am back at 1072 now, and I seriously think the level is easier up there than 800.