Study, thought I was learning, lost 100+ blitz rating points in a weekend

I have been studying for a few months. Chess.com lessons, tactics, some books etc. I just can’t seem to get the hang of it. Hit a wall and can’t seem to improve. It’s almost as if the stuff I study makes me dumber. Feeling kinda bummed out. Any advice to improve my game. I feel like a dunce rated in the 400 and 500’s

The frustrating thing (but good thing) is that you likely are in fact improving! I tend to have my highest rating gains after huge random-feeling drops in rating (e.g. I might lose 100 points in a weekend and then gain 150 during the next week, reaching a new all time high rating).

The key is to know how to study well, how to really learn, and how to have fun while doing it (or at least not take it too seriously [although the last one can be challenging at times]). Eventually, the rating will catch up to you, but the key is mentally getting through the droughts first (which is extremely hard to do at times). Sometimes I drop and feel "worse" too, but it is the same me - I am probably even better now, so why won't the rating reflect that? That is what I think sometimes anyway, but experience will reveal that the rating is not an exact measure of your chess ability and the more you realize this fact, then the more fun you will have and likely do better too. 

 

You may find this forum helpful too. It is a forum I started a long time ago when I was in a bad rating slump too. 

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/why-is-my-rating-dropping 

One of the problems, in my opinion, with chess here, is that people are WAY too focused on ratings - both their own, and what ratings generally mean as a status symbol. 

Never pay attention to someone trying to "ratings shame", and CERTAINLY don't do it to yourself.

When I started, for maybe as long as several months, my rating dropped, and dropped, and dropped. It got to the point that I had no confidence that I could beat anyone at all. That was really hard, but after (quite a few) more months, and lots of continued practice and experience, my rating went up a bit. I started gaining confidence that I could at least play at a certain level - not a high level, but my level. 

I also figured out that, at least while I was learning, it helped to stick to the format I was a better in - Daily Chess. I found it was much harder on me to lose in Live Chess, for a number of reasons. But with Daily, I could think about moves, I could consider what would happen if I made a certain move, I could see a little better what my opponent was trying to do, I could look for tactics, I could do a (slightly) better job of not hanging pieces, etc. 

One of the better pieces of advice I've seen in the forums, is that with chess we need to get comfortable with the fact that - generally speaking - we aren't going to improve at a perceptible rate.   I have found that to be true. 

Anyway, hope some of that helps

Cheers!

What I've found helpful was to always count my pieces and my opponent's pieces (on every move) and trying not to make exchanges that would leave me with less material than my opponent. It also helps to use the same opening. That way you can weed out the bad opening moves, in time, and you'll enter the middle game with a solid development. 

Trying playing longer games. You’re playing almost only blitz at the moment. It’s impossible at your level of limited experience to be able to properly apply what you may have studied to quick time control games, you will just end up blundering (as may your opponent making the games a lottery)

Don't study anything other than solving tactics and watching any one of your favourite streamers play. This has helped me gain 500 rating points in last month. For tactics I recommend getting chess king apps especially ct art or maybe your chess.com premium membership will be enough.Good luck. 👍

Thank you all for the insight. I’ll try a daily game, I thought blitz was how people typically play. 😳

 

 

Blitz and Bullet are how a lot of people play, but it depends on what you're after. If someone wants entertainment at their current level, playing those exclusively is fine. If you want improvement, though - especially while learning - slowing the pace way down is the way to go.

Incidentally, I've been watching streamers for over a year now - they play bullet and blitz exclusively - and, while they do fluctuate, most of them have the same basic rating they did over a year ago. Of course, the higher you go, the harder it is to improve, but the point is, even they, as really good players, aren't seeing rapid improvement playing fast games. 

That's not to say you can't play blitz, it just means you'll probably see more results and build more confidence by devoting more time and energy to slower time controls.

I don't believe opponents are using engines against you - if at all, it's not very much. 

First, a player using an engine would not stay rated in the 3,4,500s in 10 minute games for very long. They are likely habitual cheaters (not just against you), and an engine would get them rated much higher very quickly.

Second, one sign of engine use is long moves that take 10-20 seconds very consistently. You don't see that in your games. 

Here are some examples from your games of why I would say there is little to no engine use against you:

In your game against youngpugg your opponent had 4 blunders - an engine would not allow that. Even if the player didn't understand why they were blunders, an engine would tell them not to make that move.

In your game against junioroliver an engine would not have your opponent hang a bishop on move 9. Nice job seeing it there for the taking. 

Game against Ravdabs, an engine would not have opponent bring a queen out on move 2. ADVICE: this common wayward Queen attack is something anyone who has been rated below 700 has seen a lot, and fallen for at some point.. or many points, in my case. Learn how to defend against it, and you will start to win those games - because those attacks are not strong, and often they are all that particular opponent knows how to do. At least when starting out, look into openings for black that keep pawns and pieces defended - like the Caro Kahn, Pirc and maybe French. For white, learn solid openings like the London. Even if you don't play them specifically, learn why these openings do what they do. With experience, an opponent's early queen moves will not cost you the game, they will give you the opportunity to punish them.

Game against big2 you of course know you gave your opponent your queen, and from there  (in this game) you are lost - that doesn't take an engine. Even good players leave pieces unprotected, or walk into forks and skewers, especially at faster time controls - ADVICE: slow down. 

Game against SloppyPerson, same thing as your game against Ravdabs

Etc...

 

I should maybe say that playing opponents who are sandbagged (dropped their rating on purpose) is a possibility any time you play a game... but not EVERY time you play a game. Basically, It's all about experience. Don't worry about cheaters - even if every blue moon someone does cheat against you, just use it as an opportunity to learn. Every position in chess is a puzzle, the pieces can do the same thing for both players, and all the information is right in front of both of you. From there, it's all about learning - strong and weak moves, opening principles, tactics, etc. Keep spending time with the game, and before long you'll find yourself rated  higher and comfortable with that. 

Cheers!

agreed with some other poster

play longer games; at the very least 15/10 but better yet 30min
i find the chess.com pool of players in 30min games is really beneficial from 0-1600

couple this with a well thought out post game “analysis”
——

being a chess.com member who only uses mobile it was very hard for me to do a proper post game review so i found a cheap ios chess database where i can load my chess.com games and insert variations and make comments very efficiently

making comments and observations (no computer help yet) after the moves and replaying feelings and plans is very valuable

after going through the game this way i will turn on stockfish to find tactics, blunders, and an alternative line i missed or what not

using a chess database also makes it easy to organize your games
———

really try to use all of your clock time in these longer games

utilizing this in your chess regimen is imperative

Blitz is fine, unless youre trying to improve.

 

Hi, I'm a noob too, and had some time where I was just like you. I'm still a very poor player but I have been creeping upwards. I annotated one of your games, maybe it will help you see where you are going wrong.

 

 

I don't agree you should just do puzzles and study tactics, I think learning some strategy and principals is very important, you will still make blunders but the guiding principals of strategy will at least push you in the right direction. I recommend Play Winning Chess by Yasser Seirwan, and The Amateurs Mind by Sillman. Don't worry about taking it all in, but try and apply some of what you've learned in slower games.

Just learn theory and opening (also common trap and scheme). Most beginners tend to mess up in the opening, as there is more agenda to complete (castling, development, piece placement,...). Adopt a favorite opening and master it.

Always analyze after game. It only took a few minutes. Make sure to discover why your move is wrong, as opposed to just remember the correct one.

If you are gonna do puzzle, make sure to be patient and visualize every outcome. Don't rush a move because it seem to be right.

Good luck!

🐰

People at your level usually have flaws in their thinking.  They do not obey good opening principles, nor do they have the built-in intuitive sense of knowing if a move is a blunder or not.  You have to build those attributes from scratch.  Start by playing long games and systematically go through a series of checks every move.  One check could be analyzing forcing moves, checks, captures, and threats, in that order.  Another check is to check to see if your move is safe, can anything be taken if you play that move?   You must develop this muscle first before you do anything else.  

 

Second, you should invest in a book called Logical Chess Move by Move.  Play through one of those games a day and read the notes to see why the move was played.  Do it on a real board.

Play one long game, and go over one master game from Logical chess move by move a day, plus 30 minutes of tactics at the platform of your choice, and you should be better maybe in a month.  Play some blitz games while you are doing this to practice openings.  With each opening you fail at write it down in a journal and post the solution, then make it a habit to start drilling those once a day.

🐐🐐🐐CRISTIANO RONALDO 🐐🐐🐐

To most of my students, I give this advice (and it's all they need):

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The biggest reason people struggle in lower-level chess is because of blunders. They make them in almost every game.

A mistake can instantly put you in a bad position, no matter how well you played earlier: if you had great opening knowledge, great positional skills, great endgame skills, whatever; a single mistake can change everything (you lose a piece or get checkmated).

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So, how do you avoid blunders? Follow these two simple steps:

1. After your opponent moves, think if it's dangerous. Ask yourself, “What’s his idea?”
2. Before you make your move, think if it's safe. Ask yourself, “What attacking replies can he play?”

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If you feel like getting to levels like 1600, 1800, or 2000 in chess is super hard, let's look at it in a different way. Those players you're facing make blunders in nearly every game they play. Beating them isn't so tough if you stop making big mistakes and start using their slip-ups to your advantage.

Again, it does not require you to become a chess nerd or spend all your time on chess. Just doing this one thing can boost your rating by a few hundred points right away.