A methodical approach to move selection was a game changer for me. Especially looking at more candidate moves each turn, seems more useful than actually figuring out which ones is the best move. Also always looking at several candidate moves your opponent will have once you do consider playing a candidate move. Playing slower time controls, even classical, has really helped build and speed up this habit for rapid and blitz.
What is your advice for inconsistency in performance?
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Nov 7, 2024
0
#3
It happens to me sometimes too. I went from high 1600s back into the 1400s then slowly climbed back and I've just hit 1700. Off days or even weeks happen. Maybe you can follow this advice better than I do but try not to rage play. I lose so much elo if I'm tilted and carry on playing without calming down.
Improving Your Chess - Resources for Beginners and Beyond
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/improving-your-chess-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond
Good Positional Chess, Planning & Strategy Books for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/introduction-to-positional-chess-planning-strategy
Nov 8, 2024
0
#5
Ha! Definitely, I got to 1000 which was my goal a year ago and I thought I’d cracked it. Next thing you know I was back down at 800. It was soul destroying but working my way back up to 900 and trying to learn new patterns and ideas and still having fun. I found that playing a mix of slow and fast games and keeping up with puzzles help me. I’m having bad games at the minute just through inexperience but I’ve definitely got a better read of the position. I know I’ve got a good or bad position now but seeing it through is the problem. Chess is a journey and it was just a straight road but would be boring.
I know it's not uncommon for players to experience dips in their performance, such as going from a high to a low in a short period. The typical things I read were take breaks, play casual (unrated), do some puzzles, play a small amount of longer games and focus on reviewing those games thoroughly, try not to focus on ratings and don't play when you're emotional or not sharp enough mentally. That is the gist of what ChatGPT told me, but I would like some advice from human beings here on this forum.
For me personally, I can win 7-8 in a row and find excellent ideas in games. The very next day, I lose 4/4 games and never really get going. It happens all the time! I either play bad and lose pathetically, or I play decent and win a bunch of games. There's no in-between. At 1200 a lot of people will say I'm an intermediate (novice intermediate?) player, but it certainly doesn't feel or look like it a lot of the time. In those bad gaming sessions, I play chaotic chess. The moves I make don't look right, I'm going about the game wrong (tactics, plans, etc) and I'm making the silliest of blunders that I should never be making. In the good gaming sessions, I play with a little more confidence, more organization, I spot tactics more easily and more likely to make the right moves. It's as if I forgot everything I know or something.
Chess is hard! Someone once said to me that you can’t have a losing streak if you don’t allow it to happen. I understand that, and it makes sense, but it doesn't work all the time. Sometimes it doesn't matter how many breaks I take. It's tough!