Getting worse instead of better.
Sort:
Most Recent
Forum Legend
Following
New Comments
Locked Topic
Pinned Topic
I understand the rating changes itself and that it moves more at first. It is more than that though. There is a guy at work who I play a game of chess with here and there. I won the first 10 we played easily. I've now lost 3 of the last 6. Although he has improved from us playing, I am making mistakes the likes of which I'd never make in the past.
I used to teach chess at chess clubs in eastern Canada. One pattern that I observed again and again was that when a player started learning new chess concepts - and especially strategic concepts rather than tactical tricks - their results and their rating would go down instead of up; they would start making the sort of silly mistakes that they had out-grown long ago, until they had digested the new strategic ideas and assimilated them into their playing style.
One bonus of looking at it this way is that the next time you make a bone-head mistake, you can tell yourself "Hey! I must be getting better!".
A suggestion:
Play with increment. Rather than (for example) a 15-minute game at 15/0, play 15/10 instead where each time you complete a move you are given ten bonus seconds on your clock. That way you can run SHORT of time, but you cannot run OUT of time as long as you don't just stop moving and sit there staring at the board until your flag falls.