A sudden decline in chess ability.. scary
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Hmm I used to be good like 3 years ago in a different account. Wonder why.. I am actually better at non internet games..?
I would agree to what Maestro said. There was a time when I played chess game after game, then I kept losing and got frustrated. I took a break and now I only play 1-2 30|0 games a day. I'm having better results now and I'm steadily climbing up to 1400.
The thing with going up or down by 100 points is that the quality of the opposition remains roughly the same. All that changes is their consistency with lower rated players being more inconsistent. But a lot will still play a really good game. Therefore all you got to do is improve your consistency and you will rise back up.
Dont worry.. I was also a bit inconsistent for a while and dropped like crazy. The key, I found out is to use a chess engine on your computer, and play those moves. You can arbitrarily increase your level. Now I am addicted.
fishyvishy wrote:
Dont worry.. I was also a bit inconsistent for a while and dropped like crazy. The key, I found out is to use a chess engine on your computer, and play those moves. You can arbitrarily increase your level. Now I am addicted.
I thought using chess engines was illegal? Or maybe I'm reading this wrong.
IceKane wrote:
fishyvishy wrote:
Dont worry.. I was also a bit inconsistent for a while and dropped like crazy. The key, I found out is to use a chess engine on your computer, and play those moves. You can arbitrarily increase your level. Now I am addicted.
I thought using chess engines was illegal? Or maybe I'm reading this wrong.
It's illegal
IceKane wrote:
fishyvishy wrote:
Dont worry.. I was also a bit inconsistent for a while and dropped like crazy. The key, I found out is to use a chess engine on your computer, and play those moves. You can arbitrarily increase your level. Now I am addicted.
I thought using chess engines was illegal? Or maybe I'm reading this wrong.
Yes, it's trollish humor. There is a lot of it in these parts. 
A reasonable conclusion is that "engine use" on the site has increased, and that drives down various peoples ratings.
Happens all the time. But it ebbs and flows. No surprise there.
People used to think (slow) Online Chess saw the most engine use. Now it's available at virtually all speeds.
There was long discussion in the Cheating Forum devoted to this topic a couple years back. A United States "State Champion," who was a killer at speed chess (he won hundred of Bullet and Blitz tourneys on this site), got "targeted" by lower rated engine users.
They beat him with some regularity, and drove down his rating.
He got pissed and started a thread on same in the Cheating Forum, devoted to his experience. No hard and fast conclusions were drawn. Again, no surprise there.
It ebbs and flows. End of Story. 
havelock3 wrote:
IceKane wrote:
fishyvishy wrote:
Dont worry.. I was also a bit inconsistent for a while and dropped like crazy. The key, I found out is to use a chess engine on your computer, and play those moves. You can arbitrarily increase your level. Now I am addicted.
I thought using chess engines was illegal? Or maybe I'm reading this wrong.
Yes, it's trollish humor. There is a lot of it in these parts.
But for the chess.com mods, talking about yourself using an engine seems to be considered a serious offense. If I remember correctly, people have gotten muted for making an obvious joke about it - and fishy's post, if it is a joke, is by no means obvious.
Nov 1, 2016
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#12
fishyvishy wrote:
Dont worry.. I was also a bit inconsistent for a while and dropped like crazy. The key, I found out is to use a chess engine on your computer, and play those moves. You can arbitrarily increase your level. Now I am addicted.
A diesel engine or a gasoline one?
Nov 1, 2016
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#13
zborg wrote:
A reasonable conclusion is that "engine use" on the site has increased, and that drives down various peoples ratings.
Happens all the time. But it ebbs and flows. No surprise there.
People used to think (slow) Online Chess saw the most engine use. Now it's available at virtually all speeds.
In my experience, slow game players tend to overdo it with the book moves. Mostly choosing candidate moves by the percentages, it would appear. Once there are no more book moves available, a low level player will drop dramatically in skill level and the inaccuracies will commence. - No engine hacks, just really well played openings.
This is, I will admit, more of a feeling that I entertain, rather than tangible fact. It's five cents, but they're my five cents.
Nov 1, 2016
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#14
I've gone through rough periods where my rating drops significantly and I do not play well, then seem to recover and progress beyond where I was when I went into the slump. I've noticed this happens when I am fatigued or have some sort of significant stress in my life. Take a break and do something relaxing, then return to chess.
Nov 1, 2016
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#15
imsighked2 wrote:
I've gone through rough periods where my rating drops significantly and I do not play well, then seem to recover and progress beyond where I was when I went into the slump. I've noticed this happens when I am fatigued or have some sort of significant stress in my life. Take a break and do something relaxing, then return to chess.
A common culprit, I would suspect. Good post, sound advice!
Also I think a player's mode, or frame of mind, plays a role sometimes. There's a huge difference between "wanting to win" and "wanting to play good moves" in my personal experience.
Nov 2, 2016
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#16
officially 120 points and dropping... I think I should just quit for a while... It totally ruins my day..
lost 3 totally winning positions today. all of them I was +4 and more.
So thanks everybody, I think I'm done.
Nov 2, 2016
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#17
5 losses in a row. And my winning games are losing games blundered by my opponents..
Nov 2, 2016
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#18
I often play chess on the train home from work. It's a daily ritual and makes the time go by quicker. I have noticed that i'm not always in the mood for it but play anyway. On those days I play awful and lose a lot of rating points. I play pretty well when i really feel like it. I'm not sure if that's what is happening to the OP, but i've definitely lost more than a hundred rating points on days like that. Maybe try taking a week off from chess. :)
Nov 2, 2016
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#19
I,d often play against a small computer (Tandy/RS 1650) and mostly win, but when I was out of form I'd lose disastrously. It was as if I was playing a much stronger opponent.
Nov 2, 2016
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#20
I would just take a short break and expect a swift recovery. I had like 3 bad days of 5 minute blitz and lost 200 points !! It was shocking and I was kind of horrified. lol I did eventually get those points back though. This happens in many sports/games though and I think its just called a slump. It happens to everyone pretty much just know it's temporary. You'll be fine! You probably already know this. Best wishes to you!
And lol at the chess engine comment.
I dropped about a 100 rating points in the past week, and I seem to be losing game after game with no control while my recently much lower rated opponents spend 3 mins and crush me. (I play 15\15 so time shouldn't be an issue)
I've been playing for years and was a steady 1850, now can barely draw a game against opponents that were 200 below me just a week ago...
Did that ever happen to anyone? is that a faze before a great leap forward?
Shed some light before I get a brain checkup.