Challenge accepted, but they’re 400 points higher! What do I do?

I thought Chess.com matched random players with similar elo. Do I automatically lose the match against a far better player if I ignore the game?

I’m in the 900s and have very few real games played (I do the bots and coaches). The opponent who answered my open call is in the 1300s.

Don't worry about it. Yes, you can abort it if you need to but I think you should give it a shot.

Who you get matched with depends on who is looking for a game when you look for one. When you set up an open call, you can specify the range of ratings you are willing to accept. Maybe next time don't leave the range so wide.

Daily chess is different than other types of online chess. You can make use of books and databases to help you play a good opening. You can't use an engine but you can look at databases.

Play standard chess moves and over-protect everything so they can't whittle out a piece, and look for middle game tactics.

Thank you for the advice; I decided to go for it. I play reasonably well (watched many videos & have a couple books for reference) for my level, so I shouldn’t fall in an early trap. I’ve improved 100x since I became a member, so at least I can lose without looking too bad!

If you get paired against someone rated far higher than you, that's GOOD, not bad.

The number of rating points gained or lost depends both on the result of the game and on the difference in ratings. If the opponent is rated hundreds of points higher than you are, then a loss will cost you only ONE rating point (and sometimes none at all) while a draw or a win will gain you DOZENS of points. Similarly, the higher rated player gains almost nothing by beating you, but loses big time if he FAILS to win.

These calculations apply AFTER you've played enough games to stabilize your k-factor or R-factor. This web-site uses a rating formula similar to the Glicko-2 system, if you wanted to Google it.