Yep, that's a normal part of life.
Chess Strength versus stress
Everyday. Once I finish my online classes for the day I cannot play chess bcoz I screw up. But give me 10 o clock and I am ready
ye I have, honestly the best way to deal with it is to realize when you're tilting, and take a break.
of course. i have significant ups and downs in chess a lot. its not rare. my worst down usually occurs when i am nervous or when i desperately try to win on time in bullet from the beginning. that's how i lost bullet pathetically because i made random quick moves and pre-moves in opening. and its not always about blunder. sometimes missed win. also, nervousness sometimes strikes (especially in puzzles, bullet, or rated games). that also affects my performance. some of the opening moves along with the ideal lines i've memorized suddenly disappear from my memories.
note that chess community can be unfair when judging your strength.. i've experienced that...when i am on my good days (and happen to play opponents on their bad days), people think its not my real skill... how unfair
I mainly use chess.com to do puzzles or play bots since I have a very bad connection. Anyway, I noticed that some days I can't see obvious puzzles and will drop 100 points, some other days I have clear thoughts.
I am thinking it's correlated to things like mild stress ( under deadlines at work for example ) . Have you guys experienced up and downs in your play depending on time of week or what else is going on ?