done with chess probably

my elo keeps going down and i keep facing better and better players. like 600 nothings who clearly know how to play and make things impossible. what is even the point, when there is such a margin to progress to?

i mean realistically i am not a total idiot. I know what it means to learn and progress. Yet in chess nothing sticks. I can hold a well paid job following master level studies in a public elective school, playing sport competitively  and generally having the mental capacity to learn things and make sense of things. And yet, chess eludes me completely and either i don't progress at all or people are just getting things across i simply cannot. 

I just don't know. If trhere was a way to learn that was not stupid dry opening bs or chess principles all which I understand the concept of then maybe? Not every game is made for everyone but it's just demoralising that chess seems to be made for so many people, just not me and i'm just getting worse and worse while learning seemingly more and more while playing (but probably not really). 

Having to make it up as i go along probably does not help, i don't know. I just thought you could learn by doing. 

There is this guy who started 500, took 2 months of losing getting down to 300 and then no issue went up to 1000 and never looked back. And that seemed normal to him. I can't make sense of my elo progression, i just would ideally like to lose to people with better elo than myself instead of going to 700s and stay there comfortably for weeeks, only to go down once to 600s and play stronger and stronger opponents the lower my elo gets. 

In conclusion, i have no idea where to go from there. I wish there was a place where you can train and reliably measure progress and work on specific things instead of what seems to be on offer which is not helping me AT ALL. 

the end, until i come back to consume more of the proverbial waste for no other reason but the hope something will stick when it never has and probably never will. 

Be sure that 600s don’t execute principles correctly.I checked out one of the last games you lost.You didn’t develop your minor pieces in a right way.Probably you don’t know openings profoundly or even superficially.Learn some openings and focus on developmen.Keep an eye on the central tension and always have a plan.A general plan and a plan for your central pawns.

i mean little has changed. I play and i know more and more. and my elo does not vary, i always go up and then play comfortably and then every one is amazing and i go down. it's cyclic. the more i know makes 0 difference at all.

You can’t learn only by playing.You need some theoretical knowledge.

No, you don't understand basic principles. Develop minor pieces. Don't bring the Queen out early. Don't put Knights on the edge of the board. These basic principles are there for a reason.

You can do this, you just need to study the items you think you know. And slow down.

define early. and where i do it. it's lot of claims basically. i will take feedback on specific games, but not just general principles.... it does not work.

The amount of people that post this is infuriating. Yes, I have the option to ignore them. But when I'm scrolling through topics looking for posts that are actually intriguing, and practically every other post you see is something along the lines of "I'm quitting" it really gets annoying. How these posts are not considered spam when they take up like 5% of the internet's total storage space is beyond me

Wahhhh! Wahhhhh!! Somebody...call the wahhhhhmbulance!! We have a sick man here!! He's studying on a MASTER'S LEVEL and still can't play chess well!!

(Incidentally, every time someone tells me they have a Master's Degree, they're invariably a clown.)

Makes no difference? THEN SCREW IT. Do you love playing the game? That is ALL that matters ... blow off all the fluff.

As you naturally improve, the numbers will eventually reflect your true value. Play for fun! Screw the numbers.  Be happy.  Message me if you'd like a game for fun.

If you think yourself helpful, look again. Right now, the only clown I see is in your pfp.

By far the best advice so far.

There is another similar topic, where I said something very similar. The OP apparently took my advice, then blocked me. Sometimes we don't like to admit the truth. Focusing too much on improving and elo and theory and memorization can be detrimental, if the person isn't suited to those things.

I think the first thing to remember is that chess is just a game, it's meant to be fun. If it's not fun, then a person should ask why are they playing. If it's more fun when we play better (a valid approach) then I think there should be some sort of limit or restraint on improving. Otherwise it becomes less fun, and more work, and takes time away from other quality pursuits.

Chess is for everyone, but not everyone is for chess. Or as I like to say, chess if fine, as long as it doesn't interfere with more important things. Like golf.

If the only thing you do is play and you have no study plan, you are very likely to plateau and remain stuck.We know this from the analysis of data on Lichess. See How Long Does It Take Ordinary People To "Get Good" At Chess?

"TL;DR: According to 5.5 years of data from 2.3 million players and 450 million games, most beginners will improve their rating by 100 lichess rating points in 3-6 months. Most "experienced" chess players in the 1400-1800 rating range will take 3-4 years to improve their rating by 100 lichess rating points. There's no strong evidence that playing more games makes you improve quicker."

You need a study plan like NM Robert Ramirez's Beginner Study Guide (600-1000 Elo). And it is strongly recommended that you play more in time formats that give you more time to think.

Play longer games if you actually want to improve. All you play is 3 min blitz. That's not going to get you anywhere in terms of improving.

Post made 26/09/2024

Last online 3 hours ago

Correct.

OP needs to decide whether to play for fun and lose, or to learn whether there is fun or not.

Chess is a very specialised skill, and rating is the usually accepted measure of it,

if one does not study, then they can only expect to win against players below or close to their rating.

If losses hurt too much, then quitting is the only option to remove the pain.

I have played for fun now for years. Losses are part of it. But i enjoy the wins more than I suffer when I lose,

I would argue the players who tryhard chess and study it a lot find it more fun than casual players

Because if you enjoy something you spend more time on it and take it more seriously

Agreed. Winning is great fun but I LEARN more when I lose and analyze the game. The more I learn on how to analyze and get the most out of a game (I'm only probably 50% there), the more fun is the ANALYSIS.

Now I can't wait for a game to end to explore it for its treasures. The journey's the thing.

ADDED: Nah, the game itself is the most fun because it holds also board tension, tactics, strategy. But the Analysis and study also ROCKS!

Great positivity on here, thanks people this is heartwarming. And i sort of intuited but didn't go through, playing rapid again instead of blitz. I used to be rapid only player and then i thought i should be able to progress even if playing blitz. But based on feedback, I will probably revert back to rapid and accept that blitz is a harder to figure things out with. Thanks for the suggestion on course too, i will check it out!