Experienced Chess Players How Come I Suck?

I play a lot of on-line chess although I rarely maintain a rating higher than 1050.  By a lot I mean 3 - 6 games per day.  I'm a doctoral student which, hopefully means I'm not a total idiot.  I've read a couple books, do the daily puzzles, tactics trainers, review the games of the week.  What am I doing wrong or not enough of?

I guess about 2 years.  On-line only a few months.

Presumably your problem is that you almost exclusively play blitz. Try some correspondance chess. It will allow you to look for tactics, and improve your game.

well, being a doctoral student does not mean you're not an idiot

or maybe being a doctoral student, you don't get enough sleep and can't concentrate during chess games...

i looked at your games, you made  some blunders such as losing a piece by being careless without your captures or devolopment. also protect your peices better and be aware of a bishop or knight getting close or when they eyeball your castled king.  other things to note

almost everyplayer who gets a clear shot at the queen will take it in a heart beat. ps youre not a idiot

i just check two of your games, and it seems to me that when you attack complete loosen  on your defence, something that it use to happen to me, well my method was to play against the computer for a while," like that" first thing What move and than check what computer say.

It did work for me!

(PS i' m not a very good player, but i keep improving)

my friend get to know the basics first.

understand the concept of development of pieces.

understand the concept of castling.

understand the value of the pieces.

understand the concept of weak pawn structures.

then start on the basic tactics such as doubling rooks, buttressing pieces, knight forks, pins, discovered attacks etc.

as a doctoral student you understand how important to understand the basics before embarking on more applied stuff.

remember every mistake you make and avoid making it again.

be confident of yourself. few of the people beating you are smart enough to be doctoral students but they can easily master these basics i've listed above.

they're a good place to re-start

train tactics and watch some classic games, theres nothing better

try some beginners guide books

Play _slow_ chess. Blitz doesn't improve your game. I have doubts about Online chess. Play live with 30+ minutes.

I joined this site almost the same time you did and I have been improving quite steadily.  I'm still a beginner but within four months my correspondence chess is 1598 and my Long Chess (15 minute games) is 1352.   I noticed early on that playing blitz only allowed me a gradual improvement so I played longer games and my ranking improved much faster.  You probably would see the correct move if you had the time.  It's going to take awhile before you can "see" the board.  You're doing the tactics trainer which is invaluable.  I spend at least 20 to 30 minutes a day on it and have reached 1557 but I average around 1300 or so.  The other tip I got was from a player ranked around 2500, study one opening.  Why be a jack of all trades when you can master one?  You will lose at first but you will learn what works and what doesn't.  Use one that suits your style of play (agressive or defensive).  It may seem tedious but you have to study and it's going to be easier to learn one opening than several.  Also study your games, analyze them, use the game editor and blog about your games, ask questions and I swear you will improve.  At least that's what I've been doing.

train your tactics, nothing will make you improve faster , especially at your level. buy a book with just puzzles or use the tactics trainer, or chesstempo.com i bought a boatload of books when i first started and the one book that made me improve big time was 303 tricky tactics by fred wilson and some other dude. im not saying thats the best book on tactics, its not it has its fair share of mistakes, quite obvious too, but this was my first time ever doing tactics puzzles and I went from consistently getting my @$$ handed to me by my uncle, to destroying him and most of the competition in my college. I was able to apply the patterns learned in the book, thats the key. Pattern recognition so that it can be applied in your own games. being tactically alert is like being able to see.

This Is Just A Kudos To All Who Replied. I'm Also A Suckky Novice And It's Awesome To See You Posters Take The Time To Look At His Games Instead Of The Generic "Study" Reply. This Is An Awesome Community I Am Proud To Be A Part Of.          Thanks! 

Tactics trainer for sure is a good start.  I've really enjoyed using the chess mentor on this site as well.  There are a lot of different "puzzles" tuned to players of all ability levels.  Chess mentor gives you more time to think through things, and typically gives you good explainations about whatever point it's trying to drive home with the puzzle.

If you want a chess program, and have the time for it, I would suggest Chessmaster: The Art of Learning.  The engine doesn't compete with Fritz or Rybka, but it does offer a few nice things.  For one, it has a very nice help tool that tells you what the best move (in its opinion) is, but also explains WHY the move is a good choice.  It will play out the moves on the board while it talks through the line it sees.  The other nice thing is the training section which, amoung other things, has the course hosted by Josh Waitzkin.  It takes quite some time to get through it (lots of talking) but I think for a beginning to intermediate player, it can be very helpful. 

Thank you all for the feedback.  I've been away from this site for a few days but I'll be playing again.  Once again thanks!

in my opinion (even tho i'm not some great player..yet! :P) you have 2 options

first would be that you get yourself some easy books for learning, chessbase to save all your played games, and analyze them with help of any engine (i suggest spike 1.2).. it helps you discover holes in your openings, maybe even other way to think. Force yourself to think alot even easiest position and don't make move too fast.. normal online chess here (not live) is also great since you have alot of time to think 1 position through, it's also great because next day u're on similar position, and you gotta think it through again or at least try to remember what were you thinking, which means you do much more work in 1 game!

other option is that you find some chess teacher.. they will learn you how to think in chess, and helping you with all stages of game - it's worth it!

wish you luck in chess ;)

Someone suggested to play against computer. that is good idea.. maybe u can get ahold of chessmaster for SNES game console. It is what I first learned how to play on. It is very weak for a chess program but you will find it invincible to begin with. It is weak enough to improve against and finally be able to beat.

You are rubbish at chess and quite likely to stay that way ( starting young gives you a better chance!). You can't be good at everything, but you can still enjoy it...just at a crap level.

Playing 3-6 games a day everyday won't be good for your chess playing in general imo.

My father says the most important thing you ask yourself every single move is "What is my opponent threatening?"

Always ask this question before making a move.  Develop your minor pieces and try to get a better grasp of control on the board.  Also, great chess players can bring a queen out early, but beginners who do so, often spell disaster for themselves.  A queen out too early, before developing is a juicy target for your opponent, who can chase it around as he develops.

I am by no means a great player, but by careful play and consistency I have improved.  (By no means am I in a position to teach you though =]  )