going to a club, what to expect

hello,

I have been to this club twice now and find that i m quickly losing interest in chess. is this normal. I am losing the games because i have a low rating, meaning i am not too good. i asked for some hint or advice and i got "well, you know the basics". that was about it. i can understand that they dont go to teach others but i find it hard to pick up, especially if some one enjoys running you into the ground. the thing is that i am not getting anything out of this. however, it is only my second visit. 

how do you get treated at a club when you are new?

Some people are big jerks. Some people try to be your new coach. Sounds like "well, you know the basics" was just in between.

If everyone is much better, then maybe plan to take a break for a few months while you read a book or two and play some practice games online. You might still lose your games at the club, but you'll be a lot better and learn new things.

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I went to my first club after playing online for 3 years (and reading pieces of a few books)... plus there were plenty of beginners at the club so I had no problems.

I know how it is though if you're the only lower rated player and everyone else is 1800 and higher (ECF approx 150 and higher). It sucks to get crushed every single game.

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I think these are a good place to start if you're interested:

https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Chess-Tactics-Everyman/dp/1857443861
https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Chess-Endings-Everyman/dp/1857443489

A pity, my club is a wonderful and lively place to socialize and every strong player is always ready to help anyone, and I really mean it. And all of us have even stopped cursing and hitting the table during analysis since a lady joined two years ago. 

We had a guy show up last night for the first time.  He knows how the pieces move, but wants to learn more and improve.  He and I sat together for over 2 hours playing, and pointing out basic ideas like opening principles, King and Pawn endings, opposition, key squares, piece value, basic middlegame planning, what to look for when, and when to capture.  

Dont give up.  You just need to find someone that will be willing to sit down and work with you.  keep on playing and at the very least, ask your opponent for some tips.

Expect to see old men who smell of sweat. Expect players who lack manners. Expect people who lack normal social skills. Expect autistic people. Expect annoying little kids.

Most people have to make a living somehow. So they do have relationships, jobs, and therefore social skills and basic hygiene.

As for age, yeah, it tends to be either younger than 25 or older than 60 (something like that).

I didn't mean to sound very critical of people who regularly go to chess clubs. My comment was more like a cynical joke. In my case I go to a club in San Francisco. While my comments are true about some people I see there they're still nice and polite guys. With the kids I have to stand by my comment based on my limited exposure when playing in the same room with them. But they'll probably begin behaving as they grow up. 

There re are a couple people I've played with and whose conversations I heard in the big room where we play who have said absolutely horrible, reprehensible things. One guy said "yea women are inferior" when they talked about women playing chess. That was crazy but he also seemed like maybe he is not ok in the mind.

Another guy said even worse things. We were playing a casual game and he begins taking politics. Then he is talking about religion. He tried to tell me his reasons why he doesn't believe in God and generally bad things about religious people. I am religious and tried to tell him I don't want to debate that when we play chess. He switched the topic to even worse thing, bad when he started saying how one people are better than other and the standard racist things about Jews as a whole and the standard anti Semitic garbage. My impression is that he is also short of marbles in the head (for those not fluent in English, 74 means something is wrong with his mind).

But don't let what I described scare you in your club. 'Majority of people I played or talked with are nice people who make effort to be nice. Just expect that there will be either just eccentric characters, or some trash talkers.

Do not be afraid to tell them to stop when you play or talk outside the game. Do not confront them to argue. They like that. Just tell them directly you don't want to discuss whatever he says, or say to him that he is rude. Try to say it nicely though. Also try to say it when other people are present and can hear your conversation.

The worst I got was some Trump talk that went into sexist stuff about women. I think the guy was trying to be offensive though, to see if he could piss off a few people in the room. I just left for a few minutes and when I came back he had stopped

There are a handful of people who appear homeless or something's wrong mentally with them. I'd say >90% are just regular people though. All the kids I've played are from foreign countries with helicopter parents (not that that's a bad thing with the few crazies that show up now and then) who probably have the kids on a totally full schedule of extracurriculars. But all the kids I've played are polite.