Good and Bad Days Playing Chess

I've noticed that in chess more so than anything else I've done in life my caliber of play will swing dramatically. This is especially true in blitz chess where my rating can often go up or down by as much as 100pts depending on seemingly nothing.  I've tried to figure out the causes of good vs bad days looking at everything from how I've been practicing to what I've been eating. I've yet to figure out a cause other than I typically have a bad day if I take a couple days off.  Just wondering if this oscillation is common, and if anyone has advice about how to minimize the number of bad days and increase the number of good days. 

Thanks,

JustinJ

ok, thanks for the input.  I never really thought about that.

I agree with Estragon.   I often find myself getting lazy in blitz from time to time. The speed definitely translates to greater fluctuation since some days you have more focus than others.

In slow chess, I have good and bad days. In blitz, I only have bad and very bad days.

lol, I know the feeling.  That's me when I play bullet.

I know exactly what you're talking about. In chess, I can have amazing days when I can beat anyone I play, and then at other times, days when I wonder if I even know how to play the game. On those days I often can't beat anybody, not even the noobs, and my rank will basically spiral until I stop myself.

It's a thing with chess, and even more so for blitz and bullet.

A 100 point swing is small potatoes. My best upswings are close to that, but my downswings easily top 200 on a bad day, and I've had days where the drop was close to 300.

I do agree with you all, my 5 mins rating is 1900+ and my 2 minutes rating is always near 1600 but in some days I can make it close to 1700s and on a bad day is has gone to 1450 and it seems I cannot beat anyone

My good days often have a 100 point rise, but it takes three of these to erase one bad day.

The same thing is happening to me right now and I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to scrutinize what the cause is. I can't figure it out though.

I just noticed that i have bad days and good days. I usually can tell based on my tactics fluctuations. I try to avoid playing on bad days because it kills my rank. But when i am feeling it, I unleash myself on my opponents. Usually, I only risk a longer game if I am feeling it. Im more willing to play blitz and bullet daily.

very true.happens to me all the timetoday's a bad day for me. This post just reminded me I should probably stop before my rating drops even lower

With me it is a matter of fatigue. After playing and studying too much, it seems like I can't win a game because I simply do not want to put the effort into it. I have learned to gauge my mood; If I do not really feel up to playing, I don't. This keeps me from having those bad days.

Some days you are just "in the zone" as it's called in athletics and you seem to do everything right.

Other times your memory, abstract thinking, etc. don't seem to be working as well, perhaps from lack of sleep, distracting thoughts, or who knows what.

I know that even in daily games, there are times when I think my game is won when an overlooked move is played and I'm suddenly in trouble.

There are books about thinking in chess. In blitz or even rapid chess, recognizing tactical patterns is a big deal, so memory plays a key role as much as the process of identifying candidate moves.

Wow! What a relief to see i´m not the only one with a +/- 100 points fluctuations! :-)

I suspect that when I be in good days I stoped play just after few games being happy with the result and having fear to loose the raiting reached, instead on bad days, I could not stop play since I won. Then I have no more than 3 consecutively wons and sometimes 10 consecutive loses! :-D

But that just explain my iratings fluctuations, not why the great difference in my level from oone day to the next.

Yeah, today’s easily the worst day I’ve had ever. I can’t win a single game, but yesterday I got hit in the head with a baseball bat and I’ve found myself stuttering since then. Might see a doctor soon if things don’t clear up. 

Fresh air helps. If i don't go out for a long time i can drop many points. My worst drop was 500 in bullet. Bad days affect bullet the most.