help!!! i'm in a slump

i'm playing really, really poor chess.  let's be honest here, i was never THAT good, but i felt like against people of a similar rating as myself, i could hold my own and generally win more than i lost.  that's gone--i am playing poor.  i have some obvious flaws that i am trying to work out--i neglect moves at times.  i should put more effort into my moves and i don't  this leads to mistakes.  but i don't feel like i'm rushing anymore than i always to.  so not rushing isn't the answer.  that's a really important part of my game i need to work on, but that's not the problem here.  i'm just playing terribly.  so...

what do i do?  what do you do when you're in a slump, not a day or two, but over a few week's worth of slumping and sucking.  i'm especially interested in the players with higher ratings.  1800s 2000s higher?  whatever...  how should i be working through this.  it's been going on long enough now that i've been able to cut way back on my games...  AND increase.  neither seems to be doing the trick.  i'm on the verge of just walking away from chess--probably not forever, but for some undisclosed period of time.  i want to avoid this-  ugh.  help!

i appreciate any input but mostly i'm looking for people who have really been able to crawl out of a funk.  i'm not looking for general--here's what i would try.  thanks

Well take a break as suggested above, but i prefer for a day or 2, than just eat healthy stuff, drink lots of water, read a book or 2 on chess but do not play it,

then after a day or 2, come back on, DO NOT play just yet, look at grandmasters games, look at why they did the moves, study the games, also do tactic puzzles and chess mentor, then take another break off studying and go do something else.

After 2 days or so you can get back to playing, but make sure you study a bit also while you are playing, then just dont play alot of chess everyday

In my studies, i found that i play better during weekdays rather than weekends,

Because -- During weekdays i have 7 hours of school and when i get home im fresh and i can play chess with my mind blank and it helps me alot,

but on weekends i tend to go on right when i wake up and i feel messed up the whole day and i tend to do badder, i also go on like 3-4 hours on weekdays and 7-8 hours on weekends!

thats a big difference and it could impact on how you play.

Using the Tactics Trainer often helps with this. It's been said that the majority of games are decided by tactics.

You know. . . I could probably mentor you if you want. My previous mentee left Chess.com probably because of real-life issues, and you guys are around the same rating.

Analyzing your own games are the best way to improve. You might find that you play better/worse with particular openings, or better/worse in closed/open positions. You might find recurring mistakes. Especially if you're playing book moves up until a certain point, when you go into unknown territory you might be letting your advantage slip away. 

so you have what?...5 consecutive losses?that's not so bad:I once had 13 (!) consecutive losses...and to people of around my rating.I was wondering wtf was wrong with me....I just took a few days off of chess and it did the trick!

try and fight more and longer for the centre advantage in the opening and middle game

when things go wrong resign early

mentor like play unrated games and talk through them?

don't play any chess for 1 week, think about it, but don't play it, then go to live chess and play the worst people you can find, when you beat them, It removes the, I'm bad at chess mindset.

I also advise doing chess problems or reading a chess book JUST BEFORE BED

this way you get you brain to more effectively take in information about chess..

Hey, It worked for me.

Pretty much, yeah. Are you interested?

yeah, for sure.  if it's not too much trouble.

so i've thought about this one as well.  about 2 years ago i took many months off from chess.  admitedly i did get better after the break but here i am struggling again.  i've thought about just finishing all my games and then ignoring chess for a few weeks.  i have to admit--i think i'd be pretty sad to lose it though.  i suppose one gets over these things.  hmmm.

have you tried this?  have the greats tried this?

ugh.  maybe this is the key.

Just some thoughts.

1. Play a computer that has graduated levels, start at an easy level, keep increasing the levels until you find yourself losing, strive to break the barrier and win. Play white and black.

2. Write your games down in a notebook. Analyse every single game you have played, every single move for both players. Use marks like ! !? ?! ??, +/-, etc. Put down reasons to back up your ratings for each move, write reasons and ideas behind each move, put in better variations if you find them. Use Fritz/or other computer (if you have) for analysis after you have completely analysed. It helps if you do not use Fritz to assist your analysis - it should be only your own thoughts. Compare your analysis to the computer. You will understand strategy better than the computer, it will find tactical weaknesses better on occasions. Analysis is crucial because essentially you are using this every time you play a game of chess.

3. Review the games from a Grandmaster who plays openings that you like to play. If you are big on 1.e4, Fischer, or 1.d4 Kasparov, etc. Pick one that plays in a style you like and is close to your approach. Observe how they make patient moves and will leave pawn tension and not exchange immediately at times. Patient moves with a strategic plan can really pay off. Observe how they use prophylaxis (preventative moves).

4. Find the openings that you favor for white, and for black. Test your play in these openings against a computer/or human practice opponent. Try ideas even if not the main line. A side line may work well for you. Essentially this will be you choosing your best/strongest openings and creating a reperatoire that you will stay with and build up until it is strong.

5. Have fun! I like playing the computer for fun, and I will lose at times, but then I have another go at it trying new methods until I win. Improve your ideas in play and strengths and your rating has to improve.

You can obviously play against a human opponent for practice, but a computer is good when it has levels because you can ascend through levels, increasing your strength of play as you go. A computer is good to try opening ideas against and you can play a lot of games against it at any time day/night.

Just my 2 cents, cheers, Matt

When I'm slumping I'll go to some other website like pogo where the players are less "dedicated" to chess and rack up some easier wins. Id say it helps with the self esteem a little bit

The only thing I would add that I haven't seen said already, is that whenever I'm slumping and my game has turned to suck, I look for patterns in the suckitude. Like, am I getting good positions and blowing them with one careless move? Am I getting bad positions and going downhill from there? Am I getting punished for being too aggressive/too passive? Is it the endgame where I'm losing it? Am I missing double attacks by the queen? Am I playing without a plan?...And so on. Generally there will be a pattern and that includes psychology such as not playing with the same energy or the same enthusiasm, or stress, etc. Once the pattern or patterns have been identified that's more than half the battle. Then you ask yourself what can you do to remedy the problem depending on what it is. Sometimes it requires more study if it's an opening problem. Sometimes it simply requires more attention at certain phases. If this advice is of no help whatsoever I have done my job, as I hope to play you soon.

gbid...

we should play a few non-rateds and walk/talk through some of my choices and moves.

r and o, i tried to challenge you but it says you're not accepting... 

You know, seeing the community come together and help one another out is 'way cool'!

To me, that's what makes 'community'; I have to say, knowing that there are members willing to teach and mentor really brightens my day!

Take it from me.  I took a four year break from chess.  I studied a lot before I came back and substantially improved when I started playing again.  It was the weirdest thing because I remember trying so hard to break a rating barrier.... then I gave up competitive chess and said that I would just do "park chess" for fun and I fell in love with the game all over again....

Unfortunately, it's an inverse relationship with playing...the stronger you get...

When you are just learning chess, you should play as much as possible.  When you get stronger... you have to study more and play less... which is quite annoying because we are comfortable playing over and over again.... but what we are doing is creating bad habits that will get harder and harder to break... and if our bad habits work on our weaker opponents... we falselyh look at them as success...

It is not easy trust me.

But you have to take some time to study before playing again... or limit your playing days.  When I took my 4 year hiatus.. .it was because of grad and law school but I didn't compete in any tournaments for three years...  It was great... because you come back and folks have no idea who you are or how strong you are :-)