help

i am losing my mind. i can't win. i was on a winning streak, and now i have lost every game since then. it makes me insane. i have tried different openings, but i get lost after a few moves. what can i do to improve? i feel like i might need a program like fritz.

the worst part is how it makes me feel. i get angry, infuriated, upset, depressed, i feel so stupid that i try so much and always fail. 

i asked my friend and he said i should read more, but i'm not sure exactly where to look considering this website has limited access for nonpaying users.

AGGGHHHHHH

Winning streaks exist -- so do losing streaks.  Your loses frustrating you is a good thing in general because you'll be driven to not repeat your mistakes -- but letting your losses make you crazy can hurt your results and make the losing streak longer.  Just relax and try to play normally.

We all go through losing periods for various reasons -- remember it has nothing to do with your intelligence as a person or aptitude as a player.  You might want to take a small break from games and unwind a bit :)

i don't think changing openings is a good way to end a losing streak.  for me that is a better way to start a losing streak, since it takes a while to learn the traps and troubles. 

yes planeden .. u r right 

Let me put you out of your misery here.

Are you the best chess player in the world? Don't you expect that you will lose some games of chess if you play other people?

Given your rating, there are literally thousands of people better than you at chess.  This is a fact, you can look them up. So, you know there are people better than you. Why do you feel worse (angry, infuriated, upset, depressed, stupid) just because you found one of them? That makes no sense.

thanks, folks. i do think i need to step away from the board for a while and relax.... but i like the game so much! haha... i guess moderation is key.

well, i guess i just get so aggravated after i'm winning and then throw it all away, or don't see an impending checkmate that's simple to spot.

what openings do you guys like to play? i feel like this is my main problem, because i don't really "know" what i play very well

i only play book openings by accident and the odds of large numbers. i just use opening priciples and try to make sure i have a good position.  as white i start with 1. e4.  as for black (and move 2 as white) i just play something that seems good based on what the oppoent does and what seems to follow the opening principles. 

i figure most people at my level and below don't really know book openings anyway, so the idea of taking them out of book doesn't throw them off their plans.  also, since tehy are likely to ge tout of any book quickly, you will soon have to just go by principles anyway (or memorize many openings or look at the database a lot).  conversely, i figure anyway above my level that knows several openings also has the ability to counteract what i do without getting out of book throwing them off their plans.  that seems a bit wordy, but i hope it makes sense.  it may also just be an excuse i use for myself because i don't want to study openings. 

I think the best most advised way to improve one's chess play at lower ratings is to strengthen your fundamentals. I think this method is best proven by IM Joshua Waitkin's stories. (Note Josh Waitzkin was the child featured in the movie 'Searching for Bobby Fischer) Josh often commented on his young years of tournament play many of his opponents were taught traps and sharp swindiling play, and even though his adversaries would win a pawn or so, his principled logical play would ultimately prevail, which in some way he attributed to his intense study of endgames were his counterpart youth players were studying traps.

 Whenever I get in a chess slump I always take comfort in this quotes by Capablanca.

 “You may learn much more from a game you lose than from a
game you win. You will have to lose hundreds of games
before becoming a good player”

If you want to get better, get an OTB coach.

If your looking for a book, i would suggest this one:

http://blog.chess.com/SimonSeirup/review-the-middlegame-book-one---static-features-by-m-euwe-and-h-kramar

i know i need to read/study more... i think i'll go to the library soon and see if they have any good books