Horrible at chess

I learned basic chess when I was young and played here and there.... Since joining chess. Com I can see how horrible I am at playing. Anyone else having this issue? The computer constantly stomps me and when I use the recommended moves I wouldn't have done what was recommended. Just a bit frustrating.

You can only improve by studing chess. I am not very good at chess though. 

Yes, I couldn't believe how quickly I lost when I started playing against a computer, even on a low level. That was very humbling since I used to beat most human players, so until then I thought I was pretty good. But after learning a fixed set of openings and sticking to them, I learned the weak points and types of traps for those openings, as well as more general tactics to watch for in any opening, and I learned to think more like a computer, and together all those changes made a big difference. After failures in my first tournaments I decided my next goal was merely to avoid blundering, and that goal also helped a lot. After all, that's what chess is all about, in a sense: avoiding pitfalls in a difficult, infinite landscape. It seems a person must get up to about class A to overcome the "blunder stage," and I'm not sure if I'm there yet.

Don't feel bad. I'm rated 2182 and I'm horrible at chess, too.

There are only a handful of people in the world who are really good at it.

I find just delightful and intriguing that a person that can strong enough to beat the guy, that beat the guy that beat me feels "horrible" at chess

 

anyway.  against computers after a while of tweaking the programs, NOW, everyone is but a patzer to them.   nobody can beat the computers when they are set up correctly.

SO

how is exactly that you are "horrible" for losing to one of them?

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anyways, if you play with opponents that are much stronger than you, you will ofc feel frustrated. SO first find appropriate opponents.  you can do this by playing "Live chess" and as your 'rating' sinks you will gradually find opponents that are your equal.

 

Next Learn tactics!  

 

you simply won't be any strong that a NOOB without learning about them and becoming good at winning with them.

It still surprises me, that the feeling of being terrible and guessing a lot during a game never really goes away. I had the feeling when I was 1800, and again when I was rated 1900 (which is where I am now). At first I honestly thought I was overrated because no way someone as bad as me could have that rating... but then my similarly rated opponents were playing just as bad as me, and I kept my rating after many tournaments.

Chess is weird like that, I don't think the feeling of being bad ever goes away.

This is very common. Even a very low rated player (600-800) can beat up on casual chess players which you usually find among friends. The only way to get better is to play! Play until you stop blundering your queen then you can start real improvement.

If you haven't even lost 100 games yet you haven't even started playing chess  I've probably lost as many as 200-300 games in a single week.

Anyway, there's a huge range of skill in chess. Solve a tactic's book worth of problems, read a strategy book, and play a few 100 games. IMO that's the first step.

If that sounds like no fun, no worries, just play and have fun. There are opponents for you at that level too... but yes, you will be bad at chess

another way to look at this , is that since everyone feels "bad" at chess...

to forget the whole "am I good at chess"

 

concentrate on being really interested/ passionate about chess....

 

if you concentrate/obsess on chess you will lose a lot of games- but you will win a few too.... and that's the hobby.   you can concentrate on enjoying the victories; the "swindled" games (where on the verge of defeat you find a win)- the breathtaking complexity of chess where even the most hopeless position offers a tiny sliver of hope.

 

chess is complex, improving at it is difficult.  but becoming very interested in it-- is the first step to becoming a better player and less of a "casual" player.

 

 

 

 

Treat chess for exactly what it is, a game.

ONLINE CHESS IS WEIRD COMPARED TO REGULAR CHESS WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

10 months ago i hit my all time low of 260 at tactics, YES! *260* check my stats if you want, Yesterday i hit my all time high of 1266, I got close to that like 4 times but then went lower

 

2 years ago, even when I was at a very very emotional time in my life, at a very, very emotional day when I coundlnt even concentrate myself on anything, i tied with a very, very smart high-school teacher at age 13. You learn "dirty street tricks" at online chess very fast, which might in fact make you think your dumb, but actually you'll hit a time when you actually assimilate those tricks game by game, second by second, and you will be even way better than your friends, and maybe you can even score high at a local tournament in some months, dont get discouraged! also watch other chessgames, its a different concept of your under-pressure point of view than a friend´s game point of view, add friends, watch their games, and try to predict the next move. youll be able to play chess in your mind very soon, believe me! 

Don't worry. You and probably 80% to 90% of chess.com users have this issue. They think they should be good then realize they aren't when they face stronger players.

Yes, computer usually kicks my ass too when I set it to about 1300. People say computers are usually stronger than players of same rating estimate.

If you enjoy playing and want to win more you have to spend some time doing basic studying. Watch many videos on YouTube. I know many of them are for advanced players and average players like us won't understand it. But there are also many videos on chess dot com and YouTube which are great for our beginner level .

Then get a couple books. People will recommend you many books. So get those that are for beginner and which have great reviews.

Do lots of tactics. Even if you get many tactics puzzles wrong, just keep trying.

are you any good at snakes and ladders ?

First of all, I'd avoid getting advice from computers at this point.

And which ones are those? 

If you ask Nakamura he will reply half of the times he is not happy how he played.

If you ask MVL he will reply sometimes he is playing like a patzer and he even typed this in his profile at twitter.

If you ask Magnus he will tell you - I am no good, i just capitalise on others blunders they are really bad.. smth like the way he insulted Wesley So by saying he knows only tactics...

If you ask Stockfish it will reply he is terrible at openings and does not know anything if you removes his book..

So lets face it, above 1800+ we are all strong players ;-)

If i ask you how much you know about the univers - you will most likely reply not much. If you ask a scientis how much he know about the universe he will reply still not much - universe surprises us every day and the more you know the less you know.

Being "good", or "bad" at chess is all relative.  Just enjoy the game.

To get better at chess, you need to study tactics, endgames and strategy.

you have to love something to get good at it

do you love chess

if you are willing to not go to school and instead study chess

then you will get better at it because you love it