Losing Streak

Does anyone have a remedy for playing better chess? I have been on a looong losing streak.  I know what I can play and the skill level there but for like the last week I have been hanging queens, pieces, losing to people under me, etc. things that I havent done for a long time... Any suggestions?

Get more sleep.

Don't worry too much

most people think that chess is a game of intelligence, but is just a game. I would not get sucked into spending alot of time with it as it takes away from the much more rewarding things in life

I'm in the same boat. I'm new to Chess.com but I am doing things that I never used to do. Hanging pieces and missing tactical oppourtunities and checkmates. I self destruct in a big way. I would love to learn how to not do that.

Play fewer games and take a little longer per move.  Just think it over more. :)

Well, maybe something has changed shortly before. Could be you fell in love with someone or got a new job or finally managed to get around to do something that has been waiting for a long time to be done or maybe something less dramatic but still a change from the usual.

I notice when I start to lose more games the main reason is that I am only looking at my options, and not my opponents options. When I start looking back at both again I win more.

One simple way to correct these types of blunders is after your opponent has moved, look first at every capture he has and ever check.  Then before you make your move look at every capture and check your opponent has after your move.  This will eliminate a lot of blunders.

Spot on!  These techniques are very powerful .  Maybe also look at every capture and check avalable to yourself.

if they are blitz games you are losing, try longer time controls.  split-decisions aren't the best idea if you want quality chess.  :P

Back off the higher principles you're trying to use, the ones you just learned, just a little bit, and focus just that little bit more on making sure you're not doing something stupid. Oftentimes when you learn something new your play actually degrades a bit as you try to assimilate it. Be patient, and trust that you'll get back to winning; believe me, you will. You've never heard of a player that was doing ok, and then suddenly started to lose, and never was good again, unless there was some huge outside influence (age, mostly) that caused the skill decline. Slumps happen to everyone, but they always end. My own typically last less than a month. 

Hang in there, play what you know, do the best you can, and don't let losses bother you. Even world champions hang pieces occasionally, and have miserable tournaments. 

How about this; every time you lose to someone rated below you, take a dollar out of your pocket, and burn it. See if that helps

 When someone is under me im a winner!

Wondering, do you get your games computer analysed?  It helps me to see more of the possibilities in a position.  Often analysis will show moves I hadn't even looked at.  BTW I only play turn-based chess at the moment.    Other  suggestions:--- play lower rated players... or play higher rated players (gives you an excuse if you lose) or go on vacation.

Actually this is one thing I didn't notice in my other post. Remember that being rated higher than your opponent does not mean that you are supposed to beat them.

Read that again, because this is important. Being the higher rated player does NOT mean that you are supposed to win. It means that you should win more often than you lose. That's all. 

You wouldn't be ashamed to lose to someone 200 points higher rated than you, because well, "they're rated higher, you're supposed to lose." Remember that you're "supposed to lose" in the exact same way to those rated lower than you, just not as often.

 This is a good point...but what do you do in the real world..IE playing on a actual game board?

In response to couchpotatoe's question what to do in an OTB game, I apply the same principles.  Just because you are playing OTB or Online tournament with 2 or 3 days per move should not change how you analyze a position.  Now in blitz chess, that's about all you have time to look for is captures, checks, pins, forks, skewers, discovered attacks, but it's still the same principle.

+1.

Why not take it further?
 How about a business plan where we send goons to stalk + go to work on you you based on the quality of your play recently.  

The way I see it,  the really strong players treat their mistakes as a piece of their soul being torn away.  

For the rest of us who shrug away hanging pawns/pieces or blunders with a "oh well, this stuff happens" rationalization to make us feel better and move on to the next game within milliseconds (without even reflecting on the mistakes), we need pay somebody to get medieval on our collective a##es.

This sentence was in the beginning of the entry:

"In some games, a player can sometimes benefit from the ability to burn money"