Estragon wrote:
Also, have your ever had amnesia - or can't you remember?
LOL
Lost my chess ability.
Sort:
Lol no I don't have brain damage. At least not that I know of. I'm 17 and I did consistently beat them once I was at my peak around June. But now I can't seem to win. I do a lot of chess puzzles and solve those but in real games I can't hold it together. I'm going to try to just keep playing and hopefully start doing well again.
maybe it's because your wife died? :(
hes 17! how does he have a wife in the first place?
Sep 15, 2010
0
#46
MyCowsCanFly wrote:
So...we need to find out of the OP has either had a heart attack or been shot in the head.
However, I'm not sure we can rely on the OP. He might not remember.
Since a gun shot to the head can cause a loss of chess ability and the OP did suffer a loss of chess ability, he must have been shot in the head even if he doesn't remember it.
Also, if the OP disagrees, we can safely assume he's in denial.
Case solved.
My wife was fast asleep until I read this post and laughed far too loudly! 
Sep 15, 2010
0
#47
Musikamole wrote:
MyCowsCanFly wrote:
So...we need to find out of the OP has either had a heart attack or been shot in the head.
However, I'm not sure we can rely on the OP. He might not remember.
Since a gun shot to the head can cause a loss of chess ability and the OP did suffer a loss of chess ability, he must have been shot in the head even if he doesn't remember it.
Also, if the OP disagrees, we can safely assume he's in denial.
Case solved.
My wife was fast asleep until I read this post and laughed far too loudly!
Thank goodness. She went back to snoring. Now I can sneak into the freezer and look for some waffles. 
Odd. I got a double post. Sorry about that. It must be from my heart attack the brain damge that followed.
Sep 15, 2010
0
#48
"Get checked out. The medical literature has cases where people have had bullets or large nails imbedded in their brains , sometimes for years, without ever realizing it. So it can happen. Also, have your ever had amnesia - or can't you remember?"
- Estragon
Excellent point. Think about it for a second, well, a minute - for those that can still think. How would anyone know if they were truly suffering from brain damage, from something like a large nail imbedded in their brains, without a thorough medical evaluation?
How many of us have fallen on our heads in our lives, producing a large bump and NOT seen a doctor?
Seriously, I once cracked my skull falling off a bike and didn't know it until a day later when all was not well with me and my world. An x-ray confirmed the fracture.
Last, people can be depressed since childhood and never know it. Years later when this malady manifests itself in all sorts of ways, like cognitive impairment, things like a sudden drop in chess skills would become evident.
Yes. A sudden drop in chess skills is not something to take lightly and an exhaustive medical evaluation sounds perfectly in order.
I think that should cover all the bases of this topic.
Musikamole wrote:
Seriously, I once cracked my skull falling off a bike
I suspected something like that......
Grizzlay wrote:
Did you stop playing for a year or more?
I used to play way back in the school days, then life got busy, and I've only now (decades later), rediscovered chess. Needless to say, Iv'e had to relearn almost everything.
I started by playing the computer a lot. Start on easy just to get the hang of what works and what doesn't. If you make a mistake, back it up (you can against the computer). The point here isn't to win, but to learn.
Once you can win on easy (without backing up a move), go to medium. Once you can hold your own on medium, you've probably learned all you will against the computer (it's decent for tactics, but sucks at strategy).
By all means, keep playing other players while you are doing the learning phase, it can't hurt.
Anyhow, that's how I got back into chess, and I still have a long way to go.
Good luck.
Me too, I used to be quite sharp, and then after 3 years of not playing, I came back, I don't know how long I'll stay. I'll take the advice to play against a computer to regain my tactics, because I see I am making tactical blunders I should NOT be making, but I feel my strategic thinking is still very sound. How far on your strength have you regained (in terms of rating, how much lower are you now than you used to be), and how long did it take? Will it take me the similar amount of time to regain my strength as it did for me in the past? (6th to 8th grade, I went from 600-1500 on chess.com livechess. Now I've dropped down to around 1100, and am still dropping. I think it took me a year just to go from 1300-1500 during my final year of playing)
Aug 9, 2020
0
#51
This happens to me all the time. I reach my peak (like close to 1400) and suddenly start losing due to stupid mistakes and drop down to like 1100s. And then again climb up and again get down.
Is there any insurance that covers loss of ability to play chess well?
Practice! If you practice everyday you will become great at it just like a sport🏅The same thing happened to me, and I practiced and now I'm getting my skill back! But, not fully back because it takes time! ⏰
it happens because you are out of form , it happens to all of us , there is nothing to worry about , the lose of interest is the main problem . chess doesn't work if you are bored . you must enjoy the game in order to play up to your max lvl . stronger players will defeat you more often , its the way it is . remember to take breaks , too much of anything is bad .
Oct 13, 2020
0
#55
There is a 10 year gap between posts #50 and #51! The OP hasn't been online in three years. Hopefully there is nothing seriously wrong; however declining chess ability, along with other mental acuity, is not uncommon with age. I, unfortunately, speak of this through experience.
I'm 40 today. Started playing chess again after 20 years. I used to be an excellent chess player now I struggle to beat opponents rated below 800. I was previously able to play out entire games in multiple variations in my head and now I can't even see three moves ahead.
Jun 28, 2021
0
#57
I came to read this post for the same exact reason, it just suddenly went away. I'm looking for my skill again..
Jun 28, 2021
0
#58
This sort of thing happens a lot. You learn more about chess as you progress. Sometimes you reach a point where you have trouble assimilating the new factors you are learning into your game, leading to doubts and uncertain play--hence lack of success. Eventually you should realize how to co-ordinate things and wind up stronger and more successful than previously.
Jun 24, 2024
0
#59
I’m going through this right now. I was hovering at 2000 for over two decades. My bullet chess skill was above-average. Over the last two month time span, my rating has dropped to mid-1700’s. Bullet chess is not even an option. I’m thinking I must have had a mini-stroke but my scans found nothing. At a complete loss.
So...we need to find out of the OP has either had a heart attack or been shot in the head.
However, I'm not sure we can rely on the OP. He might not remember.
Since a gun shot to the head can cause a loss of chess ability and the OP did suffer a loss of chess ability, he must have been shot in the head even if he doesn't remember it.
Also, if the OP disagrees, we can safely assume he's in denial.
Case solved.
I just hope the OP has better luck than the poor Ilyin:
In 1941, while trying to escape from Leningrad on a barge with dozens of other passengers, the Germans bombed the barge. Alexander was the only one killed.
Wow!