Rating freefall.

So I recently got to 1500 in rapid and now it is taking a dip down to 1450 after losses after losses. Thoughts? Tips?

I got to 1127, then apparently forgot how to play and sunk to 995 in no time. I hit bottom and now I'm back to 1060 or so, and getting a little confidence back, but it's hard to really understand these "streaks".  I think it's just important to "show up" and let the chips fall. 

I got to a peak of 2581, and dipped down to 2080. That's 501 points.

Only losing 50 points isn't much, and you will regain it eventually.

Whenever you lose a game, stop playing and analyse it first to avoid mental tilt.
Do not worry about rating: it will readjust itself. Contrary to poker you lose no money.

You realize that the only way to have your rating go up all the time is to get better right?

Obviously a rating will wiggle up and down around a single rating if the only thing you're doing is playing.

Hello Defenceking27:

Losing in chess is a normal part of the chess career. If you have not lost a single game and lost rating, I would expect you to now be 3000 in rapid. 

If you are consistently losing game after game, the most likely reason is that you have got tilt on you. Please check that you are sitting upright before the computer. If you think you are just losing your grip on the games, then take a break and have a rest. Playing fresh from rest is likely to be better than playing while exhausted from losses. 

If you think you are getting better and learning, then is the rating really important?

(This is not to be taken seriously. I might get wooshed)

Were you tired, hungry, angry or annoyed? I believe the mental state explains them.

yeah I am currently in a -200 rut. It's being on a diet in my case. What can you do?

To OP, to me rating tends to show when your brain isn't quite up to snuff. All kinds of stuff can cause it-- stress, poor sleep, not exercising. It's just like everyday life, most people have days or longer where they aren't 100 percent.

Big rip

Proof ?

There was another thread about the matching algorithm being suspect. Who knows? My anecdotal evidence is just that when im tired rating goes down, when I exercise rating goes up. But yes anecdotal but seems convincing to me since when I am living healthy rating gradually increases which would make sense since you have to learn at least a little bit from playing everyday.

"Proof?"

lol. Are you that unaware of how your body works?

Thankyou guys for your feedback. Much appreciated!

Hmm. Now that you mention it I was playing losing game after losing game. Which gets more disappointing after each game which could lead to falling further than necessary. 

As for the drop, I have had many like and am not too surprised. However, I wanted to see if people had reasons for this so I can avoid dropping as far in the future.

Finally I'd just like to give one more thankyou to you guys' ideas and advice. It has really helped me to understand the drastic drop better. 

Many thanks,

-Defenceking27  

What makes it worse is the often inevitable urge to "get the points back" which is why I'm trying to learn to end playing sessions even when my last game is a loss. I've experienced horrible tilt last month when I played like 40 rapid games in a row, fuming for literally 9h straight without a break nor eating. Thankfully I've only lost 33 rating points and learned a valuable lesson, never again. I've barely played since then though which is a shame because I was progressing so well.

It's logical that mental state is essential to the quality of your play, influenced by nutrition and sleep, in fact health in general since chess is the brain at work.

50 points?

50 points?

f'ing benihana?

50 points is nothing. many that have played for a long time have variances that go way beyond that.

I know losing 50 points is not a lot but I was curious if people had ideas what would be behind the falls that we all experience and how to avoid bigger falls in the future.