What is wrong with me? (other than Cerebral Palsy, joke)

Hi everyone,

I've been playing King of the Hill regularly, participating in multiple tournaments per day, both 1-minute and 3-minute games. My rating typically hovers around 1250+, but last week, I managed to push it up to 1300+. It was an exciting milestone, but now I feel like I've hit a wall. Just today, I lost over 100 points, and I can't figure out why this sudden drop in performance is happening. 

Here are some factors that might be contributing to my struggles:

1. Overconfidence After reaching 1300+, I might have become overconfident in my games, leading to careless mistakes.
   
2. Increased Competition Moving up in rating often means facing tougher opponents. The players at 1300+ might be more experienced and strategic, catching me off guard.

3. Fatigue Playing multiple tournaments a day can be mentally exhausting, especially with the fast pace of 1-minute and 3-minute games. Fatigue might be affecting my decision-making and reaction time.

4. Change in Strategy As I climb the rating ladder, I might need to adapt my strategies. My usual tactics might not be as effective against higher-rated players who are familiar with common traps and openings.

5. Bad Luck Sometimes, it just comes down to a string of bad games or tough matchups. Variance is a part of chess, especially in fast-paced formats like King of the Hill.

I'm reaching out to this chess community for advice on how to get back on track. Have any of you experienced similar slumps? What strategies did you use to overcome them? Any tips on improving my game, especially in the King of the Hill variant, would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Best,
@JosephReidNZ

Wow

That's an impressive schedule! Maybe try playing fewer games for a bit, less mental fatigue, more emphasis per game. 1 to 3 minutes, anything can happen. I just make more mistakes and make them faster at that speed.

Considering the fact that YOU are a 1200-1300 player... there are many players in your rating range that are good chess players who are also trying to increase their rating.

And/or you're running into those 9-12 year old buzzsaws!!! haha

Thank you for the advice! You're right; playing fewer games and focusing more on each one could help reduce mental fatigue and improve my overall performance. It’s tempting to play quickly, but it often leads to more mistakes, especially in shorter time controls.

I do find myself playing some very strong players, and it's strange on one da/time/tournament I do really well, or badly I can't understand why other than if I make an obvious mouse slip (or eye slip in my case, because I am using an Eye-Gaze

I’ll try to incorporate your suggestions into my practice routine. Balancing the quantity and quality of games might be the key to improving my rating. Thanks again for the insights!