Andddddd I just realized this was a problem you had 3 years ago. Lol
Why is my rating dropping?

Andddddd I just realized this was a problem you had 3 years ago. Lol
Yup but I also mentioned in this thread how I hope it will motivate others with similar doubts. Now I have this newer thread on a similar topic
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/fun-with-chess/my-online-chess-rating-59795420

Forgive me if this has already been answered, but shouldn't one's rating go up after a win? Or does it depend on the actual game play and the rating of the opponent. I just won a game against someone rated about 100 points lower and my rating stayed exactly the same....

Forgive me if this has already been answered, but shouldn't one's rating go up after a win? Or does it depend on the actual game play and the rating of the opponent. I just won a game against someone rated about 100 points lower and my rating stayed exactly the same....
it was probably an unrated game

Forgive me if this has already been answered, but shouldn't one's rating go up after a win? Or does it depend on the actual game play and the rating of the opponent. I just won a game against someone rated about 100 points lower and my rating stayed exactly the same....
it was probably an unrated game
Facts

i play 30 minutes only. no blitz and bullets. Would it help me to improve if i play longer, say like 60 minutes game?

Forgive me if this has already been answered, but shouldn't one's rating go up after a win? Or does it depend on the actual game play and the rating of the opponent. I just won a game against someone rated about 100 points lower and my rating stayed exactly the same....
It might have been unrated, but you can also gain zero points from a rated game too if your rating is MUCH higher than the opponent. This is essentially there to prevent players from farming weaker players to reach GM levels. If you want to reach a certain level, you probably need to beat those ratings around there fairly often.

i play 30 minutes only. no blitz and bullets. Would it help me to improve if i play longer, say like 60 minutes game?
Maybe, but not necessarily. It depends how much 'thinking time' you have with 30 min. If you are running into time trouble, then yes 60 min may be better for you now. If you are playing a 30 min game and still have half your clock left when the game ends, then adding time to the time control won't help any - slowing down a bit and utilizing better clock management will

Forgive me if this has already been answered, but shouldn't one's rating go up after a win? Or does it depend on the actual game play and the rating of the opponent. I just won a game against someone rated about 100 points lower and my rating stayed exactly the same....
It might have been unrated, but you can also gain zero points from a rated game too if your rating is MUCH higher than the opponent. This is essentially there to prevent players from farming weaker players to reach GM levels. If you want to reach a certain level, you probably need to beat those ratings around there fairly often.
Well, I just joined up recently, and started with a 1200 rating. Then I played my brother, lost some and won some and my rating went up and down accordingly. So I then tried responding to an "open invitation" game and then after winning the rating didn't change even 1 point. Just seemed weird. As I'm new, I just assumed any game on the open invite would be "rated" like any other. Was I wrong? Are some games rated and others not rated? Thanks.

I've been playing on this great site for a couple of years now. I used to get frustrated when my rating would fluctuate widely, but over time I formulated a theory which has helped me relax, and even play better, too (because being frustrated isn't conducive to playing well). I figured I would share my theory in case it might help others understand why they go on winning streaks, losing streaks and sometimes just win some and lose some. It's based on the idea that we play on three different channels (I've color-coded them red, blue and green)…if you take a look at the image
, I've included an explanation in the back box on the right-hand side...

Forgive me if this has already been answered, but shouldn't one's rating go up after a win? Or does it depend on the actual game play and the rating of the opponent. I just won a game against someone rated about 100 points lower and my rating stayed exactly the same....
It might have been unrated, but you can also gain zero points from a rated game too if your rating is MUCH higher than the opponent. This is essentially there to prevent players from farming weaker players to reach GM levels. If you want to reach a certain level, you probably need to beat those ratings around there fairly often.
Well, I just joined up recently, and started with a 1200 rating. Then I played my brother, lost some and won some and my rating went up and down accordingly. So I then tried responding to an "open invitation" game and then after winning the rating didn't change even 1 point. Just seemed weird. As I'm new, I just assumed any game on the open invite would be "rated" like any other. Was I wrong? Are some games rated and others not rated? Thanks.
Since you are newer here (less than a year), welcome to chess.com
As for rated or not, they are usually rated, but you can select rated or unrated when you send an invite. I'm guessing you toggled unrated. If ever unsure, glance at the right side of the screen while the game is starting (and mid-game). Over there, it shows "Win" and + some number, "Draw" something and some number and "Loss" and - some number. This is the rating change for those game results.
If it states: Win +8, Draw +0, Loss -8, then you gain eight rating points if you win, no change for a draw and lose eight rating points for a loss.
Note that the numbers equal for wins or losses is only for opponents closely rated. If you are heavily favored to win, then it may look something like this: Win +6, Draw -2, Loss -10.
If the number values are not present on that side of the screen (under default settings), then it should say "unrated" and in that case, rating won't change - regardless of the game outcome.

Forgive me if this has already been answered, but shouldn't one's rating go up after a win? Or does it depend on the actual game play and the rating of the opponent. I just won a game against someone rated about 100 points lower and my rating stayed exactly the same....
It might have been unrated, but you can also gain zero points from a rated game too if your rating is MUCH higher than the opponent. This is essentially there to prevent players from farming weaker players to reach GM levels. If you want to reach a certain level, you probably need to beat those ratings around there fairly often.
Well, I just joined up recently, and started with a 1200 rating. Then I played my brother, lost some and won some and my rating went up and down accordingly. So I then tried responding to an "open invitation" game and then after winning the rating didn't change even 1 point. Just seemed weird. As I'm new, I just assumed any game on the open invite would be "rated" like any other. Was I wrong? Are some games rated and others not rated? Thanks.
Since you are newer here (less than a year), welcome to chess.com
As for rated or not, they are usually rated, but you can select rated or unrated when you send an invite. I'm guessing you toggled unrated. If ever unsure, glance at the right side of the screen while the game is starting (and mid-game). Over there, it shows "Win" and + some number, "Draw" something and some number and "Loss" and - some number. This is the rating change for those game results.
If it states: Win +8, Draw +0, Loss -8, then you gain eight rating points if you win, no change for a draw and lose eight rating points for a loss.
Note that the numbers equal for wins or losses is only for opponents closely rated. If you are heavily favored to win, then it may look something like this: Win +6, Draw -2, Loss -10.
If the number values are not present on that side of the screen (under default settings), then it should say "unrated" and in that case, rating won't change - regardless of the game outcome.
Thanks so much! That's exactly the info I was looking for. It would be nice if there was a "beginner's tutorial" for Chess.com that included info like this....

Glad to help @PrestonRandall - feel free to message me with any chess questions or questions navigating chess.com too
By no means do I know everything on this site, but I've picked up enough through experimenting and being on this site for a while
IMHO,
As stated by scott88688 , your ELO rating is not your inner chess proficiency.
We may propose that :
current chess efficiency = (permanent) chess proficiency X current mind form/shape
where mind form acts as a coefficient which can be 0.9, 0.8 ...
Mind form may change with :
* obvious conditions : physical exhaustion; headache; sickness
* subtle conditions to be more described : mood exhaustion/chess burnout which leads to lack of desire (to find your best choice at each move); applying new skills not yet mastered ...
A reassuring fact is that this phenomenon is not specific to us middle rating players; it can be observed at the highest level. When we follow the top 10 world chess players, all of them around ELO 2800, we regurlarly notice that one of them has a losing streak in a tournament with an ELO performance at 2600s. Shall we conclude that his chess proficiency plummeted by 200 ? Nonsense ! His chess proficiency varied very little. A proof is that he wins a few weeks later a tournament with an ELO performance > 2800.
As suggested by cellomaster8 , when you are on a losing streak you should :
1) stop playing rated games or even stop playing at all
2) and DO continue your training, for your newly acquired chess skills will eventually pay off when your mind form will be back up.
Wishing the best for all of us ,
Regards.
Hello again. I honestly really can't provide any in-depth advice on how to get back at your best performance as I am much, much lower rated than you. But if it helps, a relaxing break from chess doing my other hobbies always refreshes my mind for the next run. And if you feel as if your skill has remained constant but your rating has not, I'd say its the time of day that you play that may be a factor for that. Based on my experience, opponents I play usually tend to be better in the evening than in the afternoon. Of course that is just my personal observation. Times of opponents generally beyond or beneath their presumed rating showing up could be different for you. So just a small theoretical suggestion: If you feel as if your being overwhelmed by your opponents at one time, perhaps trying your hand at another time would lead to YOU overwhelming them.