Upgrade to Chess.com Premium!

Up and Down

I play a lot of games on chess.com, but it's clear that I'm not a very good chess player.  I make a lot of stupid mistakes, and I miss a lot of good moves.  My rating is slowly improving, but it sure goes through a lot of up and down along the path.  I'm often the low guy on the totem pole in any given tournament, and those 1600 level players tear a 1200 like me all to pieces.  

Probably the biggest weakness I have is simply that I have no idea of how to make a plan.  It seems my opponent always does something different than what I expect, so no plan is worth anything.  I have a really hard time looking further than one or two moves, and sometimes I can't even see THIS move, let alone the next one.  

I play a lot of Tactics Trainer, and it's very frustrating that I can't get my rating to stay over 900 no matter how hard I try.  

So, if there's anybody else out there that simply can't seem to get over a hump, believe me, I know how it feels.

Comments


  • 16 months ago

    nards656

    Thanks for the comments!  Chess definitely doesn't make me unhappy, just makes me feel very dumb sometimes :)

  • 16 months ago

    Xephire

    It takes time to get better, the more you play though, the more you will learn and the better you will get. I know I have improved alot since playing on this site, and the last tournament I managed to beat someone 500 or so points higher then me and they didnt even see what I was planning, pulling a win out of no where by sacrificing my queen to put them in mate.  That same tournament, I managed to make it to round 3 for the first time as well, and ranking in the top 10 for my first time ever in a chess tournament.  It took me several tournaments, but I finally had a good run and did better then i thought, even when in the second round it looked like I was about to lose 3-4 games, that I eventually came back to win someone because they made mistakes as well. I lose alot still, mostly been practicing different things in live games, but it takes time to try different things and work with all that works best for you. Everyone makes mistakes and misses moves, even the top players do, so try not to let them get you down too much. 

  • 16 months ago

    DevinCamenares

    I took a look at a few of your games. Your play is actually pretty decent, you just need to keep practicing your tactical vision. Consistency is key.

    In addition to tactics trainer, try taking some tactic problems / puzzle and analyzing them without the time pressure that the trainer has. Make a note of every possible capture and try to identify which pieces are poorly defended. It might help.

    Poorly defended pieces and pawns tend to be the first things that get eaten when crazy tactics start to happen.

    Keep trying, and good luck! Most of all, just have fun!

  • 16 months ago

    mage3070

    Abandon chess if it's making you unhappy. If chess truly makes you happy, then play because you love the game, not because you are trying to improve. All you need is practice.

Back to Top

Post your reply: