We often don't feel the difference in our own play even tho objectively performance grows. The differences are small. One session you just have better focus than in the next one.
The exact same thing you notice in your opponents play - either they take a free piece or don't - it applies to you. So don't leave pieces hanging and take what you can get. One move at a time.
hind sight is really great in this game -- it all about what you should done rather than what you did
tonight played badly lost ground for sure -- time to stop and let my meds kick in i guess-- god i hate this game
thursday morning won/loss the same -- but at least games over 40 moves each so some improvement there -- i guess -- have to look at bright side -- i think i will never get out of the basement so what improvements i can make i have to take credit for i guess-- maybe i can aim for over 40 moves each game back to one more game for morning
The truth is that all games are won on capitalizing on mistakes. The person who loses is the person with a mistake that gets capitalized on. I'm not a master so take my answer with a grain of salt, but If I were you:
Practice puzzles to learn tactics.
Choose a solid, less tactical opening.-Wild tactical skirmishes in open positions leave much more room for error, which is a death sentence for new players. I'd choose something very basic like the four knights at your rating.
Remember that the only thing you need to win is one more pawn than your opponent. Win a pawn, trade the pieces, make a queen, win.
A shorter tip is that the mind can get tired like your muscles. Don't play too many games a day. You'll likely tire out your mind, get upset, and proceed to tilt. Take your wins, cut your losses.
yes your advice is very true -- like tonight everything i do has gone to pot(not the smoking kind wish i had some of that ) tonight - from a personal level lost some money that i couldn't afford to lose--- my wife is mad at me about something unrelated to the money -- my body is aching from too little activity - i playing like !@#$hit and losing everygame in chess tonight -- i @#$%^&*ucking hate the world -- but at least i have my health -- and tomorrow--- like scarlet saids in the movie -- tomorrow-yes tomorrow is another day-- what i need is a mind meld to someone succesful in life -- god the meds are taking hold listen to me here --good thing iam a canadian and don't have a gun in the house -- one more game to confirm tonight i am a loser of highest rank --
well its the next day and i guess i made it through the nite --- when one gets depressed about life's screwed path it has for you -- it takes a toll - then kick in the meds -- sorry guys can't do oxy - its affects my other meds ---but it is a new day - the sun is shinning even thought its very very cold outside - my play early this morning
(got up really early my feet are bothering me when i sleep so i have to get up to relive the pain
)- then i am up - played this morning seven indian people in a row -- wow ---- guess no other people are on that early -- oh !!one Mexican guy ---sorry flags confuse me sometimes - played as usual-- six losses one win the worse part was i only made to 30 moves in half the games before i lost my queen or over 10 pts spread for my opponent - so very unproductive early morning -- maybe now thats it regular morning time - i will do a little better --maybe first i will work on a fiction fantasty story i am writing to release my depression thoughts iam at 35000 words so far on this story last two stories i wrote where about 30000 each so this story is going on a little longer --- but boy do i need a editor to fix my grammatical mistakes i have a delexically challenged mind and tend to make words up or phrases that only make sense to me i give a hour or so maybe in the middle some where to rewrite then back at chess- i lost all chance to recover my money from the previous day so moving on---- spilt milk and such as they say --with this Canadian postal strike making things extremely difficult -- my renewal credit card and some checks owed me are all in the frozen mail system--looks like nothing tll the new year will move -- and my small ebay business that provided me with a little extra funds to play and get little extras like beer and occasional movie show and pay for cable/internet is now completely gone - such is life -- when the hammer hits it hits -- but at least i have not the problems of the rest of the world bombs mayhem dictators etc -- ( well maybe one but he can be voted out next election)- so off to rewrite
LATE MORNING --just more losses after losses
time to look at a lesson or two
they don't do much good but at least i take my mins away from the the losing -- ha ha ha
two 1/2 hour lessons back to back with a couple games in between and then fours after -- yeps still lost all the games
but did get to keep queen and get to 25 moves ina 3 min games -- which for me is pretty good
won a couple of games on time but i don't consider that a win right now i need to beat the other guy out right -- but that may never happen so time win is second best i guess
after lunch i will play a do another lesson by different guy see what that does --then play a couple of games
I seem to be stuck in the 400 rapid rating. been doing puzzles and lessons. I win a lot when I drop under 400, then lose when I get going in 400. my highest has been a little over 500. Now stuck between 370 to 400.
i am in this situation too
today sat afternoon won more games than lost but the needle didn't move much mind you i seem to be getting my opening down for change first 6-8 moves seem ok-- its after that i go down the rabbit hole and make following my opponent's moves and i make bad plays -- most times they are the only ones i can make i think i need to stop and just move pawns up the sides instead of trying to do a fork or something will try that in next three games
sat afternoon after med nap won five games in row ---- wow-wow-wow over 150 now a first in a long time-- maybe i seeing the board better -- more than likely just played a bunch of really bad players grouped in a row and luck had much to do about that --- but for my own good well i take them - so will try to see whats next -- downward or upward tonight
never mind what i said in the above post -- it was all !@#$%^&hit --- just lost four games in a row ----so luck in those 5 wins was just that freakin luck that i won -- does not matter what i do i won't get out out of the basement -- maybe late tonight luck will come back and i will again get worse players to play --- maybe see you late tonight
sunday morning instead of starting right into playing i started reading a book on chess
a friend sent me a copy of a book he never read on chess which is something he does quite a lot buya book on something then never read it after glancing over for a few minutes --- he read my whining's here on chess.com and sent me this book as i believe as a joke knowing that it is way above me in chess knowledge and just to thick they say for me to comprehend -- he was right the book is lasker's manual of chess -- and its a very complicated read-- the drawings are too small to read and the notation has to be memorized to be understood as all the diagrams have no ranks and file listings --- yet i find some of the chapters interesting to read--- fully understanding them not so much but i have gleaned a little here and there ---i think?? so i will keep at it reading only little each day maybe some of it will sink in with the discipline of reading and re reading a part at least no claims of stardom are promised as he saids in the book one cannot learn genius -- but he the reader can learn to keep him/her at bay going on a far as possible or even getting lucky once in while and defeat the supiourer
player - since a true genius won't be reading this book --- i kind of like that thought - so see you after i read a small portion today and then back at the war on stupidity
after reading a few pages went to work -- well that proved not everything you read ---you understand or can implement lost four games in a row
so back to old opening--- players today for 100 to 139 range are very smart or iam well iam just playing stupid as usual into their hands i believe maybe later will play again
some more pages which where a thick for me to understand maybe a reread for sure - but iam up to 150 again after some wins mainly just lucky to win my major blunders left capitalized on by my opponents so i was able to fend them off -- so was very lucky to play almost as stupid a player as myself a couple in row -- that was the second luck part afternoon med taking hold so i will stop for now will read so more later - or better still reread what i just read that needed understanding on my part
it seems that most moves my opponent makes are attacking one of my pieces so thats a even --its the options parts of fleeing that i always get into trouble with this wed afternoon won a couple lost a couple so no improvement- starting to think luck has a major part in winning or losing as i play some players who miss my blunders and let me survive and others who chomp om pieces one after another these are players who are all about the same rating - so playing a rating 130 player one min is disaster for me -- the next min. the player of same rating is a fool-- i play about the same against each so its a 50/50 chance i will win or lose based on my opponent not on me --- that's strange thinking i know-- but its creeping into my head as i play -one more game before supper getting Chinese food tonight i am excited its been a year since last time i had any - i get what i want on my birthday supper with family coming to visit