Break

Everyone's rating goes up and down, as long as they keep playing. Don't get discouraged. Going back to review lessons sounds like a good plan.

I think of learning chess like I do learning a new language. If I'm not practicing than I'm not learning! 😆

I got up to about 950 once but did not stay there for very long. I got hospitalised with COVID19 and lost loads of points through timeouts. I cannot seem to get my points back up again. The most I have got is about 850 but I have just dropped below 800 again. I do notice that I win more games the more I play, though. So keep trying and you will grow, even if it is slowly.

I also get frustrated. Sometimes I feel as though I am making great progress, then I will find myself losing several games in a row and making bad mistakes, or really just getting dominated and pushed around in games. It can be frustrating. I think setting it aside for a minute can be helpful. I try to think of it like other recreation I do, like golf or pickup basketball; it's ok to lose and even get frustrated when doing it, but it shouldn't stress you out. Otherwise what's the point?

Everybody's ratings fluctuate. I'd like to think that I should keep improving steadily, and every now and then it does happen for a little while, but then I'll have a series of bad days and my rating drops like a rock. For example, below is a screenshot of my current Puzzle rating, which demonstrates during the last few days that I should not try to do puzzles when I'm tired; things just go awfully badly even doing puzzles sometimes, without the pressure of a real game. Just give yourself a mental break: either a complete break for a day or more, or try playing against bots with nothing at stake, working on puzzles in learning mode, and reviewing lessons.

Ratings change a lot if you play a ton. Don't worry.