Stuck at 300-400 help?

I am stuck at 300-400 ELO, I always win and lose, win and lose and don't come forward. Any tips? I am doing a lot of puzzles and try to take my time in 10min games. I am 100% sure that I am not dumb, so any help?

Don't play against RP below 300

Chess isn't actually connected to intelligence; chess is more about pattern recognition and chess experience than about IQ. It is a trope that chess is for "smart" people: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SmartPeoplePlayChess

Analysis of your own games is a crucial thing for learning. I realize that analysis with a computer is currently for premium accounts (not the default, free, one) but you need to do something to learn from your mistakes and make it less likely for you to repeat those and reinforce bad habits. I'd recommend even at least the chess.com Gold Membership if you can afford it, but even if you stay with the free account, there are still things you can do to improve which doesn't cost any money.

One of those things is learn the fundamentals well and I don't just mean how the pieces move. Basic checkmates (like King + Queen vs King checkmate, or King + Rook vs King checkmate), basic theoretical endgames (such as King + pawn vs King when won and when drawn) and even chess "opening principles" are useful for learning. I actually learned about opening principles (formally) embarrassingly late on my chess journey. I didn't actually learn them until I was already over 1500 chess.com rating. Most people internalize most of these fundamentals before 1000 rating and almost always before 1200 rating (even if they don't always follow them as closely as they should even after this rating).

Here is a Blog Post I wrote on opening principles years ago:

https://www.chess.com/blog/KeSetoKaiba/opening-principles-again

It might be a good place to start

How can I choose how many points my opponents will have?

Thanks I will try to read your blog. I acutally also try to analyze my games on lichess, but whatever, I'll try to study hard as I can

You can change the rating range of your opponents in your live chess settings, but I actually recommend NOT touching these settings. The current setting is set for players mostly plus or minus 100 points from your rating. This is good for learning and improving. Many people try to set it for mostly higher rated players, but I don't like that idea for a few reasons:

1) It doesn't give you practice against players close to you or below you as often and because of this, you may struggle with exploiting their mistakes.

2) Playing mostly higher players won't mean you'll improve faster; it just means you'll win less often and this can be discouraging.

3) If you really are a higher ability in chess, then your rating will naturally climb. The goal should be to learn and improve and if you can do this, then your rating will catch up to your ability regardless of what the settings are set to.

Just think about it, how can even a total new beginner with 400, play so damn bad at they fall below 300. I think you do good, just give it time. Even good people who start to play bullets will fall fast.

Actually, anyone can drop over 100 rating points and especially with bullet chess because the games are so fast and you can play so many in a given time-frame; this means that bullet has a lot of natural variance and you can drop a ton if you let variance run its thing.

Luckily for you, (and anyone else watching this video I'll post) you don't need to drop unnecessarily far in one chess session if you implement a Stop-loss System.

Bullet should not even be talked about at 400 rating. I am around 1400 and I would not even touch bullet. Sometimes when in a hurry, I play 5|5 or 5|3 blitz, but I really don’t think it makes any sense playing any faster than that.

I still get into time trouble at 15|10, but longer than that it is pretty difficult to find opponents.

People who say that 10 minutes for a game is enough time to think must not know what thinking is. In proper classical chess 10 minutes can easily be spent on one move.

My main point is, bullet and blitz are not to be recommended at beginner/novice level and bullet should really only be played by experts and above if improvement is the goal.

If it’s just purely for fun, then play whatever.

It's not a problem for people with high RP and loose playing bullets. It's problem for new player think they play against a new beginner while the real RP may be 1500. Bullets should have an own RP.

I've written several posts aimed at helping players like you who might not be able to afford a coach. Here are some links to those posts:

1. How to Improve at Chess: Ultimate Guide
[https://www.chess.com/forum/view/for-beginners/how-to-improve-at-chess-ultimate-guide]
2. Jumpstart Your Chess Journey: Proven Tips for Beginners [https://www.chess.com/forum/view/for-beginners/jumpstart-your-chess-journey-proven-tips-for-beginners]
3. From Good to Great: Mastering Piece Arrangement on the Board [https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-lessons/from-good-to-great-mastering-piece-arrangement-on-the-board]
4. Mastering Piece Trades: Transforming the Chess Battlefield [https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/mastering-piece-trades-transforming-the-chess-battlefield]
5. Practical Endgames Demystified: Techniques for Victory [https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/practical-endgames-demystified-techniques-for-victory]

I hope you find these resources helpful in your chess journey. If you ever feel like you'd benefit from personalized coaching, feel free to reach out to me. Keep up the good work and remember, every game is a learning opportunity!

Yes good luck everyone.

This is one of the most helpful posts for beginners on these forums:
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/for-beginners/the-most-important-concept-for-all-beginners#comment-56775458

I am also stuck between 300 and 400 ELO so you're not alone. Continue sweating and remember Practise makes perfect.

A week ago I was so pissade over the rate system and I nagging about it. One replied to me and tell me to stop care about the rate and play and have fun. And now I understand the truth of it. The only esy is to play as much as possible and and trying to learn during the time.

I used to be a 400, so I can understand this.

Take this game to improve on.

At 8. Ng5 the opponent could have taken your white bishop for free, but luckily they didn't.

When your opponent played 18. Rae8, you missed a chance to take the rook.

I would suggest scanning the board for chances to punish the opponent.

It's happening to me. I've dropped significantly as of late. Can't seem to win.