CHess Frustration!! Help!

I am frustrated with how little progress I have made. I am frustrated at what a poor player I am. I am frustrated at everything.

I am frustrated how people like to call players rated below 1800 amateurs...really? I mean, people who are below 1000 are probably amateurs. 90% of the people who I play against in real life in my club are probably have 800-1000 ratings. But here, it says that the average chess player is 1200! Seriously! How can chess.com make such a proclamation. Most people who play chess in real life are much below that!

I am frustrated at how people say at 1200 rating people make mistakes such as hanging pieces etc. I suspect that those people who make such bold statements have such lofty ratings that they forgot what it was like to be in the 1200's, if they were at all! 90% of >1200 players I played against don't hang pieces. Thats a 800 rated player mistake. I am serious. Books tell of how at my level one should stop hanging pieces. I am not! I am not hanging pieces, so I must be above the 1200's, right? Well my opponents don't hang pieces, and they are in the 900's!!

I am sick of my ineptitude in the chess.com community, and I wish to get better. I have every Silman book, but little good they have done me, they are to highly rated for me anyway (in Amateurs Mind, Silman plays against 1500-1800's. THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT AMATEURS!!!). I have heard much of this 7 circles method of improving chess, and I should very much like to do this. I am willing to as much work as possible to get better. What is your opinion on this, is it reliable?

I have been using tactics trainer on chess.com doing 75+ problems a day but for the past 4 months I have been stuck in the 1400's. I don't think TT is working for me, so I am debating about trying 7 circles at CT-ART program.

I suppose this has been more of an emotional rant than anything really substantial. I don't suppose any of you have success stories of breaking out of the 1200's and into the higher rated leagues, do you?

Any encouragment? Any advice on the 7 circles method? Thanks

*sigh*, its been a tough day

Calling players below 1800 "amateurs" simply acknowledges the reality that we'll never be able to make a living a chess!  Be "professionals," in other words. And even most masters would agree that they better hold on to their day jobs! 

Am I right in detecting in your frustration a case of 'trying too hard'?  75+ tactical problems a day is an awful lot!  Sometimes we can overtrain to the point of actually doing worse in our anxiety to get better.

So relax,  Bebopbox.  Let the game come to you rather than trying to conquer it with massive amounts of grit and effort. 

In other words,  have fun with chess.  You will get better. 

Amateur just means non-pro.  2000 rated players may be monsters at the club level, but they're trash to pro players

I once was looking over some chess.com game someone posted... and was really surprised when they were rated 1200... like you said no one hung a piece the whole game (and I really believed that rating did all the time).

But it was just one game, someone will probably dig around in your games and points out tactics you missed (we all miss them).  You may not hang a piece to a half move threat, but very likely to 2 move combos.

And casual players... friends and family who know how to play... sure they're rated below 1200.  They're probably below 800.  They're not chess players just because they know the rules any more than I can call myself a weight lifter or runner because I know how to lift a weight or use a treadmill :p

The average rating is skewed by the fact that all players start at 1200, and many members play a few games and then never log back in (what are there, 1,000,000 chess.com accounts or some absurd number?)  Active members are probably ~20,000 (just a guess).

To get better play in tournaments (or otherwise long games).  You need to be able to visualize a few moves ahead clearly, and analyse that imaginary position.  If the time control (or analysis board) doesn't give you this opportunity, then you'll never develop these essential skills.  Tactics help too.  I don't like chess.com TT because they're timed (is there an option to turn it off?)  Get a tactics program or book like you were talking about and don't be afraid to spend 20 minutes on a problem you think you can solve eventually.

And FWIW, I used to be angry/embarrassed when I would get online and read people talk about how they were such totally worthless players... only to see they were rated 1700 USCF... to me at the time, 1700 was a chess god who made no mistakes :p

But as you get better you'll discover you still make a lot of mistakes, and these players are just trying to be modest.  Of course they've improved tons beyond what a beginner is, and could beat these casual players 10,000 out of 10,000 games... it's just one of thoes the more you know, the more you realize you have yet to learn.

And a victory isn't necessarily winning a game, or watching your rating go up (we can all win after 1 blunder even if we were outplayed for 40 moves).  Better to think of a victory as learning something from the game you just played.  Maybe you're super excited or depressed... so you don't necessarily have to go over it then, but maybe the next day, go over the game and try to pull a lesson out of it.  Maybe it's as simple as "this was a bad opening move" and using opening explorer.

You may lose 8 out of 10 games, and your rating drops, but if you learn 10 lessons, and start trying to work them into your new games, you'll be a better player... your rating always shadows your real strength, losing a game doesn't represent a sudden decrease in knowledge.  And give it time.  Those threads with people saying they got X-hundred points in 1 or 2 years are the rare exception!  I don't care how hard you/they work.  After you've been around long enough, and seen enough people climb the ladder (even ones who don't stop climbing until after they're GMs), you'll notice 100 points worth of progress (or less) a year is nothing to be ashamed about.

Thank you very much for you comments guys. Makes me feel somewhat better.

Apawndown, in response to what you said, 75 doesn't seem that much. I mean, the more tactical practice I do the better I will become. Arn't most games below 1800 determined by tactical sequences??

Lastly, I am kindof sad no-one said anything about 7 Circle program :(

Thanks so much guys

The seven circle program... is very hard!

Which is the primary lesson de la mesa illustrates... if you sweat blood working at chess... really working hard with little/no fun involved, then you're sure to improve.  And this is the drawback to his system I believe, that it will make progress real at the expense of enjoyment, and it doesn't have to be that way.

Getting a tactics book or CT-art and going through the whole thing? This is a great idea!  Doing it 7 times, each time faster and faster, until you're doing tactics literally 8 hours a day?  Not ideal IMO.

Hello, Bebopox, I'm replying because you wrote "I don't suppose any of you have success stories of breaking out of the 1200's and into the higher rated leagues, do you?". Just nine months ago, my rating was at around 800+. It was indeed frustrating, knowing that I was a "below average" chess player. However, after dedicating some time learning the basics of chess, particularly that in calculation (tactics) and planning (strategy), my rating went up to 1600+ (now it's at 1575 (FICS, I rarely play rated games in Chess.com) (dropping because of playing against more powerful players)). I know it's not beyond 2300 yet, but at least it's double my previous rating. I'm currently working my way towards the 2000 barrier.

My advice would be similar to that from -kenpo-. But I'll add something: Try watching video lessons. Their more animate than books. Those by GM Igor Smirnov are a favorite. He has dedicated time and effort into creating video lessons, as shown in this link:

http://chess-teacher.com/home#oid=1387_5

Good luck in your chess progress.

Are you playing blitz games or long games ?

I have the feeling you need to be a little more patient

I'm also an amateur, but I didn't mind it (my rating) and just focus to the improvement of my game. You also must not think hard about it, In fact for me I prefer being an underdog player because when playing against stronger players, nothing will lose to me. 

Since you are a premium member, make the most use of it for your improvement. :)

I suppose you have Silman book as your first few chess books. They are advance at your level. You should have instead the book Winning Chess Strategy by Seirawan. 

I understand the frustration, and I'd say most of us do. I go through on and off cycles of playing, and it's probably from the frustration you've mentioned. I've learned that I stink at quick play. I simply don't know enough patterns that become second nature to better players. Since I don't know the patterns, I have to calculate more, therefore I need to play slower games. I would play 5/0 and 10/0 games and get obliterated, and think of giving it up forever, which is silly, because I actually think I'm decent when time isn't a problem. I've switched over to online games and am enjoying them immensely. 3 days, 5 days, whatever, with a busy life, it's ideal for me, because I can log on after my two kids are asleep and slow down and think about a move I need to make. If I play a live game, I have to find an hour or more block of time and it can be tough finding an opponent that is willing to play at 30/0 or more time controls. I suppose what I'm trying to say is don't be afraid to change up what you're doing, honestly evaluate what is holding you back, and attack it.

I’m too frustrated I’m giving up

TT doesn't choose it's problems randomly. It dog piles.

Say you've booted a couple of problems (ratings say should be easy for you) in a row, it escalates the problems. Beats you when you're down, when you aren't "seeing" particularly well.

It's a signal to slow down, stop playing hope chess, focus focus focus. I get that.

But while it's busy kicking your ass, it's enormously frustrating. Particularly because it tends to start whenever you're nearing a personal best, hammer hammer hammer hammer, nope, not for you buddy, drop a hundred rating points and try again tomorrow.

Machiavellian. "It's good for you tho," Machiavellian.

Yeah, I anthropomorphize code TT is MY ENEMY!!!

Time for another reset. Sigh.

This must be the Night of the Living Dead Threads.

... really? 2012?

Aww, did we disturb your perfect forum world?