Suddenly stupid

No transition. Just sudden, abrupt stupid taking over my brain overnight. For a while I hang in with the 1200-1300 crowd dispatching 1100 people without a blink but the next day I suddenly find myself in a situation where I can't beat even a low 1100 player. And this goes on for weeks and weeks, I'm stuck there where I simply don't understand chess. I look at the board and I don't understand it. Can't focus. Can't calculate. Don't see the pieces. It's like the part of my brain responsible for chess fell out of my ear when I was sleeping.

I'm still having tons of fun, but I just don't understand how come one can semi-permanently lose a skill overnight. I'm not any more tired or stressed than usual.

This happens to me often, unfortunately periods of clarity when my play is good are very rare.

Anybody else going through these cycles?

please...i got that beat by a mile.  

Few months ago at a tournament i beat a NM, and drew with an Expert.  3 days later at chess club, i lost to a 500 player.  It happens.  No matter what your rating, it happens.  

No doubt lol...I did what i always tell my stuents not to do.  I played the rating, and not the board.  The guy and I turned out to be good friends.  I work with his grandson, so it was worth it.  

You're psyching yourself out #1. It seems to me like you brush off players who are below your rating and think you'll beat them easily. Your level probably drops because of this.

The way you describe it sounds really drastic (can't focus can't calculate), but the rating range you describe (beat a 1200 or 1300 then can't beat an 1100) is normal.

Do you play every day? Solve some tactics every day? That helps you stay in good form.

LOL.

Did you hung your pieces on purpose or something? What do you mean by playing the rating?

Maybe because ratings do not tell your real skill?

Ratings determine how you played that time, not your skill.

And so, RATING FLUCTUATES. 

 Wow. Im tired of this Youtube trash, I was listening to the Bee Gees and out of nowhere Daddy Yankee appears. No wonder why Im throwing games against 1000 patzers at bullet.

Didnt hang anything.  I went into the game thinking "This will be easy"  I passed up a nice combination...why?  no idea.  He played the best game of his life (his words) and as the game wore on, i got more and more frustrated.  Finally i just started moving pieces until i resigned.  

I had to apologize to him the following week.  I wasso frustated i wasnt happy with him, even though it was me that caused the loss.  

We ended up being good friends, so it was worth it.  He went to a Reno tournament with us this past October, and his wife won $26,000 playing bingo.  He said he had never had so much fun playing, and wanted to know when the next Reno tournament is.  

We will all be up there again Easter weekend.

Plot twist: He is actually a sandbagger.

If that 500 rated player can beat Diakonia (even if Diakonia wasn't paying attention) then they'll probably gain 100s of points very soon if they decide to take their games seriously. The kid was underrated I'd bet.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. THE LAW OF LIFE.

Theres no way to be underrated and be rated 500 USCF. In fact, I dont know what the hell happened there. My rating on internet blitz pages when I first learnt how the pieces moved  was around 900 which probably IS higher than 500 USCF.

I think the USCF should cut it up with those ridiculous -600 ratings and do it like FIDE does it, either you win half of your games or you dont get rated!!!!

If beginners are close to 1000, then players rated 500, by definition, are underrated.

That's what I'm saying. They only go that low because they can't concentrate through a whole game. Once they're willing and able to pay attention for 40-60 moves, they'll be rated 1000 already.

FIDE doesn't do it this way. One point out of nine game is enough to get a rating - provided that your performance was at least 1000, which is the minimum rating. Still very low of course, but not anywhere near 500.

1000 probably corresponds to the average level of a clever, but clueless player.

Nope...he is a retired guy in his late 60's.

And yes, I go through these same cycles. Sometimes people rated 2000 to 2050 blitz are ridiculously easy, at least most of the time. Other times, they are my equals. I can feel the difference in that I'm seeing more and playing with more inspiration when I'm in form, and my play tends to be more dull and routine when I drop points.

Pretty much what happens to everyone...

I'd like to see some of his games. I wonder if he plays well then half way through stops paying attention and that's why his rating is so low.

Well, you're cool to talk openly about such a game. I've had really embarrassing losses, but I don't like to mention them