When chess is no longer fun

The players of the team of the former Soviet Union had an outfit with "CCCP" on their backs.
People said that meant: "Chess Can Cause Pain".

Hey @willwss you might try making a 2nd account and think of that account as your "chess just for fun" account. Then, when you just want to play and don't care about rating, you play on that one. Basically giving yourself permission to just enjoy the chess.

@dsjoerg This is interesting lol. This IS my fun account. I reached 2100 on the original account and decided to stop and play on that uninterested rated account. And that's why I'm a little frustrated, I end up reaching my usual rating and playing against really tough opponents again!

Taking a break to accumulating knowledge and trying again in a few weeks seems right. I think this frustration is related to the effort my brain makes to assimilate the new challenges, giving the brain time to form connections and assimilating the new information must be right!

dsjoerg that's a good idea. I think it's a pyschological thing that when your rating gets higher than your sort of rest line playing standard then it becomes stressful to maintain. I tend to freeze when I hit a new high and just admire the shiny thing. :)
(with hyper I went over 2100 for the first time ever and haven't played for weeks). Sooner or later though I just reach a point
where the numbers become less important than just wanting to play. There's a beauty in the game itself win or lose. I think of rating as like a challenge of what I can get to (which is a good test if i have improved or not) but i'm not always testing myself a lot of times i'm just playing.

Maybe you should just start playing chess960. Normal chess is not so fun as chess960. In that variant you will see even decent players do some pretty bad mistakes in the opening.

#1 I have been an avid player since 1970. After 10 years on ICC, chasing a rating...I had become greatly stressed out over my rating...and stopped playing for about a year. When I decided to start playing again, I joined Lichess just after it went on line. I have been playing on the anon boards ever since and have been enjoying chess play more than ever. For me...not having to be concerned about ratings anymore, has made chess fun again. I will keep playing until I can't find somebody I can beat. :]

.....

thank you

I understand the OP. My rating is above 2000 in lichess also. To me it's bittersweet. In one hand as my chess understanding increases, the game feels more fun, but on the other hand, it affects my ego in a way that if I'm not performing at least my level, I get incredibly frustrated and I can even become depressed. Playing is fun, but it also makes me miserable sometimes, too often actually.

Competitive chess isn't for me. I just don't like competition...at all. I love the analytical aspect of chess, so I just do a few puzzles now and again. Take a break and do some puzzles...take your time and there's no stress at all!