I hope it won't sound arrogant when I say that I consider myself a good chess player ( FIDE Classical 2050, my blitz on lichess highest was around 2300 and on chess.com I had 2500 blitz for a while ). Great, amazing - no. Good - yes. But I sometimes find myself being on really really bad form, hanging simple tactics, leaving pieces en prise etc... I'm also a very "streaky" player.. Either I crush everyone in my way or I struggle in every single game, usually. So, my question to any experienced and strong players, especially those with over the board, real life tournament experience is - What do you do when you feel like you've had a run of bad form? Do you just wait for it to pass, do you have some kind of routine that helps with that? Do you play more, play less, study more, study less... ? You get the idea. Advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks ! :)
Usually bad form is linked to physical or psychological influences: tiredness, thirst, hunger, lack of air, illness, worries, distractions…
General advice is to stop playing and thoroughly analyse the lost game(s).
In an over the board tournament or match it is more difficult: the schedule is fixed and you have to play the next round.
General advice is to stop playing and thoroughly analyse the lost game(s).
In an over the board tournament or match it is more difficult: the schedule is fixed and you have to play the next round.
That's very interesting. Not quite what would come to my mind, but a fresh perspective is always useful. Thanks ! :)
While I consider my 2150 to be near or actual beginner level, in my line of work if there was rating I’d be 2800 or so (probably why I consider 2150 to be a beginner), I can draw parallels between the two, since there are some similarities. The so called “bad form” in chess is simply tunnel vision resulting from fast bullet and blitz playing which also contributes to fatigue, mental fatigue which is very hard to detect to non elite level players. In my line of work (classical music) EXACTLY the same thing happens, and we know that the solution is rest, SLOW playing to restore the mental picture and to re-organize in your head the technical (in chess tactical) relationship between the notes (in chess pieces instead of notes). Quite simply brain needs time to absorb and to reset. Similar to sleep, and similar to how a weight lifter grows and recovers between workouts. If you try to do a heavy bench press again 2 or 3 days in a row your results will be terrible, since your chest is sore and tired and weak. Brain is similar to a muscle in this sense, it needs recovery time.
We see this every day in music: a musician plays a fast piece too many times fast and then in only several days or even hours starts to decline in skill, if he keeps playing fast eventually he will not be able to play the piece at all, like a total beginner (think when you play bullet 50 times in a row eventually dropping your queen to simple fork that you easily saw in first 10 games when you were fresh)
Cliffs:
- rest
- play or analyze slowly
P.s.
There is one more thing that often contributes to temporarily bad level of playing (both in music and chess) is when you learned something new, but it didn’t stick yet. So you will at first suffer rather poor results.
We see this every day in music: a musician plays a fast piece too many times fast and then in only several days or even hours starts to decline in skill, if he keeps playing fast eventually he will not be able to play the piece at all, like a total beginner (think when you play bullet 50 times in a row eventually dropping your queen to simple fork that you easily saw in first 10 games when you were fresh)
Cliffs:
- rest
- play or analyze slowly
P.s.
There is one more thing that often contributes to temporarily bad level of playing (both in music and chess) is when you learned something new, but it didn’t stick yet. So you will at first suffer rather poor results.
Kusokosla that's an interesting and very instructive comparison. I would have never thought about that (I know very little about music). I'll try to keep that in mind!
Kusokosla - amateur musician here. I somewhat understand the comparison and somewhat don't. But in any case, I love the way you put it, and it's very helpful. Thank you for the excellent perspective.
Why you don’t notice bad form:
The „strategic thinking“ is always on top even if you‘re tired. You don’t attack in the Dragon the Black‘s Queen wing for example, you know the right plans well.
But: the tactical vision is malfunctioning, you overlook all the minute details. And that costs you dearly.
So you‘re „feeling“ good/strong but you aren’t actually. Have a break, that’s all.
The „strategic thinking“ is always on top even if you‘re tired. You don’t attack in the Dragon the Black‘s Queen wing for example, you know the right plans well.
But: the tactical vision is malfunctioning, you overlook all the minute details. And that costs you dearly.
So you‘re „feeling“ good/strong but you aren’t actually. Have a break, that’s all.
To restore good shape outdoor physical excercise was also recommended by Botvinnik and others.
Also Fischer played tennis to play better chess.
On music: If I recall correctly the pianist Arthur Rubinstein said on walking outdoor: "If my feet do not walk, my hands will not run"
Also Fischer played tennis to play better chess.
On music: If I recall correctly the pianist Arthur Rubinstein said on walking outdoor: "If my feet do not walk, my hands will not run"
Take a short break from chess
According to my experience physical fitness is grossly overrated in terms of chess. No question, it‘s good for your health - but it won’t stop you blundering pieces.
So, just have enough sleep and a break if necessary.
So, just have enough sleep and a break if necessary.
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