Maybe play more blitz or do easy puzzles to get back in the swing? I know everyone's different, and some people actually like classical, but to me, you're just playing too slowly, so of course it's going to be painful.
I took a look at a few of your recent games, and they seem to be decided based on simple tactical blunders (dropping pieces, missing a skewer, etc.). I'm not sure playing classical will help much with that. Doing lots of easy puzzles may be more fun and productive.
I took a look at a few of your recent games, and they seem to be decided based on simple tactical blunders (dropping pieces, missing a skewer, etc.). I'm not sure playing classical will help much with that. Doing lots of easy puzzles may be more fun and productive.
@Graque said in #2:
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Playing classical helps improve your calculation rather than stopping blundrs. In my blog, I mentiones that classical helps improve your intuition for blitz games. Also the tactical blunders are not resulting of skill but rather lack of concentration I believe. @Chessdad1979 should maybe only restrict his games to 1 classical to prevent burnout. On his profile you can easily see how he does many MANY tactical puzzles.
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Playing classical helps improve your calculation rather than stopping blundrs. In my blog, I mentiones that classical helps improve your intuition for blitz games. Also the tactical blunders are not resulting of skill but rather lack of concentration I believe. @Chessdad1979 should maybe only restrict his games to 1 classical to prevent burnout. On his profile you can easily see how he does many MANY tactical puzzles.
@JamesDaBeast said in #3:
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Oh, you're right, he's done a ton puzzles. But something was weird with his score---I think when I posted his puzzle score was about 200 points under his rapid. I thought almost everyone has a puzzle score hundreds of points above their blitz or rapid rating. So maybe he improved a lot recently and hasn't kept up with his puzzles, or maybe the puzzle score is pointing out a weakness for basic tactics.
About lack of concentration, ideally you shouldn't need to concentrate to avoid blunders right? So you could think, "I need to concentrate more" (which sounds like a lot of work, and might lead to burnout), or you could think "I need to improve my intuitive tactical sense, so I can concentrate less on that".
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Oh, you're right, he's done a ton puzzles. But something was weird with his score---I think when I posted his puzzle score was about 200 points under his rapid. I thought almost everyone has a puzzle score hundreds of points above their blitz or rapid rating. So maybe he improved a lot recently and hasn't kept up with his puzzles, or maybe the puzzle score is pointing out a weakness for basic tactics.
About lack of concentration, ideally you shouldn't need to concentrate to avoid blunders right? So you could think, "I need to concentrate more" (which sounds like a lot of work, and might lead to burnout), or you could think "I need to improve my intuitive tactical sense, so I can concentrate less on that".
I find myself in the same boat recently...I had to reduce the amount of study time and classical games to just playing the Dojo Open and my club games (25+5) each week. What I was finding is that the intense study time was not translating to my game play. My brain wasn't retaining the information well enough for strong recall. So I backed off the intense study and just began playing 2-5 games of rapid each day. Additionally, I try to meet up with a local club member to play OTB games (15+10) where we can discuss the game. All that to say, your perspective is very healthy and on point. Rest is sometimes the best path forward for improvement and as you say to bring the joy back to the game.
Appreciate the perspective and encouragement!
I often find myself in a similar situation. usually the best help is to build up a hunger for chess by maximizing distraction by other activities until you feel ready.
Great perspective and counsel (as always!). Thank you.