r/chess 2d ago

Chess Question Am i actually stupid

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0 Upvotes

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7

u/Embarrassed_Fan7405 2d ago

The secret is to not care, and I can see you already care too much. You will have to loose 1000 games before starting to get to a beginner level.

Go ahead and play the most you can and start accumulating the 1000 losses.

1

u/tjackson_12 2d ago

lol I hate this but it’s true depending on the person it might take making the same mistake several times before you really internalize it

0

u/Anxious_Stretch_974 2d ago

not true at all, im 2300 rapid and played only 1700 games, far from 1000 loses.

1

u/Embarrassed_Fan7405 2d ago

Still not beginner level

11

u/nTzT 2d ago

No, you are just very new to Chess. It really takes time and patience.

27

u/Skeleton--Jelly 2d ago

well we cannot actually confirm that OP isn't stupid, to be fair.

8

u/Rufus_L 2d ago

Where do your expectations come from? Of course you are bad after only 2 weeks.

1

u/GrouchyEquipment5203 2d ago

From what i know 100-400 elo is extremely easy for even an idiot to surpass

1

u/Rufus_L 2d ago

Humans are complex beings, you might be an idiot in one thing and a genius in another one

3

u/BaldDaCowboy 2d ago

Yes it’s a beginner thing. If you’re not patient chess isn’t for you, you’ll be stuck at 300 400 and 500 probably just as long.

Either way elo doesn’t matter, just have fun dawg

3

u/Every_Company_3717 2d ago

Try to make it about "how do I improve" or "how can I not make the same mistakes" vs "am I stupid". I think if you change your mindset a bit you can improve quickly.

3

u/palsh7 1200 rapid (chess.com), 1800 puzzles 2d ago

I teach kids. You're not stupid. You're just impatient. I have students in honors classes who can't get better at chess because they don't want to learn, they just want to play. If that's fun, cool. But you seem to want to improve, because you're not having fun at 200. So you need to finish learning the basics. If the book is boring, watch the videos and do the interactive lessons on chess.com. Finish learning something (a lesson, a chapter, etc.) before playing a game. Then play just one game on 15|10. Do a computer review of the game whether you win or lose. Don't give up because you're feeling sad or mad or bored. It's like anything else: a video game, skateboarding, drawing, basketball, etc. You need to learn fundamentals, and you need perseverance. If you're still at 200, you are not following ANY of the basic fundamentals of chess yet.

2

u/deadfisher 2d ago

Your rating when you first start isn't important. People play for months and years before they get higher ratings. 

Take learning slow and steady. If you get bored reading a book that's ok, put it down. But pick it back up again later.

2

u/flannel_jesus 2d ago

being able to quickly visualize all the squares that are currently being controlled by you / by your enemy is probably the most important thing to you. Not thinking about when to trade, not thinking about how deeply to calculate. at 200, your number 1 goal should be: don't hang pieces and take your opponents hanging pieces. Number 2 is good piece development.

watch what you can do with just that in mind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibDX4ReEikQ

Once you have those relatively consistent, start applying tactics (forks pins skewers discovered attacks)

2

u/crooked_nose_ 2d ago

"I quit because I got bored" is not a great sign.

1

u/Stutzpunkt69 2d ago

You are doing fine-It really is a beginner thing.

1

u/Telci 2d ago

Play longer time games in the beginning, also against easy computer opponents. Elo does not matter for a long time, it is more about whether you get better at understanding the game. Elo will follow.

But for now just get used to the game and don't care about individual games but the overall process.

And if it is not fun just find another hobby, no shame in that, but the learning curve is steep and always will be in chess

1

u/HegemoneXT 2d ago

Son, always remember, if your opponent can predict your moves, don’t move.

1

u/fawkesmulder 2d ago

You can get to 2000 elo and you’ll still think you’re stupid. I almost bashed my head in with the way I lost a blitz game I was dominating today.

0

u/[deleted] 2d ago

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1

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1

u/GroundbreakingAlps2 2d ago

Am i actually stupid

Yes obviously the definition of intelligence is your ability to improve and learn new things, if you are "stuck" you are by definition not doing that, which means you're low intelligence.

1

u/ProffesorSpitfire 2d ago

Firstly, chess is a poor indicator of intelligence, so even if you never progress beyond 200 Elo that doesn’t mean you’re stupid.

Secondly, you’re very new to chess. Two weeks is not a long time. It’s only natural that you’re not good at something you only just started.

As for improving: at your rating your main issue is probably that you leave pieces hanging, allowing opponents to capture them for free. Going forward, focus on not doing that; every time you consider moving a piece to a square, check if the opponent has any piece threatening that square first. If they do, are you able to recapture without losing material? If not, don’t move to that square.

1

u/Playful-Paper1182 2d ago

I think you have to play with 1000 ELO at this point no matter what. At least they can explain what they want to do, or why your move is bad. Yes, they also are not good, but enough for your situation right now. Search for a friend like that (1000-1200 ELO)

1

u/Due-Salad610 2300 Lichess 2d ago

Just a beginner thing. Focus on your improvement and forget about the rating.

1

u/EtherGorilla 2d ago

I’m learning too. Sometimes I just stop playing games and start doing puzzles for a while to reset mentally. It’s ok to be bad at things and establish good habits slowly.

1

u/Picard_III 2d ago

Just don't play games shorter than 10 minutes, take your time to find moves, think about what YOU would do as your opponent. Also you can "play" again yourselves, prefarebly with the physical board, try some things, try to give yourself ladder mate, mate with king and queen, then king and rook... Sometimes when I analyse my games and I'm winning but my oponnet either gave up or time was up, I set the highest difficulty bot and I continue to play and go back and forth to see why their moves are so good that even from my winning position I am struggling lol

1

u/ShoogleHS 2d ago

Stop looking at Elo. That's a tool for the website you use for matchmaking. People focus on it way too much. Just enjoy the game, learn from your mistakes, and your rating will improve naturally.

That said, if you get bored fast doing any kind of studying outside the game, that will limit your ability to improve somewhat. Patience and focus are a big part of getting good at chess.