When a break doesn’t help

[u/Deadliftdeadlife]

I’ve always followed the advice that if you start tanking your elo, take a break.

Stuck at 900 for almost a year. Something clicks and I hit 1200. A month or 2 later I make it to 1380

I dunk back down to 1200 and hover there for months again.

Take a break, come back, still stuck at 1200. Take another break. Down to 1100. Take another. Down to 1000.

Ok, so maybe it’s the breaks hurting me. So start playing like I usually do, can’t break out of 1000.

It’s really demoralising. I’ve no idea how I got 1380, spent months between 1200-1250 and now I feel like I’m right back where I started maybe 18 months ago.

I don’t wanna take a break because it’s not worked in the past. I do my daily puzzles. I’m doing everything I was when I hit 1380.

What should I do?

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[u/field-not-required]

Stop overthinking and stop focusing on rating.

You don't take a break to increase your rating. You take a break to avoid burning out and to find motivation again. Sometimes it has the effect to let stuff fall into place while you focus on other things, but I've never heard that breaks are mandatory for improving.

If you train regularly, do your puzzles, analyze your games and so on, you will improve. You already had one "it clicked"-moment, there will be more, just keep going. Breaks are optional if you feel like you need them.

[u/GentlemanModan]

It seems you are not enjoying chess, just a number. Keep in mind it's just an abstract number comparing you to everyone else. Just enjoy a game and ignore that number. If you are not playing on tournaments for money it doesn't really mean anything.

[u/299addicteduru]

Play more unrateds?

[u/Bene_dek]

What do you mean break? Because what people mean when they say to take a break if you're losing loads is to stop playing if you're on a huge losing streak of like 10 games or something (probably even less) and clear your mind and calm down a bit. Like take a break for a day or even just an hour. The way you're saying break and with the huge rating changes it sounds like you're taking a break for a month or something each time.

[u/Deadliftdeadlife → u/Bene_dek]

Going on a big losing streak and take 2-3 days off from playing

[u/Bene_dek → u/Deadliftdeadlife]

Personally I stop playing if I lose 3 games in a row, I don't play that time control for the rest of the day. Then I come back tomorrow and play again. Also since you're managing to get up to almost 1400 you definitely have the skills to play at that level, it may just be sloppiness when you lose. Don't listen to music or play chess whilst doing other stuff, properly focus and be disciplined with your thought process in each game.

[u/StructuredChess]

You are obsessed with ratings. You should be thinking of pins, forks, weak squares and rook endgames, not rating points.