Originally posted by dots and loopsCan't talk about games in progress, post it when you've finished. . .sounds like you already know the answer again though.
i have a game going where i just missed a forced draw and instead went for the win which, had they played something other than kb8, would have left me down a knight for 2 pawns.
would you like to see that one instead?
Ok, maybe I should be more specific as to what I am looking to fix....
On the average day I would say my rating--non blitz games--is around 1700-1800. However, the stregth of my play varys so much that Ive given up on chess for months at a time. There will be days when I my rating hits 2000-2100 on the playchess servers, only to fall back down to 1600-1700, and some times lower.
It seems that there is something lacking from my game that allows me to keep consistent results and I am at a loss--aside from opening prep which really isnt a big deal if you know the general theory behind the openings that you play( i play the latvian against e4 and try to play the queens declined baltic defense vs d4, otherwise its e4 all the way )
I have tried reading books, however, I am the type that needs to know exactly why something is done before before i can apply it to another application--books tend to just gloss over a theory with a bunch of variants which due little to help my working knowledge.
So, I am at a loss. Ive tried playing more, however, finding top quality games that last longer than 10 minutes is becoming hard to find, and blitz robs me of any real chess knowledge....long story short, i want to play at my highest level at a more frequent rate.
Help, please, I seriously have thought about giving up on chess to focus on engine play becaus I cant stand losing to a player rated 1500 only to beat players in the 2200+ range the next day on the playchess servers.