Week 14: an eleven-game chess losing streak below 1000
Week 14 (April 8–14, 2024): 24 games, 7 wins, 17 losses, and 1051 → 993 (-58). After one win on Monday I lost eleven games in a row, from game #355 on Monday night to game #365 on Thursday afternoon. This diary follows that eleven-game chess losing streak through the recorded results and three positions the engine flagged.
An eleven-game chess losing streak below 1000: the week in numbers
| Games | 24 (#353–#376) |
| Rating | 1051 → 993 (-58) |
| Wins / losses / draws | 7 / 17 / 0 |
| As White | 4 W, 9 L |
| As Black | 3 W, 8 L |
| Longest losing streak | 11 (#355–#365) |
| Lowest rating this week | 974 (after game #365) |
| Average accuracy (Stockfish) | 73.0% |
| Blunders | 64 |
| Blunders per game | 2.7 |
| Losses after being ≥80% winning | 9 of 17 |
| Losses by abandonment | 5 |
The streak in short: eleven losses, my accuracy across them averaging about 69%, against opponents rated from 984 to 1214. Two ended almost before they began: game #357 lasted nine half-moves (my rook in the corner fell to a queen that had just eaten my b7 pawn) and game #358 fifteen. Three of the eleven (#359, #362 and #365) I abandoned instead of finishing, and over the whole week five losses ended that way. Only one of the eleven was a checkmate. The rest I resigned.
What stands out most is not the streak but where the losses came from: 9 of my 17 losses came after the engine had given me at least an 80% winning chance. I was getting good positions and then not finishing them, the same story as week 11, only longer. After the streak I won two in a row, briefly touched 1001 after game #375, and finished at 993.
The streak in three positions
The engine's three flagged positions come from the two games before the streak and its first loss. Evaluations are from White's side.
Game #353: the b7 pawn again
With White against KattuKuthira (1044) I was clearly better (+2.63). My queen took the pawn on b7, attacking the knight on c6 and the rook on a8. It looked like it won material. The engine's move was knight takes knight on e4, which also hits Black's queen on d6 and keeps the edge. After my pawn grab Black's rook came to b8 to chase my queen, and the position was equal (+0.00).
A move later that rook took my pawn on b2, and I lost the game.
Game #354: a bishop left hanging
Later that evening, White against Lark56 (1040), I was better (+1.58). My bishop on b5 was attacked by Black's knight on d6. I moved my other knight to b3 and left the bishop there. The engine's move was bishop back to e2, which also opens my queen's line to the knight on c6. After my knight move, the knight could take the bishop and Black would be slightly better (-0.36).
Black didn't take it, and this was my last win for three days.
Game #355: the pawn on b6 that became a queen
The first loss of the streak, with Black against Vag89 (1214), was a game I was crushing (-8.47). White had a pawn on b6, two steps from my back rank. I moved my queen to g6, attacking the pawn on g2 and the bishop on d6. The engine's move was queen to a5, attacking the knight on c3 and the pawn on b6 and threatening mate. After my move White pushed the pawn to b7, attacking my rook on a8. I took the bishop on d6 with my queen, and the pawn took my rook and promoted with check.
Same idea as game #139 in week 5: a white pawn on b6 that I didn't deal with. I lost from a winning position, and then lost ten more.
The lesson of the week
Two lessons, one about chess and one about streaks.
The chess one: the mistakes in this streak weren't new. A pawn grab with the queen, a piece left hanging, an advanced pawn I ignored: I'd made all of them before, in weeks 5 and 11. Adult chess improvement, for me, is less about learning new things than about catching old patterns earlier.
The streak one, which I can only state from the data: I kept playing through it, three games ended abandoned, and the accuracy stayed low. The rule I took from this week is to stop after a loss from a winning position and look at that one key moment before the next game. Not to play better immediately, but to stop the same mistake from repeating three times in an evening.
All games this week
| # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 353 | Apr 8 | White | KattuKuthira (1044) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 68.5 | game |
| 354 | Apr 8 | White | Lark56 (1040) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 79.4 | game |
| 355 | Apr 8 | Black | Vag89 (1214) | Loss | Ruy Lopez Opening Cozio Defense | 59.3 | game |
| 356 | Apr 9 | White | cruiser418 (1079) | Loss | Torre Attack | 74.5 | game |
| 357 | Apr 9 | Black | Ogre2016 (1068) | Loss | Van 't Kruijs Opening | 59.6 | game |
| 358 | Apr 9 | Black | NeverGonnaCheckYouUp (1073) | Loss | Danish Gambit | 65.0 | game |
| 359 | Apr 9 | White | Brigitteu (1063) | Loss | London System | 89.3 | game |
| 360 | Apr 9 | Black | Far_cool (1004) | Loss | King's Pawn Opening Leonardis Variation | 61.3 | game |
| 361 | Apr 10 | Black | SikkenBerend (1172) | Loss | Giuoco Piano Game Giuoco Pianissimo Variation | 69.8 | game |
| 362 | Apr 10 | Black | Andrey19091980 (998) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening | 75.3 | game |
| 363 | Apr 10 | White | machoem (1108) | Loss | Indian Game East Indian London System | 83.2 | game |
| 364 | Apr 11 | White | siegb (1020) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 60.7 | game |
| 365 | Apr 11 | White | percusantos (984) | Loss | Indian Game London System | 65.3 | game |
| 366 | Apr 11 | Black | Olga3m777 (972) | Win | King's Pawn Opening King's Knight Variation | 93.5 | game |
| 367 | Apr 12 | Black | Rah279 (969) | Win | Slav Defense | 67.9 | game |
| 368 | Apr 12 | Black | Antonyrajfrancis (1086) | Loss | Giuoco Piano Game Main Line | 46.6 | game |
| 369 | Apr 12 | White | NATALYA1806 (1085) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 79.0 | game |
| 370 | Apr 12 | White | MAZINGERCHUS (1067) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 90.9 | game |
| 371 | Apr 13 | Black | AboulAl (1044) | Win | Giuoco Piano Game Main Line | 79.3 | game |
| 372 | Apr 13 | White | Ebbi670 (1000) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense | 77.3 | game |
| 373 | Apr 14 | White | HalvarVonFlake (1140) | Win | London System | 82.8 | game |
| 374 | Apr 14 | Black | schievelbeyn (1106) | Loss | Slav Defense | 77.9 | game |
| 375 | Apr 14 | White | Leo_TheLegend (988) | Win | Indian Game London System | 90.9 | game |
| 376 | Apr 14 | White | UlrichUllmann (1007) | Loss | London System | 54.1 | game |
Last week: week 13, beating the London as Black. Next week: week 15, early queen attacks. The full curve, including how I climbed out of this, is on the journey page. And if you want those key moments found automatically after each game, here's how Chess Coach does it.
For a general method beyond this week's games, see the adult study-plan guide.
Frequently asked questions
What happened during my eleven-game chess losing streak?
I lost eleven consecutive games and reached 974 during a week that ended at 993. Three games in the streak were recorded as abandoned, and the week contained several losses after an engine-assessed advantage.
What should you do during a chess losing streak?
My streak shows what not to do: I kept playing, my accuracy in those 11 games averaged about 69%, and three of them ended with me abandoning the game. Nine of the week's 17 losses came from positions where I had been at least 80% winning.