Today I missed 30.Qf6+ probably because of a quiescence mistake. I looked at a number of ideas including 30.Rxd7 Qxd7 31.Nc5, but 31...Qa7 pins the knight so that 32.Nxa6 Qxa6 33.Bxd5 cxd5 34.Qxf7+ is no longer possible.

30.Nf6 was my choice. The idea is that it threatens either 31.Nxd7 or 31.Rxd7 or 31.Bxd5 seeing that the rook on a6 is undefended. So 30.Nf6 Nxf6 31.exf6+ wins. Also 30...Bxg2 31.Rxd7 Qxd7 32.Nxd7 Bd5 should give white an advantage. But after seeing the solution it seems that 30.Nf6 fails to 30...Nxe5. Now 31.Bxd5 Qxd6 or 31.Nxd5 Qxd6 and the knight conveniently protects f7.

30.Qf6+!

For some odd reason, I saw this right away, but miscalculated and started looking at other candidates. Only after finding nothing, I came back to it. One better appreciates the economy of the solution after seeing that the alternatives are not effective. Black must drop a piece:

A) 30... Kf8 31.Qh8#

B) 30... Kg8/h6 31.Qxe7

C) 30... Qxf6 31.exf6+ Nxf6 (Kf8 32.Rxd7 is even worse) 32.Rdf6 (or Rff6) leaves white up a piece for a pawn, with c-pawn or f-pawn doomed.

D) 30... Nxf6 31.exf6+ Kf8 (Qxf6 transposes to C) 32.fxe7+ Kxe7 33.Rdf6 wins a piece and the f-pawn after Ng5 or Nc5.

Frequently. But I have a theory that chess below GM level is almost certainly doomed to disappointment.

It's the grading, you see. I do well and my grade climbs. This means that I end up playing stronger players, who beat more more often ... and so my grade falls. Then I find myself playing lower graded opponents and ... I do better for a while. So my grading increases. Repeat.

If you find yourself somewhere between the happy upwards climb of youth and the steady downwards dribble of senility and decay, then the plateau of the grading system means that you ought to be winning about as much you lose. Add in a sprinkling of draws, a smattering of disillusionment and a cluster of losses is almost inevitable.

The good news is that it doesn't last and each poor result is a chance to learn, even if it hurts like the devil to lose. Every. Darned. Night.

<rilkefan> Maybe some of your buddies could play you online? I know...it's not the same thing but at least it is still possible to play them.

Thanks for the comments. I emailed my instructor and he replied with the following words. Maybe this can help other's as well:

"Chess has to be fun - it's a hobby. If it loses its fun you have to ask why; often it is some side effect of the rating system. So ask yourself if there was no rating system, would you still be having the blues? Make sure to do things that are fun - in the long run that will help the most; forcing yourself to do things that are not fun just because you think they may help is counterproductive in the long run (although some things that are not initially fun do eventually turn out to be fun).

And of course all humans have ruts and slumps; getting thru that is a measure of perseverance (see my NN on slumps). And you had a really big run, so it may have been overdue. That's no cause for concern in itself. As Seirawan asked at the Supernationals "Has anyone here lost 10,000 games?" When one raised his hand, he said "You are on the right track!"

So the best encouragements I can give are: 1) You are doing very well in general, 2) All humans have ruts and slumps at most everything, 3) Getting thru them is a measure of perseverance, which is necessary, and 4) Always use the "fun" aspect. Sometimes just a short break is enough, sometimes just a short break from one of your chess activities.

Rybka 4 x 64

Black error: d 17 : 5 min :
(+1.12):28...Nd7. Best,
1. (0.68): 28...h6 29.Ne4 Nb7 30.Rd4 a4 31.g5 Rh8 32.gxh6+ Rxh6 33.Nf6 Rh8 34.b4 Nd8 35.c3 Ra7 36.Rd6 Bc4

2. (0.83): 28...a4 29.b4 Nd7 30.g5 Ra7 31.Qf6+ Qxf6 32.exf6+ Kg8 33.Bxc6 Nf8 34.Bxb5 Rxc2 35.a3 Ra2 36.Rd3 Bb3 37.Re1 Ne6 38.Rd8+

Black blunder: d 17 : 6 min :
(+3.81):29...Bd5. Best,
1. (1.19): 29...a4 30.Rf2

2. (1.19): 29...Nf8 30.Rf2 a4 31.Nc5

Hard for a Tuesday. I spent several minutes before finally finding 30 Qf6+. Capturing the Queen loses a N, not capturing the Q (K moves) is immediately fatal e.g. 30...Kf8? 31 Qh8#. Time to check:
=====
Yes. Crafty End Game Trainer link to the puzzle position:

click for larger view

click for larger view

Oddly, I think it's because the first thing you think of is that Black can trade queens, not play 30...Nxf6. In puzzle mode trading queens is very rarely right, so the move doesn't make a good first impression

Let's alter the position somewhat:

click for larger view

Now, in puzzle mode, 1.Qf6+ is obvious since there is no queen trade involved.

Which leads to another question. Since being in "puzzle mode" is an artificial way of approaching a position compared to "playing" mode, does solving puzzles really help in practical play? For myself, the answer is clearly yes, since I rely heavily on pattern recognition and intuition when playing. The more patterns I see, the more that become instinctual responses, almost reflexes.