My experience dealing with rating fear and how to overcome it.
RATINGS-
Ratings reflect on a players overall skill and ability. Skilled players usually have higher ratings as compared to beginners and intermediates. As I played more frequently on Lichess, I grew increasingly concerned about my rating, this constant fear of loosing my rating often held me back form playing. Here is what I've learnt after overcoming my rating fear.
RATING ACCURACY-
Ratings are not always accurate as rating manipulation and cheating are unfortunately common the chess community. Blunders, time pressure and network problems contribute to rating inaccuracy. If you feel an account is manipulating their rating, you can report it immediately. More about reports can be read here.
OVERCOMING RATING FEAR-
Ratings do indeed reflect a players skills, but having a low rating does not necessarily mean you are a bad player. Lichess allows one to go to site settings and choose if they want to see player ratings or no. Enabling this feature removes ratings altogether. By doing this, I was able to play as many games as I wanted to, and try unique moves and openings. Casual games are not often taken seriously, therefore I suggest one avoids them.
CONCLUSION-
We play chess because we like doing so, focusing on rating robs us of great experiences. Don't let rating fear stop you from playing! Thank you for reading! Merry Christmas!
