İ am scared to play against other real opponents, what should i do • page 2/2 • General Chess Discussion • lichess.org

when against other real players, i am scared cuz i always think:"Every opponent is better than me and i suck at chess" which stresses me, i dont understand how GMs even handle this type of emotions, so what should i do to fix my scarred emoton against real players?

This happened to me too. I created my Lichess account in October 2025, but I didn't start playing rated or casual games until July 2026. I was scared to play online for months and mostly just did puzzles. But once I finally started playing, that fear just went away. So honestly, just keep playing and learn from your losses. The more you play, the less scary it becomes.

@JustAChessPlayer177 said [^](/forum/redirect/post/hpfeQACq) > when against other real players, i am scared cuz i always think:"Every opponent is better than me and i suck at chess" which stresses me, i dont understand how GMs even handle this type of emotions, so what should i do to fix my scarred emoton against real players? This happened to me too. I created my Lichess account in October 2025, but I didn't start playing rated or casual games until July 2026. I was scared to play online for months and mostly just did puzzles. But once I finally started playing, that fear just went away. So honestly, just keep playing and learn from your losses. The more you play, the less scary it becomes.

tpr

'When you sit down to play a game you should think only about the position, but not about the opponent.' - Capablanca

HerkyHawkeye

Some good advice already given. In addition, remember that as you are playing others around your level, you will lose about half the games and win about same. As you progress, you will likely play others who have similarly progressed. And guess what? You will remain about 50-50. It’s more than okay, it’s the way fair pairing works. We all go through a similar experiences. Enjoy the journey.

Kaan_Burak

@JustAChessPlayer177 said ^

when against other real players, i am scared cuz i always think:"Every opponent is better than me and i suck at chess" which stresses me, i dont understand how GMs even handle this type of emotions, so what should i do to fix my scarred emoton against real players?

why do you think you "suck" at chess? and "every opponent is better than me" is only a the act of lowering oneself. if everyone is better than you, this means 0 elo player is better than you. think things makes sense bro. not everyone is better than you. if you want to get better, solve puzzles and learn and improve your tactics. don't understand me wrong, I don't say you're so bad, you're good. I'm saying you have to give yourself confidence so you can fix your scared emotion against real players.

@JustAChessPlayer177 said [^](/forum/redirect/post/hpfeQACq) > when against other real players, i am scared cuz i always think:"Every opponent is better than me and i suck at chess" which stresses me, i dont understand how GMs even handle this type of emotions, so what should i do to fix my scarred emoton against real players? why do you think you "suck" at chess? and "every opponent is better than me" is only a the act of lowering oneself. if everyone is better than you, this means 0 elo player is better than you. think things makes sense bro. not everyone is better than you. if you want to get better, solve puzzles and learn and improve your tactics. don't understand me wrong, I don't say you're so bad, you're good. I'm saying you have to give yourself confidence so you can fix your scared emotion against real players.

The_Merry_Chesster

![images.jpg](https://image.lichess1.org/display?op=noop&path=IsbIG4BsdG4r.jpg&sig=dae272be4fb8af76c948ac923f574dde8a25e9f4)

ChessPriyome

edited

@openingsgamedotcom said ^

What I normally do is try to go step by step,
...
> 5. If you lose, analyse with a computer
...

#5 is a terrible idea. You should NOT do that until you have analyzed your games without a computer and figured out where the 2/3 critical moments are in the game. Slapping on Stockfish wuill teach you nothing about chess. Analyzing your losses productively and consistently will lead to improvement and expose holes in your game, and those holes will point to what you need to work on. Chess is very much prone to feedback loop learning paradigms.

See:
https://share.google/aimode/jAQuRMdYizMtS8iYS

@openingsgamedotcom said [^](/forum/redirect/post/Bhb8xnhn) > What I normally do is try to go step by step, ... **> 5. If you lose, analyse with a computer** ... #5 is a terrible idea. You should NOT do that until you have analyzed your games without a computer and figured out where the 2/3 critical moments are in the game. Slapping on Stockfish wuill teach you nothing about chess. Analyzing your losses productively and consistently will lead to improvement and expose holes in your game, and those holes will point to what you need to work on. Chess is very much prone to feedback loop learning paradigms. See: https://share.google/aimode/jAQuRMdYizMtS8iYS

Shadowbeans

@JustAChessPlayer177 said ^

when against other real players, i am scared cuz i always think:"Every opponent is better than me and i suck at chess" which stresses me, i dont understand how GMs even handle this type of emotions, so what should i do to fix my scarred emoton against real players?

You’re better than a whole 60% :).

@JustAChessPlayer177 said [^](/forum/redirect/post/hpfeQACq) > when against other real players, i am scared cuz i always think:"Every opponent is better than me and i suck at chess" which stresses me, i dont understand how GMs even handle this type of emotions, so what should i do to fix my scarred emoton against real players? You’re better than a whole 60% :).