Originally posted by pythagoras
I was playing a lot on the Christmas holidays, but know school has gone back, and my homework level is huge, I have found my rating has slipped quite a bit. Are there any suggestions of how to maintain an ok rating as still get top grades?
I have the same problem. The key is to be responsible with your number of games.
Be concious of how long your games tend to last. This way you can plan months in advance.
Don't take on a bunch of games simply because you're bored at a certain point in time. Take on games slowly, not all at once. This will ensure that you don't end up with more than you wanted.
Try to move a certain number per day. This way you don't sign in one day with all of your clocks running. I find this very stressful, and tend to make bad moves.
In busy periods, use all of your timeout for each move, but try not to get into your timebank. This is a useful backup for really busy periods, and vacations.
Above all, remember that school is probably more important than your rating here. Don't worry about your rating as much as you do your improvement. When you don't have time for improvement, then don't worry about that.