I've been giving a lot of thought to my inability to survive in blitz games. From slow games I already know that it's not the strategical understanding that kills me, and I also know that tactics is my strongest point. And on CTS I outclass strong blitz players both on rating and accuracy, so it's not whipping out tactical moves fast either. What the hell can it be then?
One thing that comes to mind is experience. I've played about 200 blitz games ever, and maybe 95% of those were with time controls of around 15 minutes. Which is so slow it's almost not blitz at all. Also, when I think about how my progress has gone on CTS, slowly inching my way up through tens of thousands of problems, I begin to wonder if the same would've happened playing similar amount of blitz games.
So, now that I've subscribed to ICC I decided to test that hypothesis there. And as the regular tournament play blitz control seems to be 5 0, that's what I'm going to play. Getting used to the time control will no doubt be my biggest problem starting out, but I'm sure it'll work out after a while.
Yesterday, well last night to be exact, I then plunged into the 5 0 pool. And just as I expected, I can't handle the 5 0 control to save my life, and got massacred. I lost a lot of games on time, got mated out of the blue a couple of times, dropped a lot of material, missed wins, blundered openings, the works. Ended up with a pathetic but totally deserved rating of 1060. So, now I'll try to keep 5 0 blitzing, and we'll see if I can claw my way up as I would expect. Coincidentally, that's exactly the same rating as on CTS when I started out 1½ years ago. Hopefully there will be a similar improvement after thousands of blitz games.
RHP: 1848, 218 games played, wdl: 149-12-63.
ICC 5 0: 1060, 14 games.
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2 comments:
you are a smart man, you dont need my input wormwood. but one major thing. i sincerel feel that 5/0 is a foolish game. mind you, i am NOT, i am *N O T* saying bullet or blitz is a fools game, but playing rapid under ammagedon. to be formal, using the correct ches term, it is foolish to play without increment on a drop, dead bead line.
what to do??????
play 3/8 or 2/12 or play 0/4 or play 2/6, etc. pick one, and play a thousand or two thousand games. and then you will metronomically get the clock in your head. i cannot tell you how many games ive won with five seconds on the clock.
at CTS, you and i are both very used to that nine second datum.
so here you get the four or six or eight or twelve second in your head, and burnish it into your brain. pls think about it.
in training, we dont mix systems, but isolate primary factors.
dont mix fast or very fast, which very handily compressed great chess experience in openings and endings alike with the ultimate pressure of that last minute count down, which, in and of itself, is a completely seperate skill built upon the prior.
i played THOUSANDS OF 2/12 for years, then right before discovering CTS, moved up to 3/8 and found myself gettting killed as you describe here... then, in november, moved up to 0/4 or 3:04 for 43 moves, that is to >3/0 without armagedon or penultimate drop dead control. now, when i rarely play 3/8 or 8:20 for 40 moves--a nice amount in excess of 5/0 but not so long as 2/12 or ten minutes per game, etc--i find it slow or more than ample time to reflect compared to 0/4.
do i loose many game on the clock, or a silly mouse slip? yes, of course, but am quickly getting to 1,500 games since november, and often do not play FOR WEAKS, BUT when i play it, i hit it hard and sit and sit and sit, and dont quit till i am done.
warmly, dk
yea, I know what you mean. but then again, 5 0 is the normal tournament blitz control, at least here in finland, so that's why I'm playing it. I think I should get used to it, and maybe even 3 0.
no such progress yet though, I keep messing up horribly. I'm beginning to think I have some fundamental flaw in my 'thought process'. complicate too much, push where the position doesn't allow it. I should just learn to play basic, simple chess while blitzing. make the practical move instead of the risky move.
one thing I've noticed is that I panic in time trouble, even if I have an easy win in sight. I've lost a lot of games within moves from mating because of that. I think it's a weakness I should work on until it's gone, which means I should get into that situation as often as possible.
well, anyway, I'm gonna try 5 0 for some time before returning to incremental blitz. I'll just have to teach myself to be faster and more accurate. :)
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