I just had a revelation: Blitz is about speed. Yeah, I know. "Who would've guessed that..." :-/ Sometimes I'm so incredibly stupid.
I keep ending a queen up, two minor pieces up, with a crushingly won endgame etc. only to lose on time. I either get flagged or throw the win because I have only 20 seconds to my opponent's 1 to 2 minutes, but those are both essentially lost because of time. I just play too slow, pure and simple.
I've tried to keep telling myself "Faster! Faster!" but I can only keep that up in the opening, and slow down right after that. I spot these Good Moves, nice combinations, and work them out. And surpisingly often I can also pull them off, winning that piece or the position. But I end up 2 minutes down on time, hence essentially lost. Often even that extra queen won't be enough then.
So, I need to stop using more time than my opponent. Before I can manage to do that consistently, it doesn't matter how much material I'm up. Move faster, take the practical move instead of complications, exchange a lot. - And after I can keep up with the clock, only then start worrying about playing better chess. Fast, basic, safe moves.
Here's a game I luckily won, but it's a perfect example of what happens. After a couple of moves I push the complications until all hell breaks loose. And I was supposed to be trying to keep it simple. How's that for a "quiet, passive 1.d4 game" by the way?
[White "wormwood"][Black "mhf"][TimeControl "300+0"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 c6 5. Nf3 d5 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. e5 Ne4 8.Qb3 Qa5 9. Bd3 b6 10. O-O Bg4 11. Nxd5 Be6 12. Bxe4 O-O 13. Nc7 Bxb3 14.Bd2 Qa4 15. axb3 Qxb3 16. Bxa8 Qxb2 17. Rfb1 Qc2 18. Rc1 Qb2 19. Rxa7 Nd7 20. Nd5 f6 21. Rxd7 fxe5 22. Nxe7+ Kh8 23. Bd5 h6 24. Nxg6+ Kh7 25. Nxf8+ Kh8 26. Ne6 Bf6 27. Be4 Qb5 28. Rc8+ Bd8 29. Rcxd8# 1-0
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5 comments:
Or . . . play at a slower time limit?
I know I wouldn't have these problems with slower games, but that's the thing really. I think I need to work this time pressure problem out to become a better player.
basically, I see an area of chess in which I suck enormously, so I'm going to work on that until I crack it.
I think the thing to do in blitz is just keep the game going, trust your intuition, and not tactically blunder. It's my best form of play but I'm not sure what it proves...
I've been watching these 3 0 games of GM danielssen on youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADST0QoaSK0&mode=related&search= , and that's just it. keep the game going, avoid complications, play simple. it's just amazing how simple chess he plays. no tricks, and when in doubt, make the safe move.
Yep. Man that was a dull game! The key thing was the clock I think. There are a few other things to do that help as well. From my experience in particular:
- Work out when you're most likely to play badly - recognize when that time comes - and don't play then. For me, that's if I'm tired, drunk, played too many games, or out for revenge. I generally log off after any loss in fact.
- Have an opening repertoire based on early surprises. No-one in 3+0 will be able to work out the flaw in 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c4 for instance.
Hope this helps.
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