Quite often we have met club players
who perform well in tournaments with classical time control and give a strong
appearance of being underrated players. However, when time trouble comes they
tend to collapse quite easily.
The same is seen at rapid and blitz
events; some players can’t even finish the game and they end up losing by
flagging or making horrible blunders. We all have seen that and it is sad,
indeed. Playing good blitz and rapid is important; every strong player is
competitive in these modalities and it is a fun way to develop skills.
Although blitz is not recommended as a
way to improve your classical chess strength, your blitz skills are usually a
sign of your chess strength.
Historically, the strongest world
champions were also killer machines in blitz. Capablanca, Tal, Fischer, and Kortchnoi are just some of the names
who were strong blitzes.
Obviously, there isn’t just one way to
fix these problems with time pressure, but there are a few methods you can try
if you feel identified with what’s described above. The key word and main
thing to do is PRACTICE, but that’s not all there is.
We have a few recommendations for you do
check it out:-
1. Improve your tactics sensor and quick calculation
Try to spend a couple of hours a day
solving tactics, as many as possible. Do it with a time limit and do not seek
for too difficult problems.
Instead, focus on hundreds of problems
with medium difficulty. The goal is to think more tactical,
to calculate quickly mini operations (3-4 moves tops) and commit
fewer mistakes.
Cheapos and tricks are important in
blitz, improve your awareness.
2. Make practical decisions
Instead of seeking for the best move
settle for a quick decision of fewer committal moves. While in a classic game
you can calculate and have a deep evaluation of the position, in blitz you need
to make
this decision in seconds. Be practical, avoid being
captivated by the beauty of the game.
Play!
3. Practice
Play training games; do it with all the
intention of keeping control of what you are doing. Do not just “play fast”,
try to play the best you can as fast as you can.
Make strong moves in a relatively short
time.
4. Develop your intuitive play
Perhaps this is the most difficult one
and you can only achieve it by study and practice. In blitz, it is extremely
important to trust your intuition. Follow paths by feeling rather than
certainty. The more you see the more you store in your memory and the easier it
gets to imitate.
5. Openings
Certain openings are simply not good
for blitz unless you know them very well. That’s the case of too sharp openings
where one side’s play is easier. The initiative is a strong factor in blitz;
the more you are forced to think the more difficult it will get as the game
advances. We recommend playing openings by “schemes” rather than
those that demand concrete variations.
For example, the Hedgehog
system, English opening, Queen’s gambit
accepted, Scandinavian, Caro Kann and French are, in
our opinion, superior to sharp Najdorfs. Needless to say
that this is subjective, it all depends on your opening knowledge.
We hope the guideline above will serve
you well to increase your blitz abilities. Don’t hesitate to give it a try as
it has worked well with our own students.
Thank you for reading and as usual,
feel free to share your thoughts with us.