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19 Sep 11
Originally posted by tomtom232Yes. But i only play on rhp blitz, lost the other day to a 1300 pretty easily after not playing blitz for months. it's the same otb, just takes a bit of time to adjust from this.
Like riding a bike. I went from a +1800 rating on chesscube to a -1600 rating after a weeks hiatus. Does anybody else have this problem after a blitz break?
20 Sep 11
4 edits
Originally posted by wormwoodi played about 12 games on playchess, lost nine and won three 😞 i must admit i get bored with longer time controls, anything above ten minutes and i start to surf and play. I played someone at 40 minutes and it seemed like an eternity! im waiting for someone t move now, they have taken more than eight minutes for their move - how long does it take!!!!
couple of first days after a few months break seem to lose a lot of points for me, but it all comes back within the first week or so. I'm always kinda surprised how little effect the long breaks have.
20 Sep 11
Originally posted by wolfgang59mmm, i went on a blitz marathon yesterday, ended up playing to 4:30 in the morning on playchess.com, by the end i was actually drifting in and out of consciousness. I lost about 70 percent of all the games i played.
UChess is OK (I'm only graded 1200-1400 there)
Plenty of opponents althouggh some are obnoxious and be prepared for losers to run down clock.
Useful for trying out traps!
5 and 5 is my preference as some guys have SUPER FAST connections.
21 Sep 11
1 edit
there seems to me to be some kind of fundamental difference between blitz chess and
longer time controls and the way we should approach it. The fact of the matter is in
blitz chess, cheapos work. No amount of opening theory will prepare you and in fact
may be a hindrance. In all of my games not once did i ever get a mainline anything,
all of my opponents played alternatives, because either they had no theory themselves
or had dispensed with it. They launched suicidal kingside attacks, played utterly
dubious sacrifices and still managed to win, knowing that time is a factor and its not
always easy to find the correct move under pressure. In blitz, fortune favours the bold!
21 Sep 11
Originally posted by robbie carrobieOn chesscube at 1800+ I fly down many a mainline. We only play like you state if it is 1 min but I mostly play 3 min... 5 min takes forever. The difference is unsound but principled positional moves that cause the opponent to think and sets some tactical problems. I'm 2000 blitz tactics at chesstempo so my rapid play isn't too bad... I do fall for cheapos more often but not every game.
there seems to me to be some kind of fundamental difference between blitz chess and
longer time controls and the way we should approach it. The fact of the matter is in
blitz chess, cheapos work. No amount of opening theory will prepare you and in fact
may be a hindrance. In all of my games not once did i ever get a mainline anything,
all o ...[text shortened]... not
always easy to find the correct move under pressure. In blitz, fortune favours the bold!
21 Sep 11
3 edits
Originally posted by tomtom232In blitz the most common move i meet against my Sicilian is 2.Bc4, a move frowned
On chesscube at 1800+ I fly down many a mainline. We only play like you state if it is 1 min but I mostly play 3 min... 5 min takes forever. The difference is unsound but principled positional moves that cause the opponent to think and sets some tactical problems. I'm 2000 blitz tactics at chesstempo so my rapid play isn't too bad... I do fall for cheapos more often but not every game.
upon in theory, i cannot count how many times this was played. I got the wing gambit
once which was interesting, the KIA a couple of times, not once did anyone play an
open Sicilian with 1.e5 2.Nf3 and 3.d4, i was really surprised. Someone even played
2.Bc4 and 3.Qf3 trying for fools mate, i just had to laugh, for after ...e6 ...Nc6 ...Nd4 i
never seen a queen go back so fast 🙂
21 Sep 11
Originally posted by tvochessno not really, its just addictive. I find the tendency is to play mechanical moves without
So I guess good tactics helps in blitz, but blitz does not help in developing good tactics. Does blitz help you playing better at all?
thinking. The trick i think is to play opening really fast so that later on, when position is
critical, you get time to think. I never play anything faster than 5 mins, nor anything
longer than 10 mins. Its good for trying out ideas i suppose and for spotting tactics,
the draw back is that we are not disciplining our minds to think deeply about a position
and to evaluate it correctly, there is simply not enough time.
21 Sep 11
Originally posted by tvochessfor me tactics didn't transfer to blitz at all, only to slow chess. the most improvement has come from openings, and experience. not just the mainlines, but you need to develop good solid routine against 'unorthodox' openings and wild positions. watching the big boys play helped me a lot on that, they're awesome at turning a crazy opening into a solid position.
So I guess good tactics helps in blitz, but blitz does not help in developing good tactics. Does blitz help you playing better at all?
blitz develops lots of good things if you do it right. the sense of danger, which is VERY important. also all kinds of practical & principled ways to play 'irregular' positions.
the crazy unsound blitz attacks are also great for honing those defensive skills.
but most of all blitz develops intuition. the 'feel' for positions. learn the positional themes the hard way, by getting kicked in the face until you learn to not allow certain positional threats to arise.
you also learn that material means next to nothing compared to initiative and activity.
21 Sep 11
Originally posted by robbie carrobieyeah that's very common. I used to try to play 'best moves' against it, then I noticed a lot of big boys just ignore all that and seek to play d5 as fast as possible in those type of positions. e6, then if Nc3 black plays Nf6 and the d5 is there again. bam, just like that, and the result is a playable position with easy standard continuation. which pure gold in blitz as we all know.
In blitz the most common move i meet against my Sicilian is 2.Bc4, a move frowned
upon in theory, i cannot count how many times this was played.
it's played only twice in megadb 2011, but for the life of me I can't figure out what the big problem with it is supposed to be. it usually goes something like this:
21 Sep 11
1 edit
Originally posted by wormwoodI think the problem as you outlined wormdude was that the bishop gets hit, one can
yeah that's very common. I used to try to play 'best moves' against it, then I noticed a lot of big boys just ignore all that and seek to play d5 as fast as possible in those type of positions. e6, then if Nc3 black plays Nf6 and the d5 is there again. bam, just like that, and the result is a playable position with easy standard continuation. which pure gol ly goes something like this:
[pgn]
1. e4 c5 2. Bc4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 d5
*
[/pgn]
even play ...a6 and ...b5 and its gets kicked around. In the variation that you gave I
always wondered what would happen if white played e5 kicking the f6 knight, and for
that reason I generally play as one does against the grand prix, with ...e6 ...g6 ...Bg7,
...Ne7 and then ...d5! I want a pawn on d6 before my knight comes to f6.
21 Sep 11
Originally posted by tvochessIt does if you work on your solving time... for instance, most problems that I CAN solve I can solve fairly quickly. If I can't solve it I can break it down until I figure it out which takes time.
So I guess good tactics helps in blitz, but blitz does not help in developing good tactics. Does blitz help you playing better at all?
What I mean by can and can't solve is recognition of the pattern or not... basically quick calculation. It doesn't take time once I see the idea.... so pretty much its the calculation part of tactics that improves your blitz which would probably improve your slow chess too since if you can spend less time on tactics you can spend more time pondering the positional intricacies.