Correspondence Chess as a training tool?

If all goes well in the coming months, I plan to enter some regional OTB tournaments starting this summer (my first since the 90's!) Several GM's including former world champion Boris Spassky advocated using correspondence chess as a training tool for OTB competition. This is a grey area in my opinion. I agree correspondence chess can help up to a point, but making strong moves with only 2-3 min. per move in OTB competition would seem to require some additional training at that pace of play. So, is correspondence chess all one needs to train for OTB tournaments, and if not, what additional training is required for good OTB results?

Correspondence and RHP are good for trying out prepared variations. Won't help you manage time pressure though.

Originally posted by @mchill
If all goes well in the coming months, I plan to enter some regional OTB tournaments starting this summer (my first since the 90's!) Several GM's including former world champion Boris Spassky advocated using correspondence chess as a training tool for OTB competition. This is a grey area in my opinion. I agree correspondence chess can help up to a point, but ...[text shortened]... rain for OTB tournaments, and if not, what additional training is required for good OTB results?

Have you tried using the blitz application here?
You can set it for whatever time per move you want and then it's just a question of waiting for an opponent to take you on.

As far as OTB training is concerned, correspondence is good for:

- Getting to know openings. Openings aren't a magic bullet, but if you can knock out the first 10 moves in 30 seconds you're buying time for later in the game.
- Practicing tactics, but you have to learn to see them without the analysis board first. Reaching straight for the analysis board on RHP is deadly when you try to play without it.

RHP is bad for time management. I've recently gone back to OTB chess and am doing better after 3 seasons. What I've found helps is:

- Track your time at 10, 20, 30 moves and analyse your usage. It's around the 20 move mark that I found I need to accelerate a little.
- Don't search for 'the perfect' move. On RHP we can spend literally weeks looking for it. OTB sometimes you have to settle for a move that is just ok but not perfect, as the alternative is to have 2 minutes in which to make the last 10 moves. This never goes well.
- Don't feel that you always have to make something happen or try a clever-but-not-quite-sound tactic. Sometimes piece shuffling is the better part of valour.
- Practice playing with the same time controls as you'll use OTB. Most of the main chess engines can do this.

Finally - have fun. OTB chess may not be as pure for a chess point of view as RHP, but usually comes with beer.

It all comes down to effort. If you spend time analysing deeply with your correspondence, it will improve your game. If you are blitzing, then you might as well play blitz as that will help with clock management.

" what additional training is required for good OTB results?"

That can only come with experience of face to face play.

Correspondence chess is OK but remember here we are playing 30-40+
(some a lot lot more, I currently have 50!) games at once. Only one recent game did I
give it some thought Game 12597004 actually using an old book on the Philidor
by Larry Evans from the 70's.

All other games here suffered which is reflected in me dropping 150 Rating points this
year. Too many games as I jump form trap to trap and trick to trick. (some have come off
and I have a super-duper one for the blog).

But does playing here do any good OTB.
Well you are playing and thinking (in theory) so yes, it's not doing any harm.

Cannot think of an RHP game that has won me a game OTB game.
Tonight I won a league game in 13 moves. After 5 moves it was
a position I've never had before even though I have played dozens
of game with this opening on here. (1.e4 e6 2.Nf3)

You gain experience with face to face play,
it is a lot different from here. Some of the blunders here
(due mainly to game load) you would never see OTB.

Correspondence chess I will always imagine as pile of snail-mailed cards (sometimes letters, mostly boring chess-cards) with awkward numbers and doodled "salutations" or "yours truly" with ball-pen or in some cases ink-pen, which - in my experience - caused several disputes in "postmen threw post in the garden, it was raining, ink dissolved and got smeared" style, and with note books, neat hand writing in the beginning and as time was going by more and more unreadable and nervous, making tables with a ruler and flowmasters in different colours, awaiting the move when you have good position, leafing through opening books and Informants, smell of paper and ink, and writing desk, yellow light of drawing lamp, ambiental music from cassette player, time that now is definitely gone. For good.

Once you lose touch with OTB, it's over.

Corr. chess now - that is internet chess - is selfdeceiving, unless you don't spend half a a day like hermit over board, like Fischer, unless you don't get social support paychecks from your mom like him, or unless you are a rich hobbist - because.you will never REMEMBER variations you allegedly "practice" or "test" in correspodence games, and I must again put "correspondence" under literals, since this internet typing is so soulless.

Originally posted by @mchill
So, is correspondence chess all one needs to train for OTB tournaments, and if not, what additional training is required for good OTB results?

What about Botvinnik's pieces of advice?
1.
Analyze all your games over board and with pencil and note book.
Boring and painful, I know.

2.
Practice boring and basics endings with computer or with a partner with clock.
(I mean some tricky Pawn endings and similar.)

3.
Eat healthy food, don't drink and don't smoke, and don't go to bordels.

4.
Prepare favourite openings.

5.
Run or ecxercise yoga.

6.
Put the pictures of pensionists playing chess in the park on your table across ypu and hate them - like Botvinnik did with Tal's and Bronstein's and Smyslov's fotos. You will play with old amateurs, so the retired old buggers' fotos will do the trick.

7.
3 days before tournament - don-t touch chess so that your mind is fresh and / as Botvinnik mafioso put it - "hungry for chess"!

Good luck.

Originally posted by @vandervelde
What about Botvinnik's pieces of advice?
1.
Analyze all your games over board and with pencil and note book.
Boring and painful, I know.

2.
Practice boring and basics endings with computer or with a partner with clock.
(I mean some tricky Pawn endings and similar.)

3.
Eat healthy food, don't drink and don't smoke, and don't go to bordels. ...[text shortened]... so that your mind is fresh and / as Botvinnik mafioso put it - "hungry for chess"!

Good luck.

I could never do number five and would struggle with number 3.I could eat healthy food (I do, mixed with unhealthy food) and I don't smoke or go to bordels but not drink?
You've got to be kidding

Originally posted by @vandervelde
What about Botvinnik's pieces of advice?
1.
Analyze all your games over board and with pencil and note book.
Boring and painful, I know.

2.
Practice boring and basics endings with computer or with a partner with clock.
(I mean some tricky Pawn endings and similar.)

3.
Eat healthy food, don't drink and don't smoke, and don't go to bordels. ...[text shortened]... so that your mind is fresh and / as Botvinnik mafioso put it - "hungry for chess"!

Good luck.

Very good advice. Thank You! 🙂