How to prepare for a blitz/bughouse tournament

Originally posted by Tactics and Endgames
Only good players realize their black queen is doomed and take the rook, most try to get her out of there and she gets taken.

1.Nf3...d5 2.b2...c5 3.e4!...dxe 4.Ne5...Qd4? 5.Bb2 Now black can take the bishop and lose her queen or retreat and be a pawn up but behind in development. White has attacking chances with the knight on e5 if black retreats.

However, at high level play, losing the queen for the pawn rook and bishop is actually better for black or white, depends on who's playing the d4 c4 or d5 c5.

Originally posted by range blasts
However, at high level play, losing the queen for the pawn rook and bishop is actually better for black or white, depends on who's playing the d4 c4 or d5 c5.

At 5 minute blitz like you said...whoever has the queen is better off.

Just my opinion for 5 minute blitz.

Originally posted by range blasts
Oh alright, thanks! Umm, it's a small tournament down in Arizona, how about yours?

Heh, Albuquerque. One state over. Good luck.

Thanks, you too.

Originally posted by Tactics and Endgames
And then play it with reversed colors.(start with Nf3 b3 and then e4 if he plays d5 and c5)
If black gets too greedy you can win his queen for a pawn bishop and rook.

It's called the Norfolk gambit after Claude Bloodgood who was in prison for matricide (killing your mother)

Anyways...It's a great line for blitz, I've won with it plenty of ...[text shortened]... uck.
I'd like to post all the lines here but you'll have to look it up, it's easy though.

Too funny- I have that book. Cool side story: He was in South Mecklenburg State Penitentiary in Virginia, and the prison club played lots of closed tournaments- for obvious reasons. Bloodgood was Master-strength (probably USCF 2200 or so), but because he played in the prison tournaments and never lost, his rating got up into the 2600's, and he qualified for the US Championship one year, until they revised the rules!

Another cool side story: The prison chess club would get new members from time to time (for obvious reasons again!), and their provisional ratings would be artificially high after playing 2600 rated Bloodgood and his equally inflated friends. As a result, the players were all overrated, and the other "regular" clubs in Virginia used to love to challenge the prison club to matches, because it was a great way to go in, play an overrated player, and scarf up a bunch of rating points in a single Saturday afternoon.

Paul

Originally posted by Paul Leggett
Too funny- I have that book. Cool side story: He was in South Mecklenburg State Penitentiary in Virginia, and the prison club played lots of closed tournaments- for obvious reasons. Bloodgood was Master-strength (probably USCF 2200 or so), but because he played in the prison tournaments and never lost, his rating got up into the 2600's, and he qualif ...[text shortened]... errated player, and scarf up a bunch of rating points in a single Saturday afternoon.

Paul

Ya I heard he was 3rd in the country at one time.
They changed the rules after him.
Still the line works in Blitz. The only hard part is getting black to play 1...d5 2...c5 which he will most likely not do.

Originally posted by Tactics and Endgames
Ya I heard he was 3rd in the country at one time.
They changed the rules after him.
Still the line works in Blitz. The only hard part is getting black to play 1...d5 2...c5 which he will most likely not do.

Not quite, it's been working on practice games! 😉