Yes,I am!Last 'real time' tourney I played,time control 80 60,I managed this awesome record: 6 games,5 blunders.All in winning positions.Though I managed to draw 4 of them and only lost the last game,it's still quite impressive,don't you think?
The blunders were all made after 02.30 hours of play,and ranged from dropping a minor piece to dropping a queen.
Every other game I played in between this tourney,which took 2 months,saw a similar problem.After about 2 hours of play I either drop a piece or overlook a simple 2-move tactic that would win me the game.I don't miss traps my opponent sets,I just fail to take advantage of his mistakes even though I keep looking for them.And then....I blunder....
Does someone have any ideas how to work on this particular problem?
Sir Lot.
Originally posted by SirLoseALotHmmmm, how old are you?
Yes,I am!Last 'real time' tourney I played,time control 80 60,I managed this awesome record: 6 games,5 blunders.All in winning positions.Though I managed to draw 4 of them and only lost the last game,it's still quite impressive,don't you think?
The blunders were all made after 02.30 hours of play,and ranged from dropping a minor piece to dropping a ...[text shortened]... ..I blunder....
Does someone have any ideas how to work on this particular problem?
Sir Lot.
😲
Originally posted by OsseI always take a few breaks,doesn't help much 🙁
Conciously do something at the two hour mark - even if it is your move. Buy a drink, eat a chocolate bar, go outside and jump up and down for a couple of minutes 😉 Your board vision should be fresher again if you have a quick break.
I just blundered a piece away in one of these RHP games. As soon as I hit the "move" button I realized it and had to wait the usual fifteen seconds watching this stupid hanging bishop right in front of my eyes. Maybe they should have an emergency "stop" button. The point is, blunders happen to everybody OTB, correspondence, and especially blitz. Actually, I think playing blitz helps stop stupid mistakes, because you're immediately punished and it forces you to scan the board quickly for dumb errors.
A bigger point here is that in five of your games, you blundered at least a piece, and in four you were able to draw?! That's pretty incredible. So either you are far better than your opponents and its only the blunders that keep them in the game, or you and your opponent are blundering pieces all teh time but without always realizing it?
I resumed my OTB play ~ year ago after very long pause. And it was a challenge.
Few simple things which helped me:
- Sanity check before move: it does not take much time to go through all opponent's possible captures and checks, and it would almost eliminate "stupid" one-move blunders. If you inclined to rush, sit on your hands (literally).
- If you take very long time for the certain move, it could be wise to take short break before this move.
- I noticed that most dangerous moment for me is couple of moves right after time-control (especially if I was short of time before it). I always try to take a break right after time control.
- Try to not think about the game during the break
- OTB sometimes objectively best move is not the one, which gives best chances. Don't go for unneseccary complications when you are better.
- Strong tea and cigarrete help a lot:-)
There are couple of things which I lack in my OTB play, but this is not easily curable:
- My counting is often right, but evalution of resulting position is wrong.
- Time management. It is important to feel when it is time to spend more time on the move. Otherwise you can come to the critical position in the time troubles.
I noticed that I commit less blunders OTB, than here. But I played most of my better game at RHP (and before that at Gameknot).
For me OTB is more about thrill, psychology and stamina, but less about chess:-)
Originally posted by OsseI was the top dog in that tourney,rated about 50 to 100 points higher than the others.So yes,I pretty much had the upper hand in every game untill the blunders.1 game I saved with an endgame trick,1 game my opponent simply had no idea how to play endgames and he spoiled a 3 pawn advantage,1 game I was up a piece and then blundered it back resulting in a drawn ending and the 4th game my opponent wanted to make some time (we played with increments) and he miscounted which gave me the opportunity to claim a draw by repetition.
A bigger point here is that in five of your games, you blundered at least a piece, and in four you were able to draw?! That's pretty incredible. So either you are far better than your opponents and its only the blunders that keep them in the game, or you and your opponent are blundering pieces all teh time but without always realizing it?
So I didn't exactly have to pull out some miracle tricks to get the draws 😀
Sir Lot.
Originally posted by TovMauzerI have just about the same problems as you do.Thanks for the input.
I resumed my OTB play ~ year ago after very long pause. And it was a challenge.
Few simple things which helped me:
- Sanity check before move: it does not take much time to go through all opponent's possible captures and checks, and it would almost eliminate "stupid" one-move blunders. If you inclined to rush, sit on your hands (literally).
- If you ...[text shortened]... at Gameknot).
For me OTB is more about thrill, psychology and stamina, but less about chess:-)