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otb vs. correspondence

otb vs. correspondence

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s

Joined
25 Mar 07
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66132
Clock
14 Mar 09
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From what I've read, it seems most people are better at correspondence chess than OTB. The opposite is true with me and i wonder if it is for anyone else. I'll routinely dominate at my local chess club among players with 14-1700 ratings, yet on here i can't even seem to get to 1300! Admittedly, my game load is way too high, and I don't use databases or opening books. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced the same thing.

greenpawn34

e4

Joined
06 May 08
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43363
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14 Mar 09
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Your heavy game load won't be helping and you most likely suffer
from what I'm calling mood swings.

At OTB you are just playing the one game. You are focused on that
game for how long it takes.

Here you are playing a 50+ simul with a two day break in between moves.
So when you see the position you may not be in the mood to play
that position, but you make a move anyway.

You cannot come cold to a position and expect to play to the same
standard as you would in an OTB game.

Well that's been my experince. So when I had over 30 games on the
go I stuck with games I had plus from the opening and would not
touch them till I was ready. They went into a special folder.

The others I just flicked out moves going for tricks and traps.
I scored a few funny wins with these, the others I lost.
I cannot handle a vast amount of games. My ceiling was about 10.

I say 'was' because those 30+ games scunnered me and I doubt if
I'll push a pawn in anger on here again.
Well that's how I feel at the moment, we'll see.

b
Enigma

Seattle

Joined
03 Sep 06
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3298
Clock
15 Mar 09
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Originally posted by stockton1984
From what I've read, it seems most people are better at correspondence chess than OTB. The opposite is true with me and i wonder if it is for anyone else. I'll routinely dominate at my local chess club among players with 14-1700 ratings, yet on here i can't even seem to get to 1300! Admittedly, my game load is way too high, and I don't use databases or opening books. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced the same thing.
I used to experience the same thing, then I started using some of the tools in the book 'Winning at Correspondence Chess' by Tim Harding. This changed everything for me. I'm up over 300 rating points as a result. I'll admit, about half of these wins are games won on time control, but it has made a big difference nevertheless. 😏

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