Red Hot Pawn Tips

http://tacticstime.com/

I posted some Red Hot Pawn playing tips on my chess blog. I included some tips on collecting skulls, getting free rating points, climbing the ladders and avoid blunders.

More tips are welcome! Leave a comment if you have some good ideas.

Be sure and sign up for my tactics newsletter too 🙂

Cheers,
Timmy

Here's some observations I have made over time:

1) Don't get hung up on ratings here, as there are strong players with lesser ratings, and some players with ratings that exceed their permanent pay grade (my current one, for example).

2) Number of games in progress is tough with short time controls, but much easier to manage with longer time controls. For instance, before I subscribed, I preferred games with shorter time controls, and they required multiple moves per week. I persisted with this short time-control madness when I subscribed until I realized that a longer time control mitigates quantity. I now have more games in progress, but I actually make fewer moves per week than I used to, simply because many of my clan challenges and tournaments have 7/7 or greater time controls (7/14 or 10/10, etc), and I need to make only one move a week if I am busy.

3) If you have longer time controls, it's OK to go to bed without having moved in all your games. I was funny about that at first, but I got over it. 70 games with a 7/7 time control only require 10 games per day to stay ahead for the week. Some of those games will be in the opening, which are relatively quick if you've decided where you want to go, and some will be endings where you have probably worked out most of what you want to do, so you can pace yourself. It's still a lot of work, but it counts as study time in my book!

4) Use our ability to manipulate the "my games" columns to structure your responses. For instance, I'll click on the "moves" column, and make responses to my games with less than 10 moves or so first. If we're at move 3 in the game, I already know what I want to play, unless the other guy plays a really outrageous move.

I then go to the games with the most moves. Very often they are endings where I have spent time working out what I think will happen, and it's just a matter of playing the moves. Philidor and Lucena rook endings (and others like them) are autopilot and don't require much time. Use the time you saved for the endings that really require work.

Or just read Greenpawn34's blog and win in the middlegame, and skip this step!

5) No matter how you slice it, increased quantity decreases quality. Quantity does have a quality all its own, but that won't change the fact that more games means more opportunities for "Oh $%^&, I missed that!" moments.

6) Make sure you're having fun. There's no money involved here, and the ratings mean nothing except whatever value YOU assign to them, so the only true measure is whether or not you value the playing experience here. If it's not fun, take a break. You'll be back!

Paul

Great comments Paul!

The tip about sorting the games to find "easy" moves to make is a great one, and something I do also. It is the games that are around 10-15 that I find the most challenging - because it is out of the opening, and the material is probably even, and whoever gets the advantage at this point will probably win the game.

Sometimes I will avoid doing a conditional move, just to buy myself more time, and get in an easy move for the next time.

I also had to let go of the idea of always making a move in every game when I logged in. When really busy I had to make moves only in games that were in my timebank, with the clock ticking.

Great stuff, thanks!

"Or just read Greenpawn34's blog and win in the middlegame, and skip this step! "

It should be.

"...and win or lose in the middlegame...."

Skittles or Blitz

Play openings that are geared to get your bits out the quickest.
If this results in the loss of a pawn two then so be it.
Don't mess about - get the pieces out.

Then sac and attack. If the attack is faltering sac again.
If there is no chance at all then resign.
Under no circumstances do you allow him to play a won endgame. Pointless.

Set up the bits, play again and repeat the above till you eventually win one.
And you will (law of averages.)
That will be the game you will both remember and gets posted.

You are just using an opponent as a punch bag till you land a lucky blow.
If you bump into someone who is of the same frame of mind
then you are in for some wonderful wonderful chess.

PS: It goes without saying if your sac sac attack results in a won ending
for you then offer a draw.

Footnote:

Any fool can play an ending.
I've told you before, give me someone who knows nothing about chess.
I'll show them how the King moves and how the Rook moves. That is all.

Within 30 minutes they will have mastered the K & R v K ending and can
mate anyone on the planet. Even Kasparov.

So if someone can beat Kapsarov in an ending without even knowing how
the Queen, Bishop or Knight moves then what is the big deal?

Now stop all this nonsense about endings and get out there and sacrifice things.

Originally posted by greenpawn34
...then sac and attack. If the attack is faltering sac again.

Now stop all this nonsense about endings and get out there and sacrifice things.

...and if the sacs' aren't getting results then read some Tal.

skeets

Originally posted by Paul Leggett
Here's some observations I have made over time:

1) Don't get hung up on ratings here, as there are strong players with lesser ratings, and some players with ratings that exceed their permanent pay grade (my current one, for example).

2) Number of games in progress is tough with short time controls, but much easier to manage with longer time cont g experience here. If it's not fun, take a break. You'll be back!

Paul

Greetings from afar, Paul. Insightful post and my first 'thumbs up'

since returning from eight long months behind some distant moon.


~gb

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
Greetings from afar, Paul. Insightful post and my first 'thumbs up'

since returning from eight long months behind some distant moon.


~gb

Thanks, and it is good to have you back!