Per Evan's question, Dick McStraw can attest that I once nicked a draw out of a
lost position by walking away from the boared when I only had a couple minutes
left. I knew the position was lost, I knew I only had a couple moves to make to
satisfy the time control, and I had a sneaking hunch that my opponent would
move quickly if I walked away. He did. And he made the wrong move. The two
players who have been mentors to me in my earlier years both expressed the same
sentiment: Don't forget that it is a human being sitting across from you, and
sometimes, in desperation perhaps, you might just dupe him or her into making a
bad move. Trust yourself and don't fear the clock. It's just as true in chess
as it is anywhere else, you can't control what you fear. I remember reading in
a totally non-chess book, Dune, by Frank Herbert, "Fear is the mind killer."
Poor Mr. McStraw was rated 1350 or thereabouts. I was not happy about losing to
him. When I came back to the board and saw that my clock had ticked off a good
minute or more of my remaining time, and looked at the board and saw that he
had made the move I had hoped he made, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Since
then, I've used that little trick a couple times to my advantage. And I've also
recognized in myself the little urge to move quickly when my opponent is away.
I say a little thank you to Dick when I sense myself wanting to make a move to
burn up my opponent's time, rather than to burn my own time to make a better
move.
Cheers,
Jim T
-----Original Message-----
From: usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Evan Reese
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2018 7:04 PM
To: usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [usbca_chess] Re: OTB Tips Wanted
Okay Chris, thanks for this. I can see the benefits of getting away from the
board, getting some exercise,, getting some refreshment, etc.
But in the spirit of David's assertion that there are no dumb questions, I'm
going to ask:
If you're away from the board, then don't you risk your opponent making a move
and your being on the clock while you're not there? I would think that would be
something to avoid. I know that' something I'd worry about.
Evan
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Ross
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2018 7:04 PM
To: usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [usbca_chess] Re: OTB Tips Wanted
David et al,
I'm sure Paul Benson can echo this too, but I am of the belief that when it is
your opponent's move, it is absolutely critical that you "take time out"
and move your mind away from the board. Rarely, especially so during a long
think by your opponent, is it productive to sit considering the board. It is
more refreshing, productive, beneficial and "renewing" to stand up, step away
from the board and blank your mind from the game. Even if you take two or three
steps away, even keep your hand on the back of your chair, but stand up,
stretch, flex the muscles, loosen up and remove yourself away from the board.
For me, I tend to step away and begin pacing out of the line-of-sight of my
opponent. I exercise in the spot, with arm stretches, knee-bends and other such
exercises, but far away from the board, so my opponent is not distracted by my
movements.
During critical times, I head off, go and grab a drink, use the toilet, step
outside for a breath of fresh air and simply remove myself from the playing
room. This is especially important once a time-control has been reached and you
need to separate yourself form the game, allow the excitement, tension of the
time-scramble to settle and get away before you make a hasty and ill-judged
move immediately after the time-control. So many of us on here can attest to
the errors our opponents have made the move immediately after the time-control
has been reached, just because they have not taken that advice to get up, move
away and calm down.
I think it is extremely detrimental to your game if you remain at the board
whilst your opponent is thinking and considering a position. Save the energy,
refresh yourself and stabilise your physical condition and return to the board
with a clearer mind.
Cheers,
Chris
-----Original Message-----
From: usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Rosenkoetter
Sent: 23 September 2018 13:27
To: usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [usbca_chess] Re: OTB Tips Wanted
Hi, Jim H.
I'll echo the comments that Jim T. mentioned along with the biggest key/mindset
to have. Don't wear yourself out when not on the clock.
When it's you're opponent's turn, do some deep breathing, maybe touch the board
once or twice depending how long he goes. And if he takes a while, let him.
I used to lose a lot of games early on in my playing, and I mean a whole lot of
games, because my time ran out. Then, I realized that by the end of the game I
was so stressed out because I was agonizing over stuff while my opponent was on
the clock instead of letting my mind ease up during that time. In some
tournaments I've attended, guys will get up, walk around, grab some coffee or
run a lap around the block to reset their mind. Since I'm by nature a quick
player and fairly intense when on the clock, I need that time to let my
adrenaline slow down and return me to the soft zone.
David
On 9/22/18, JT <hazelnutt2001@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Since I know we're not talking about playing speed chess, and since
I'm pretty sure that most of the games you're talking about, Jim, are
online with a third-party TK, I will offer some thoughts.
Speaking as one who has lost numerous games on time, especially in my
earlier years of tournament play, I can offer a couple ideas. One is
to loudly, enthusiastically, stringently echo and support Evan's
statement about having a plan at the start of the game. Some people
call it studying openings. I call it having an idea of the order of
moves you would like to play if your opponent cooperates. But it also
includes the idea of learning to consider your strategy in terms of
the next several moves. Often during a game, it is possible to make
some observations of how you would like your pieces to be arranged
over the next few moves. Once you have that idea, you can then
consider what your opponent might do to interfere with your plans.
As you consider that, you can make some observations of how you might
alter your move order to achieve your desired end if possible.
Now, all this takes time. And time is the very thing that is giving
you, and me, trouble. There is one very simple thing you can train
yourself to do, though, to alleviate some of the stress that is
affecting your analysis.
Remember this: the timekeeper, if doing his or her job properly, will
give you your time checks at the appropriate times. Most of our
tourhnaments are played 30/60, 30 moves in 60 minutes. You should
receive your first time check when the first player has reached 40
minutes remaining. The timekeeper will also tell you what move you are
on. Thirty moves in 60 minutes means you should Average, Emphasis on
average, two minutes per move. If you have made your tenth move by the
first time check, you are right on track. In most cases, if you have
indeed made a plan at the start of the game as to what move sequence
you would like to play, then odds are that you will have made more
than ten moves by the first time check. You will then get your next
time check when the first player reaches 20 minutes remaining. It is
especially important to note what move you're on at this point. You
should feel a bit of adrenaline rush when you hear that you only have
20 minutes left. But hold that 20 minutes against how many moves you
have left to play.
If you've reached move 20 or beyond, you're in great shape because you
have more than the two-minute average with which you started the game.
And you will still get additional time checks at the
ten-minute-remaining mark, again at 5 minutes to go, and yet again at
2 minutes to go. If you hit 2 minutes to go, and you still have four
moves to make, yes, you need to pay strict attention and move quickly.
But if you're paying attention to the board and not fretting about the
clock, you might find a way to repeat a move just to burn up the move.
Even masters have been known to do that on occasion. Bottom line,
Train yourself to trust your timekeeper, and you can then begin to
tell yourself, when you feel yourself beginning to stress over time,
you can tell yourself to relax and concentrate on the board. And when
I say "Tell yourself," I mean exactly that. I find that I don't have
to do it nearly as often as I used to, but, every now and again, I
have to tell myself, "Thoune, pay attention to the --- board and quit
worrying about how long you're taking. It does work. At least, it has
worked for me. I don't get into time trouble nearly as often as I used
to. Part of it is definitely to do with knowing before I make my first
move what course I will follow if given the chance. But part of it is
also a direct result of the words that I say to myself.
I realize that we can all ignore ourselves just as effectively as we
can ignore others. But it has allegedly been proven that what we
practice inside our heads has the very same effect on our brains as
physically doing the thing. I wish I could give the source of that
allegation, but I can tell you that I came across the wisdom as part
of my Toastmasters training, and I have found through personal
experience that is has indeed worked according to the claim for me. So
tell yourself, in the same tone that you might tell your kid or your
dog to knock off whatever it is they're doing, to knock off worrying
about time. And try to avoid arguing with yourself! (Smile)
One other thing. On those occasions that you do lose a game on time,
and you will on occasion lose a game on time if you care more about
playing well than you do about playing fast, then take a good look at
the position. You ought to do that anyway. But take a good look and
see if you were making good moves as far as you got. If you feel that
you were, then take some comfort in the knowledge that you were doing
good analysis, and that with time and practice you'll be able to do
that level of analysis faster. For me, if I have to lose a game, I'd
much rather lose on time making good moves then I would to lose with
plenty of time left on my clock and a scoresheet full of moves that
look like ... well, you know what I mean.
Oh, and one other last thing, I don't know if it affects you the way
it does me, but I know for sure that when I have a lot of things on
mind, non-chess things, household issues, other deadlines, the fact
that my yard needs mowing, all those non-chess things that just get in
the way, I know going into the game that these things are going to
interfere with my ability to concentrate. And the best thing I can do
for myself is find a way to try to clear my mind and forget about
everything else as I prepare to make my first move. It usually helps!
All the best,
Jim T
-----Original Message-----
From: usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Evan Reese
Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2018 1:23 PM
To: usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [usbca_chess] Re: OTB Tips Wanted
Hi Jim,
Unfortunately, I don't have a lot to offer. One thing I do that helps
me is to try to remember that my opponent's time is also my time, in
the sense that I can use his time to think as well as my own time.
It also helps to come up with a general plan which can speed up
individual moves because you've already got a basic strategy in mind.
Of course, you may have to alter the plan as a result of your
opponent's moves, but a general strategy may still be able to survive
possible variations that may be necessary if he does something you
didn't anticipate.
Sorry I can't help more. I'm sure you'll get much better advice from
stronger players with more OTB experience.
Evan
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim
Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2018 1:25 PM
To: USBCA
Subject: [usbca_chess] OTB Tips Wanted
Hi All,
I have been playing chess very badly lately in timed games. I'm
getting anxious about time and not looking carefully. Do you have any
tips?
Thanks.
Jim
--
==========
Jim Homme
http://www.jimhommewebdev.com
Twitter: @jimhomme
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