Game 3 in 45/45 League. Time ain't on my side
I came out with a win as white for the 45 45 Chess League. Annotated game is here. The win was via two tactical shots my opponent gave me. He was a tough opponent, and the middle game got very complex. I squandered most of my time there, and was down to two minutes on my clock about thirty moves in. Man, that stressed me out.
The most important lesson is that I need to work on time management. Frankly, I am not sure how I can move much faster in the middle game without making mistakes. Perhaps I need to sacrifice some thinking time in the middle so I have some left over at the end. My opponent used his clock very effectively. Many times I simply moved, realizing that I needed more time to really think through the position. Some of my moves were purposely made to simplify the position so I wouldn't have to keep chewing so much time off the clock.
I'll start reading what Heisman says about time management, and see if there are any 60 60 leagues out there :).
The most important lesson is that I need to work on time management. Frankly, I am not sure how I can move much faster in the middle game without making mistakes. Perhaps I need to sacrifice some thinking time in the middle so I have some left over at the end. My opponent used his clock very effectively. Many times I simply moved, realizing that I needed more time to really think through the position. Some of my moves were purposely made to simplify the position so I wouldn't have to keep chewing so much time off the clock.
I'll start reading what Heisman says about time management, and see if there are any 60 60 leagues out there :).
posted by Blue Devil Knight at 7/10/2006 02:17:00 AM
10 Comments:
Wow, he really had one of those Jackie Chan "bad days".
I also run into middlegame time problems.It seems to be the most complex phase and deserves whatever time you can give it.
Knowing the opening fairly well that helps minimize time crunch the most for me.
I used to have time trouble a lot (even lost in a lot of won positions due to timing out, though those were sudden death games). Some stuff which helped me, which I would consider:
(a) Make sure to make a commitment not to get into time trouble in the first place. Time is often a factor, so if you see you are lagging behind on the clock and it is unlikely you will get a fast win anytime soon, try to speed up your play.
(b) For the moments that you DO get into time trouble (happens with everyone), it is helpful to be somewhat competent at Blitz. I don't think Blitz is good for improving your playing ability, but you should get to a point where you can play Blitz (like 5 seconds per move) without dropping pieces left and right. I would recommend maybe playing a couple dozen Blitz games and don't worry about the results, Blitz doesn't count for anything. But it can be used as a training tool for improving play under time pressure.
(c) Like Heisman says, it's important not to waste time in the opening if you know the move.
Be carefull. The thrill of time trouble releases opiumlike substances in the brains. These are both addictive and unhealthy. Don't become a time trouble addict!
Nice checkmate at the end, once you took his bishop were you not interested in the bishop sac at h6? I think that would have been alot of fun. Then again 75% of my games contain a sac (mostly unsound)
Hmmm. . .
Nice recovery. By move 16 he should have won the game - lucky for you his next move blew his chances [grin].
Even though he had the bad Bishop and you had the good Bishop, your pawns were a mess and his 3 central pawns, backed by that tall pawn at the back formed a pseudo-pawn diamond, which is very powerful.
16...h6 was just plain wrong for him. If he had obeyed the rule for passed pawns - "they must be pushed" - he would have eventually squeezed you into submission.
Good shot on his Bishop. I can't imagine what he was thinking there.
Jim, I should have taken his bishop supporting his pawns with my knight when I had the chance. His pawn center was quite strong: I just started exchanging pieces to clear up space for me to work up an attack. At the time, I didn't because the bishop was so weak, so I thought I'd rather exchange his bishop on g4 for that knight.
He was a better player than me overall, and especially knows his opening theory, but as they say, at this level it's usually tactics that decide things. I am surprised at how players above 1200 still leave pieces en prise. It gives me hope that I'll reach my goal of becoming a solidly 1200 player. I think I'm getting close.
If you played 10 a3 in order to give your bishop the a2 square if Black plays Nc5, then you should have been consistent and stuck with the plan. 13. Nf5 makes 10. a3 a wasted tempo since you let Black capture your bishop on b3. You could have saved time on your clock by not making superfluous pawn moves.
Quando. I thought of that during the game, and purposely changed plans. I was so cramped for space I decided to make some exchanges, and then use the a pawn to support a b push (or a bishop move to B4).
you played very well! good job with the analysis too.
No criticisms here. You found the tactic to win material on move 20 and you maintained that advantage. Sure you ate up time, but being a piece up it worked out for you. The last thing you'd want is to lose a minor piece from a dumb move. Great job. Great win. It was fun to watch.
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