We’ve all played chess against the strategist whose likeness is visible just to the left, particularly in blitz games. You know the type, they throw wild curveballs at you designed to eat up your time. (I think that’s the plan anyway??) They use questionable (if not Kamikaze) openings that stand no chance of winning in a game of substantial time… and then they win with them!
There is no escape from the reckless hyper aggressive player! They are often seen at the poker tables, perhaps fueled by TV poker, they play way too loose, and way too aggressive, and when it works it is nothing short of obnoxious!
In both cases, chess or poker, it’s almost as if they don’t care whether they win or lose! For a large number of players this opponent is beyond comprehension and often unsettling. It certainly doesn’t help when they actually win!
If you play tournament poker you’ll often see players speculatively betting all their chips as early as the first hand of a tournament. (It’s a horrible play, in case you’re considering it’s merits.) The good news at the poker table is that you can just fold and not play against them! At the chess board, you are stuck playing (within the realm of good etiquette anyway.)
At the poker table, I don’t mind these players because they lose money that tends to find it’s way to me. At the chess board, I have a love/hate relationship with them. Here’s why: they force you to study your opening play, go over your games, and spend time NOT playing. A good thing, but a bothersome thing as well.
I dislike studying openings and I don’t have the ability to memorize the method of extinguishing every half baked idea 
thrown at me! I can usually work it out with sufficient time, but therein lies the problem. In blitz games there is no time!
After giving this some thought I have come up with some possible solutions:
- Suck it up and study the openings. I do this some of course already, but clearly not enough.
- Play longer games that allow me to work it out over the board and stop playing Blitz games!! Sadly, this is probably the winner. After all, if I don’t like a style of play that will only be successful in this format, why play this format at all? Well, there is the joy of crushing them, despite its reduced satisfaction level due to the quality, it is still fun!!
- Learn some specific blitz techniques that avoid this nonsense and allow for a more “sensible” game!
Although the last idea appeals to me the most, I suspect it is not as simple as all that.
Alexandra Kosteniuk offers a suggestion in the Tips section of her Chess Blitz Fever DVD:
Play with increments, get a better game.
(Meaning that time is added to your total remaining time after each move. 3 minute blitz games with 2 second increments are a popular choice)
It’s not really a surprise that this leads to a stronger play, as more time obviously lends itself to better quality.
Alexandra adds that the increments also allow the player that is ahead to finish off the opponent. Again, not really a surprise, but perhaps the solution I seek!
It wasn’t all that long ago that I posted about my new found love for 3:0 Blitz, but apparently my chess heart is fickle, as we are no longer seeing each other. I have a new chess love, with sexy increments and a stable personality, and I am missing fewer chunks of hair!
Thanks for the Images:
Franco Folini
superhua
rhoftonphoto
Missed Opportunity
Strategy Fiend: First Chess Video!
Why Play the Colle System?
Lady Blitz Too Wild to Love?
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Thank you!