Instruction / Clock Use
Similarly, after moving, rather than always visiting other games, leaving the tournament area, eating, or daydreaming, use enough of your opponent’s time to prepare for your own next moves. Every thing else equal, you will conserve on time. If you always have more time left than your opponent does, you should never time forfeit.
If permissible, occasionally stand be hind, not straight behind, your opponent, to see as your opponent sees. Also occasionally stand to either side, especially if prone to miss lateral moves.
(5) Management Throughout a Game’s Phases Record the time elapsed and/or remaining on each side, occasionally or for every move. After the game, construct two horizontal bar charts, one for each side, showing time elapsed for each move or group of consecutive moves. On each chart, draw a vertical line at each time control time and at the time when the number of moves for that time control was met.
Ascertain the causes of the largest chart segments by replaying the game to those points. For example, large chart segments might result from incited plausible alternatives and/or criticalities, requiring extended analyses. At the earliest opportu nity, according to the evidence, change your behavior to become more time productive.
(6) Managing Competing/Conflicting De mands Pace yourself. Suppose x minutes re main for y remaining moves and you spend x* minutes on the first of those moves. Then x – x* minutes maximum (hereafter max) remain for y – 1 moves.
Such fundamental constraints induce budgeting.
Practice budgeting on pre-recorded games, whether yours or others’. If you like White flawlessly winning, then the “Soli taire Chess” series may suffice. For the older FIDE standard of 11
⁄2 hours
for 40 moves, you could budget 15 minutes (20 minutes max) for the first 10 moves, 35 minutes (40 minutes max) for the next 20 moves, 25 minutes (30 minutes max) for the last 10 moves. Also see Botvinnik’s rule on time management: “For a normal opening, take about 20 percent of your time for your first 15 moves.”
Such a budget would guide an actual budget. If your opponent plays an opening for which you are not particularly familiar, then you could flex to, say, 20 minutes (25 minutes maximum), 35 minutes (40 min utes maximum), 20 minutes (25 minutes maximum), respectively. Consider synthesizing different budgets for different games, but don't ignore budgeting entirely.
(7) Miscellaneous Advice Michael Ong, Jr. of the Chess Palace in Garden Grove, Califonia, recommends Fritz (latest version is now available), especially the “gage meter” for determining critical positions and the opening database for preparing opening lines. Delve into Andy Soltis’ “Chess To Enjoy” and Gary Kevin Ware’s
ChessProblem.net. Solve positions from Pal Benko’s former “End game Lab” column. Analyze positions of six or less men with Chess Shredder’s Endgame Database. Play variants like Crazyhouse Kriegspiel to think outside the box. Conduct such activities under time pressure.
EXAMPLES OF TIME-CONTROL-DOMINATING GAMES “What time management advice results from your own tournament games?” the conversation resumed.
“I wasn't ever in any time trouble. But never underestimate or overestimate your opponent. If your opponent is in time trouble and you are not, unless your opponent’s clock is down to a few seconds, I don’t recommend necessarily mimicking your opponent’s induced fast moves, trying to force a forfeit. Such an opponent may well have already experienced time trouble repeatedly. Dan Heisman, who, in “Novice Nook” and elsewhere, argues the opposite point that there are four instances with too much time left on the clock for every instance of too little, nevertheless antici pated my thoughts. See Heisman’s March 17, 2013 article “Playing Fast in Oppo nent’s Time Pressure” and Jonathan Rowson’s The Seven Deadly Chess Sins.
Pace yourself Randy Gilliland (1641) David Dana-Bashian (1530) Fort Wayne Classic (4), Fort Wayne, Indiana 12
⁄3 /40, 15 July 1973
dxc4, lessening the pressure on e6.
34. Kg2 f4 35. Rxe6 f3+ 36 Kh1 Rf6 37. Rxe7+ Kg6 38. R2e6 Rhf8 39. Rxf6+ Rxf6 40. Re6 Qa1 41. Rxf6+ Qxf6 42. Qxf6+ Kxf6 43. Nd2 dxc4 44. bxc4, Black resigned.
Before that game I had never
played an opponent in time trouble who was perpetually so. Randy Gilliland apparently always escaped forfeit.
“Instead pace yourself. Seek
AFTER WHITE’S 33RD MOVE Black, though not in time
trouble, attempts to increase the pressure on White (who still had a few minutes left before time control) by moving quicker. He inaccurately plays:
33 … Qd4+ ? Black lives longer after 33. …
42 February 2014 | Chess Life
more com plicated positions (that you can handle). Avoid exchanges, wherein your opponent has little to consider.”
Don’t delay!
George Kvakovszky (1896) David Dana-Bashian (1575) Lafayette Spectacular (2), Lafayette, Indiana 2/45, 9 February 1974
AFTER BLACK’S 38TH MOVE
White had consumed an unnecessarily long time before making his third move and now had only a few seconds before time control. (Morals: (1) Make up your mind before beginning a game how you’re generally going to proceed; (2) If you know what you’re going to play, don’t unnecessarily delay moving.)
39. e6
But this advance opens the a1-h8 diagonal. 39. ... Qf6
Black sheds the d2-pawn to
threaten mate in three and defend against 40. e7.
40. Rxd2 Black, not in any time
trouble, has three options: (a) conduct a deeper analysis of the position before moving; (b) settle for an endgame by checking and exchanging the rooks and queens on d2, dropping the bishop back to c6 then to e8 the next move, then swinging the king into action; (c) aim for at least a draw, if
possible a win, by checking (not perpetually) White a little quicker, pouncing if White should misstep, postponing any deeper analysis until after time control at move 45. Option (a) allows White to
think on Black’s clock. Option (b) implies White can breeze out of time trouble by making the forced moves. So Black takes option (c).
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