“I know how to find the correct moves…even in the most complex positions when I’m analyzing at home. HOWEVER, I can’t seem to find these moves during an actual game!”
I’m pretty sure the above scenario made you pull your hairs out. You see, I have been there. Given enough time, you can find the best move. The problem is that in an actual game, you don’t have unlimited time. In a real game, the clock is ticking – and you need to move as quickly as you can or you run the risk of losing on time.
Let’s see how different chess authors have approached this problem:
A lot of chess books, courses, etc. out there provide different information on how to find the best move in chess, different answers to the question: how can I improve my chess. Rules to keep in mind, imbalances, principles, etc. and those are just to name a few.
While these chess improvement ideas will prove useful in the long run, they make things more difficult for the improving player. You need to think about a lot of things in a very short time frame!
Do you take advantage of the semi open b-file? What about that weak isolated e-pawn? And what should you do about the pieces hovering at your kingside? Should you play actively and try to use your extra material to win faster? Or should you keep your cool…play passively and win in the endgame?
So many considerations with so little time.
Here’s something worth remembering: It’s NOT enough to have a good knowledge of chess fundamentals. You should know how to apply this knowledge QUICKLY!
Strong players do this every time they sit and play chess.
You should know how to budget your time before the game even starts!
I’m sure you know this. BUT have you made a conscious effort to budget your time? Most of you would say yes. BUT let me ask you this: how long should you think for a standard game with slow time controls (2 hours/game)? What about during a 30 minute game?
If you can’t give a concrete answer, then that means you have NOT made any effort to budget your time…a neglected facet of chess improvement. It’s about time we give some focus to it.
On average, a game is composed of 40 moves or so. There are times when you play a miniature – 25 moves or less (I just hope you are not always on the receiving end of it) and there are games where you slug it out with your opponent for more than 50 moves. HOWEVER, 40 moves is the rough average.
With that in mind, if you only have 2 hours for the whole game, that’s 120 minutes/40 moves = 3 minutes per move. The standard time control nowadays, which is 90 minutes with additional 30 seconds ever move, gives you about 3 minutes per move as well.
3 minutes per move – that’s all you’ve got. There are times when you need to think longer especially if the position is razor sharp. BUT always keep the 3 minute average in mind. While this is only an approximate, keeping this in mind AT ALL TIMES will save you from time trouble.
On the next part of this series, I will be discussing 5 principles that will help you manage your time and stave off time scramble.
Want to know how to think like the pros and find the best move QUICKLY? Want to learn the REAL path to chess improvement? World renowned chess coach GM Igor Smirnov has spilled the beans! His course – The Grandmaster’s Secrets, shows you how to improve your chess step by step!
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