Play Slower Games
Improvement comes from playing slow chess.
We've all been there, wondering why our chess isn't improving, why our Elo is stagnating. If you don't study endgames, don't learn what makes a square weak, or play the same stale opening lines you learned months or years ago without expanding your horizons, then it should come as no surprise that there's a ceiling to your abilities. In order to grow as a chess player and as a person, you need a few ingredients: exposure to new ideas, time to analyze those new ideas, and time to become accustomed to them.
Beyond a certain point, playing blitz on the toilet simply doesn't cut it anymore. If you're happy to just play for the fun of the game, then of course, play the way you like to. But if you're looking to improve, or if you're quietly frustrated that you're not improving, then maybe you need a new experience.
Exposure to New Ideas
Some players may be hesitant to abandon the openings they have learned previously. Learning a new opening comes with the theory of the main lines and the popular sidelines, but also traps and tactics to which you might fall prey if you're not extra vigilant. This can be disheartening, but is a necessary step if you wish to build upon your existing repertoire. Figuring out which openings lead to positions that "suit your playing style" (a term that might either make perfect sense or sound like complete gibberish) is an art in and of itself.
First, what does it mean for an opening to suit your playing style? While I wouldn't say I fully understand this term, I can say that there are openings that lead to middlegame positions where I feel uncomfortable; the board feels too big, too small, too empty, too crowded... Those are positions which I deem unsuited to my playing style.
Another aspect of playing unfamiliar lines that affects my repertoire is avoiding lines with rich tactical possibility. Why? Because I play too much blitz and do too few puzzles. If I did more puzzles, or played longer games, I would trust myself to find the right moves at the right times, and punish tactical mistakes by my opponents. But playing quick games, not fully focused, and lacking the tactical sharpness (or at least lacking faith in it), I steer clear of opening lines which might be just what I need. So, what should I do?
Give Yourself Time to Analyze
One answer is to do more puzzles so that tactical opportunities become semi-automatic processes in the brain. But another option is to play longer games. When I play rapid or classical games, I often find myself in positions I would never reach, or at least never appreciate, in blitz. Shuffling my pieces to provoke weaknesses in my opponent's position is something I am capable of doing, but I'm best at it in classical, I'm okay at it in rapid, but I never even consider that style of playing in blitz, even if the position demands it. Playing longer games allows me the time to appreciate and analyze the position and find resources I would never have spotted in fast-paced chess.
Puzzles are a core part of a chess player's training, as is endgame study, but once you've learned some general principles for opening and middlegame play, what you really need is time at the board to assess the situation, come up with plans, reject most of them, find your candidate moves, calculate the lines, and pick your best option. Playing rapid games (at least 15 minutes with some increment), or classical if you have the time, will allow you to play in ways that will surprise you if you're typically stuck playing bullet and blitz.
Give Yourself Time to Acclimate
Once you've started exploring different opening lines, different middlegame strategies, and playing longer time controls, give yourself some time to adjust to your new surroundings. Your first couple of rapid games might end in defeat while you still have 12 minutes on the clock because you're playing with what I call "blitz brain." If you play on intuition while your opponent has the time to analyze, strategize, and calculate, you're setting yourself up for a couple of embarrassing losses. Slow down, breathe, and go again.
New openings take time to learn, new time controls require you to alter your rhythm, and new strategies take time to solidify in your brain. Make the changes, yes, but don't expect an overnight transformation. Give yourself the time to become a different kind of chess player. At the end of the day, you'll be better for having done so.
Put Yourself to the Test
To help facilitate longer chess, I invite you all to come play in the DaggerChess February Warm-Up event on Saturday, February 21. This is a 7-round Swiss tournament with a time control of 15+5, putting to the test both your ability and your endurance. Join the club for more tournament opportunities in the future, including the DaggerChess Grand Prix (DCGP) starting in March. Feel free to suggest new tournament ideas or more optimal scheduling options to me in the comments or via DM.
I look forward to seeing you all there!
