How to Improve at Blitz Chess: Play Direct and Forcing Moves (Part 2)

Blitz chess is a fast-paced game where the clock is just as important as the moves you play.
To succeed, you need to play aggressively and stay in control.
Winning Blitz games is often about playing direct moves and forcing your opponent to react.
Forcing moves—such as checks, captures, and threats—help you create pressure.
If you can play actively while keeping your pieces safe, you’ll have the upper hand.

Why Direct and Forcing Moves Matter

Blitz chess rewards players who make quick and clear decisions.
Direct chess means looking for moves that have an immediate impact, like attacking your opponent’s king or creating threats.
Forcing moves limit your opponent’s options and force them to react to your plans.
Even in a long Blitz game, if you play actively and keep your pieces safe from blunders, you’ll be in a strong position.
Forcing moves help you take control of the game and make it harder for your opponent to execute their ideas.

How to Improve Your Tactics

1. Practice Puzzle Storm on Lichess
Puzzle Storm is a fantastic way to improve your tactical skills in a short amount of time.
This feature gives you a series of quick puzzles that become harder as you go.
The goal is to solve as many puzzles as possible within a time limit.
By practicing Puzzle Storm regularly, you’ll get better at spotting tactical patterns like forks, pins, and discovered attacks.

2. Solve "Domination" Puzzles
Domination puzzles focus on controlling key squares and limiting your opponent’s pieces.
These puzzles help you learn how to trap pieces or create positions where your opponent has no good moves.
This skill is very useful in Blitz chess because it teaches you how to control the game.
When you can dominate your opponent’s pieces, you make it harder for them to create counterplay.

The Importance of Central Control

In Blitz chess, having control of the center often makes your games easier to play.
A strong center allows your pieces to move freely and gives you many attacking options.
Building a big pawn center or controlling the center with your pieces gives you an advantage in speed and clarity.
However, when your opponent has a strong center, you need to find ways to counter it.
Learn how to challenge their center with pawn breaks like ...c5, ...f5, or ...e5, depending on the position.
This creates dynamic positions and opens up opportunities for counterattacks.

Play Simple Systems in the Opening

In Blitz, it’s important to play openings that you know well.
This saves time in the early part of the game and helps you get a good position quickly.
Choose simple and reliable systems that are easy to remember.
For White: The Scotch Game is an excellent choice. It allows you to develop quickly and open the position for attacking chances.
For Black: The Queen’s Indian Defense is a solid system that gives you a strong position against many openings.
It focuses on controlling the center and preparing counterplay.

You can see a good example game here :
https://youtu.be/5aor2UXXcUE

Thank you,
Loris

Contact :
lorischesstrainer@gmail.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3gImwzkpccVD3G2_MYGCug