Training
- Acquire a serious training partner — someone with whom you can share secrets and who will trade off 'tasks' like, "Play 1.e4 so I can practice my Sicilian Defense!" A good training partner is usually someone your age — a chess buddy … but a parent or sibling, your teacher or chess coach … even a computer program like Fritz or Chessmaster will also work. (When using a computer, you can adjust its strength … don't make it too weak — you won't end up with big muscles unless you lift heavy weights!)
- Decide before you start what it is you are trying to achieve in your training session. Common goals are notation practice, time management, and openings review. Be sure that you and you partner have each others goal in mind — sometimes, you can both work on goals at the same time. Other times, you simply take turns.
- After the session, take some time to debrief yourself and your partner, observers … or later, review the game with other players of equal or higher strength and, more importantly, with your coach.
- Train for upcoming events by playing serious, recorded games against your training partner using the same time controls that will be in force at the upcoming event. See Time Management, below.
If you don't have a clock, there are a few other options: either play at a steady pace (e.g. 30 seconds per move per player — approximating a G30 control; 45 seconds for G45, etc.) or by watching a wall clock, in which case each player times the opponent. If your chess-playing software features a clock, you might set up near your computer and use it to track time (using any time delay/add feature offered, and setting it to +10 to adjust for the awkward move-transfer procedure).
Time Management — EK
The upcoming state and national grade championships remind us that local scholastic players are far more used to the rapid G30 pace than to the G45 and G60 (at the State event) and G90 (at the Nationals). Austin Area students are simply not used to having or using the extra time effectively … time for deeper analysis, better judgment and careful decision making. How critical is this? Without proper time management preparation, several games are likely to be lost.
There is something that can be done about it. In the few weeks left before these events (and ever afterwards), serious and ambitious competitors should learn to apply some simple and effective means of self-discipline that will correct this problem.
Young players are inclined to rush through their games for a variety of reasons. Here is a solution: armed with a score sheet that provides a goal time for specific intervals, the student then tries to stay within the marks, but is allowed to vary according to the demands of the position. For example, if a known opening sequence can be played rapidly — the coach simply requires that, as soon as a move varies from a player's opening "book", a long pause should be taken to shift into a more thoughtful mode of consideration.
As the game progresses, the student should note the time elapsed on the clock versus the goal time on the score sheet. A quick comparison should help the student choose to either speed up or slow down accordingly. Afterwards, an analysis of the game using the training score sheet should help to determine the quality of play during each interval. This should provide evidence of the benefits of time management training … and improve results.
