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July 19, 2012

The triumph of doing nothing

I couldn't resist sharing this chess game from the ICC 5 minute pool.

This Olegas guy is a blitz beast, who was ranked #2 at the time of this game.  I have been on a hot streak lately and being rated ~2400 is really above my true level.  And ~2700 is ridiculously high rated for the 5 minute pool.

Anyway, I was deflated when I saw my opponent for this game.  No chance to win.  I went for a strictly defense strategy.  "I know I can't beat you, but can you beat me?"  Keeping the balance is a legitimate strategy for a slow moving game like chess.  Backgammon is too fast paced for that to work.  Strike first and take the initiative are absolute musts in backgammon. 

This trying not to win strategy can be especially effective at blitz.  You tend to spend more clock time trying to press and win, compared to trying to hold the balanc and not do too much.

Enjoy.

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