Perpetual Bullet Grind — Crossing 1500

If you look at many players' statistics, you will find that there is often a big gap between their Bullet rating and their Rapid (because chess.com does not have Classical) rating. That is because there is a fundamental difference between the two time controls. Classical requires calculation, while Bullet, well, I hope this image describes a Bullet game:

And in this chaotic time control, on 24 November 2022, I successfully got my rating to 1500. So for the second post in my Perpetual Bullet Grind series, I will be showcasing every game I played on 24 November. I only played 6 that day, and got to 1500 on the first one, so I will be showing some games I played from a previous attempt. Many of you thought that my last PBG post, with 17 games, was too long, so I took some advice from @Lightning and decided to include only a few games from 20 November. It isn't what I would normally do, as I want to showcase all games in a grind, but I have no better ideas. I ask that you tell me what you think about the length of this post. Now, here is how I got 1500 through the chaos:

Game One: Time's Impact On Calculation

The first game I will be showing was one that I played after a series of wins and losses, leaving me between 1470 and 1490. I was now at 1487, and had just won a game, so I needed 2 more wins to get to 1500. So here's how this game went:

Ok, that was a chaotic game. I made a lot of tactical miscalculations, after winning due to Opening Theory, but I just thought too fast and it almost destroyed me. But in the end, it was the lack of time that converted this game from a win to a draw. This game shows the impact that the lack of time can have a game, and the ensuing contrast between Bullet and other time controls. No wonder people don't consider it real Chess.

Game Two: Anything Can Happen

The second game from 20 November that I will be showing happened 2 games after the first one I showed, with the 2 games being wins. I was now 1498, so if I win this game, I will become a 1500. So did I win and achieve that rating?

That was a game that shows how anything can happen. I was completely losing, but managed to get a stalemate. The endgame requires calculation even in Classical, but in Bullet, there is simply no time to calculate, and that was what allowed me to get a Draw instead of a Loss. But still, it wasn't a win, and so I didn't get to 1500 from this game. Time to continue.

Game Three: Always Look For Attacks

After that game, I had a loss, which brought me down to 1489. This game was my attempt to get back up to 1490 and avoid a tilt. So did I do that, or was a tilt incoming?

I would say that that was a dynamic game, with both sides finding attacks. One thing to learn from this game is that if you can attack, you should attack, and you should always be looking for attacks. While you shouldn't look for too long, if you frequently attack (such as constantly threatening the Queen or King), you can often regain the time advantage lost by looking. This was the last game I played that day.

Game Four: Attacks Vs Time

On 24 November, I resumed my attempt to get to 1500. Once again, if I won one game, I would achieve my goal. So did I win?

For that game, I was losing, until my opponent got really low on time. Then, the time pressure turned it into a win for me. A takeaway from this game is that if you attack, you need to keep attacking, or your opponent can surprise attack you and turn it all around. My opponent had good attacks, but thought too much instead of just attacking more, and that was the blunder.

Game Five: The Dangers Of Distance

Having just got 1500, I decided to play another game, hoping for a win, so that I would have a bigger safety net in case I tilted. It was a gamble. Did I win, or fall below 1500?

And now, I am back to being below 1500. The main reason I lost this game was due to not seeing the long range attacks, or the move 17... e5, which would prevent 18. Qh7#. A takeaway from this is that long range attacks are important. I already went over how the Long Diagonal can be used to attack the Castled King, and in Bullet, such threats can go unnoticed, making that tactic even more effective.

Game Six: Attacks Must Be Continued

Now that I was back to being U1500, I decided to play another game to get back to a 1500 rating. If I win, I will be 1500 again, but if I lose, it will be harder to get back. This is going to be intense...

Ok, that was an interesting game. We both had attacks, and threats. What I would say I did wrong was thought too fast, and didn't see the checkmate. At the very least, I should have given more checks, even if there was no forced M2, so that my opponent could not check or checkmate me. Talk about a sudden reversal of the eval.

Game Seven: Capture At Your Own Risk

I probably should have stopped playing at this point in order to avoid a tilt. But I decided to play another one, in the hope of regaining my lost rating. So did I win, or was I just going to tilt?

Finally, a win. That game saw a lot of hanging pieces, and some blunders that couldn't be detected due to the time pressure. A takeaway from this is to set up attacks early on, and then offer pieces as sacrifices to gain an advantage, such as taking the Queen or another valuable piece, as your opponent won't have time to calculate what happens if they accept. Goes to show how different the game is when you don't have the option to calculate moves.

Game Eight: Attack At Your Own Risk

One more win, and I could get back to 1500. So of course I ended up playing the person who I had lost to in Game Six (though I wasn't paying attention to the names at the time). I lost then. Would I lose now, or get my revenge?

For that game, what I would say it shows is the importance of opening the files up. I opened one side the h-file when I took the Bishop, and then by taking my Pawn and then trading Rooks, my opponent opened the other side, and that was what allowed me to start attacking, take the Queen, and get an advantage. Opposite-side Castling games are more dynamic, as they allow for open files, something which should be considered for Bullet.

Game Nine: Trade Before You Attack

So now I was back to 1500, but once again, I wanted to widen my safety net in case of a loss, so I decided to play one more game. Just like in Game Five, if I lost, I would be back to below 1500. The stakes are high.

That game was a fiasco. I was losing for a lot of it. I was often down in Material and didn't really have any attacks. I only won because I had more time, and that turned things around in the end. Here, now 1510, I stopped playing for the day.

Final Thoughts

The main takeaway from these games, in my opinion, is the importance of long-range attacks, both attacks of the Rook and Bishop. Due to the long range, these attacks can be a surprise, and surprise attacks are very important in Bullet, as they can almost completely turn the game around. To set up long-range attacks, develop your Bishops and Rooks early, and try to open any files you can. This does tie into Opposite Side vs Same Side Castling, which, like everything else is a different debate in Bullet, and I might blog about that soon. But for now, attack, and then keep attacking, or your opponent can surprise attack you and win.

Conclusion

This is the second post in my Perpetual Bullet Grind series, and for this one, I was just experimenting with the length. I again ask you that if you liked the length of this blog, or if you thought it was too long or too short, to say so in the comments, so I can refine my number of games for my next post. This was also my first thumbnail made in Pixlr, so I would like any feedback on that.

As to what I have planned next, I don’t have that many ideas. I do plan to continue blogging about Bullet, but beyond that, I really am not sure what to do. In order to keep blogging consistently, I might just start discussing other elements of blogging or clubs, so give me feedback if you want a club blog or a blog on blogging. I might also do Part Two to my Questioning Bloggers series in the coming months. I plan to apply for Top Blogger sometime in early 2023, and to enter BlogChamps Season 2, so it will be interesting to see what happens in the future.

Hope you enjoyed the games

— @ChessPawn921