Bullet Tips and Tricks
Some guy took "bullet chess" too seriously and made the chess pieces look like bullets. @guns.com

Bullet Tips and Tricks

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Hello everyone! As many of us have lots of free time now, we are spending lots of time playing live chess on chess.com. One of the most popular time controls is 1 minute bullet, and I decided that I'd make a little guide and how to win a bullet game. Unlike "actual chess", bullet encompasses many different skills that are crucial to know if you want to be a bullet beast!

1. Don't Think

Now this may sound a bit exaggerated, and when I say this I don't mean close your eyes and move your pieces randomly. When your opponent makes a move, your intuition immediately spots a move that you "think" is best. What I'm saying is just make that intuitive first move, and don't think after to see if your intuition is good or not. Playing more quickly means a better chance of winning. Let's look at the following position for an example of what I'm saying.

  
2. Time = #1 Priority!
Time is more important than anything in bullet. After all, you only have a minute each to play the game! So even if you're in a losing position, having more time means you have a better chance to hold on or even win the game! This brings us to the next tip:
 
3. NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER! NEVER SAY NEVER BUT SAY NEVER NOW! tongue.png
Because flagging your opponent creates the same result as checkmating him, in bullet there are two main factors: the position and time. So even if you are losing on the board, keep playing! You might be able to draw or win! Now this brings up to 2 minor topics within never giving up:

If you are trying to flag your opponent, CHECK HIM!
Keep Sufficient Material on the Board

4. Repeat moves

Sometimes, if you can forcefully repeat a set of moves before continuing, do so! You can premove while your opponent won't be expecting you to just repeat once and then move on, giving you a slight time advantage. 

5. Push pawns to avoid repetition

Let's say both you and your opponent have 10 seconds left on the clock, and you repeated the position once or twice. How can you make sure you're not going to draw by 3-fold repetition? Move a pawn. This changes the position, and you can be absolutely sure that any 3-fold repetitions will not occur anytime soon. happy.png

Thanks for reading everyone, I hope you enjoyed this blog post! Let me know in the comments if you improved by using these tips, or if you have more than I've missed. Until next time! happy.png happy.png happy.png

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