5 Bughouse Tips for Ambitious Challengers
Here are a few tips for anyone playing in the challengers section of the 2024 bughouse world championship happening right now.
1) Handle Long Bishop Moves with Care
How could Bg5 be bad? That dark squared bishop is the only minor piece on the board which can defend Black's most vulnerable square.
It's not like all of White's moves were forcing. However, the resulting position is a bit dangerous for White, who is beginning to look vulnerable on the dark squares.
Bg5 isn't losing. But try to appreciate the problems that can arise and snowball from routine moves. I often see that Bg5-type moves as the beginning of unnecessary difficulties.
2) Quieten Your Killing Instinct
Stop trying to win. For the first dozen or so moves, just try to get as much juice out of the position. That means developing as many pieces as you can, and then thinking about controlling important squares. Bughouse is fundamentally about the control of squares.
Most players are hyper-aggressive, with pieces on the back rank, forever in need of pieces from their partner. Make your partner's game easy by only needing the trades your partner wants to send.
If you feel like you need trades, but you have minor pieces which are unmoved, you should be asking what went wrong.
3) Don't Go Fishing When Your House is on Fire
White has been defending against early sacrifices. Black is underdeveloped, but White's position is a bit shaky.
This move isn't losing. And White won this game. But the plan of kicking the knight away, just to go Bxc7, is too slow, and it makes the win messy. Instead...
Moves like this make it harder for your opponent to get lucky. Keep your opponent's windows of opportunity small. If White plays Qe2 first, the pawn at b5 will be even stronger later.
4) Make Gentle Threats and Hover Ominously
If you can find moves like Rb1, you can continue pushing your opponent, asking difficult questions. "I can find good moves without perfect piece flow--can you?" You are sending the ball back into your opponent's side.
This knight drop may not win any material. But you can force Black to play something awkward to defend the g7 square. And the knight can still do good things.
5) Speed is Important, but not Fundamental
Bughouse players train their habits. Some players practice speed, which can be double-edged. You may get up on the clock, but at what cost? You may hang pieces, or even play too fast for your partner. Sometimes unnecessarily fast play ruins partner coordination.
Some players who practice speed also practice impatience. It's not so much that they've chosen to be fast, as much as it is that they've become habituated to premoving. Instead of looking for improvements after games, they shrug and hit "new game". A few minutes of reflection will increase your strength, and increase your winning chances.
Bughouse demands speed, but it can also fuel impulsiveness and haste. Some players play so fast that they miss simple things. A minute and a half of premoving just to be dead lost at the critical moment, when a few extra seconds of thinking would have won the game. This click-happy approach to bughouse can place a barrier on improvement. And yes, bughouse is played for fun, but the interest in any chess-like game doesn't lie in the visuals or in the mouse-clicking--but in the meaning. The more meaningful the moves are, the more fun bughouse is. Don't lean too much on speed.
There are many more blogs and videos on bughouse. If you balance play and study, you can become strong. If you have questions, I can probably help. Good luck!
