The Snowball Effect: How to Use Tilt to Your Advantage

It's a common story, one that we have all experienced. We're winning a game in some way, but we lose to a silly blunder, time, or simply stalemate. We become extremely frustrated, and all we can think about is the lost rating and start a new game. We then start losing game after game, and soon, we're down 57 points of rating.

However, did you know you can use tilt to your advantage? Especially in the faster time controls of chess (rapid, blitz, bullet...) our performance can vary wildly depending on certain

external factors, like mood and emotion. Just like we tilt backwards, there is also good tilt. Both of these are known as the Snowball Effect.

What is the Snowball Effect?

Imagine a snowball rolling down the hill. It starts quite small, but as it rolls down the hill, becoming larger and larger, gaining more and more momentum, until finally it hits something and explodes. 

Now imagine tilt. It at first starts as a single game, with just a few rating points lost. But, we want to recuperate our points, so we keep playing. We keep losing more and more points until finally, we win a game down 200 points of rating. This is known as the Sunk Cost Fallacy. The Sunk Cost Fallacy, also known as the Gambler's Fallacy, is when people get the belief that something that isn't working will work, especially since they have already invested time and effort into it. However, more often than not, it is more beneficial to abandon the endeavor rather than to keep it going. This is a common problem faced by gamblers. They keep gambling until they hit it big, often losing huge amounts of money and going bankrupt. 

However, this can be used in our favor. Just like there is negative tilt, there is positive tilt. When you win a game, your mood improves, you start thinking clearer, and soon, you win game after game finding amazing move after amazing move, just like our snowball analogy. Soon, you've gained 50 points. However, eventually, you will lose a game. Your snowball has now impacted and exploded. It is time to stop playing. Otherwise, you will start tilting back to where you started.

Important Things to Remember

• Rating is just a number: This can't be emphasized enough. So many people quit because they can't get their rating up. Remember, at the end of the day, it's a game that is meant to be enjoyed.
• Your Rating Will Go Back Up After Tilt: You just had that skill a few days ago. I have tilted 150+ points, only to rebound 300+ points. 
• If you keep losing, play less, study more: Studying usually helps me reach my next milestone. When I hit a milestone, I stop playing, study for a few days, and try to raise my rating to the next milestone.

Conclusion:

In this article, we looked at the psychology behind tilt. However, tilt doesn't necessarily have to be one directional. You can also use tilt to go up the ladder of rating.