Decision Making in Bughouse

The decision making in bughouse is prolly where the most players fail. In a bughouse game you must make like 10 important discions in average. To make good decisions you must be able to predict what your partner going to do. So make no mistake this post won't help you much in the chess.com's random pool. 

We all love to attack and mate aren't we?  But for a good attack you need pieces in hand right? So what will happen if both of you ask for pieces? Can you trade and attack the same time? In most positions you just can't do that. So one of you must feed the other one and abandon his attack. Otherwise you both keep asking for pieces and sitting you both go down time and lose.  

Should i abandon my attack and start supporting my partner?

This is a hard one.

Like most deicions in bughouse it must be done very fast.

Make sure to check the clocks. If your opponent can sit your partner's attack is unlikely to succeed. 

Check his board and consider which one of you has more dangerous attack. 

Consider who can provide the needed flow for the other board which will lead to mate.

Consider if your partner can get you anything at all without dying. Often in bughouse positions are very sharp and if you miss just one tempo you are dead. In such positions you can't really ask for anything but support your partner instead.

Consider if there is a huge rating difference between you and your partner. Attacking on the low board is usually very bad idea. Imagine a match between 2500+1800 vs 2500+1800. If the 1800 attacks he will sac material. He will think how to approach the position. He will be sloppy missing mates and so. While his partner will be down time, down material and in worse position against a 2500 opp. He will get slaughtered very fast. 

Should i blitz or sit for pieces?

Here i will try to evaluate time in pieces value.

I would say 3 seconds uptime are equal to a pawn, 6 seconds = piece and 12 seconds = queen.

This might feel scary for you to imagine while your clock is ticking it's like someone taking your pieces without even moving. But it's just like that.

So should i sit 5 seconds for a pawn that will win a piece for a pawn? Not worthed. 

Everyone will sit for a piece that mates, but it is really hard to recognize a moment when a certain piece will give you dominant position for a long time likely the rest of the game.

Should i blitz or think to find a strong move?

I am not talking about sits.

In bughouse in most situations you just can't think, however there are some where you must think!

The most important is when you have good attack and the other board is calm and your partner is maintaining position.

This is a good time to take some time to find the best moves on how to mate or to threat mate. 

If your partner is in bad shape you just can't think. 

Should i attack or defend?

Тhis is not about your partner and when you need to support him.

This is when you have a sharp position both ways, but neither of you nor your opp has enough to mate. 

As always consider the clocks, consider what's comming, but generally in my experience if you don't have mate secure your own king. People tend to attack way too much. You have to understand that not always you need to mate your opp in order to win. Often living is good enough! 

If your partner have a superior position you don't need to pull something off on your board.

Just maintain your position. 

Should i sacrifice my position to support my partner's attack?

This is where most bughouse players find their death

As always consider the clocks as i said before if your opp can sit it's unlikely your partner's attack to succeed.

Can you get enough to your partner before dying?

Consider the strenght of your opponent. If he is very strong he will kill you very fast. 

Consider your own blitzing skills and tactical vision.

Don't commit if you can't get enough. Let's say your partner mates with B+N and you are 5 secs up. Don't sac your queen for the N unless you can trap a bishop few moves after.

My general advice is if you are not very experienced player DO NOT sacrifice your position for your partner's attack. 

I hope you will find this post useful.