When the game is tense calculation becomes embarrassingly bad. Help?

Sort:
Avatar of basketstorm
GooseChess wrote:
TheSonics wrote:

Ah thx yes it's helps and indeed 30+ 0 is a chaotic format it's best to avoid tbh it's like looking at a false mirror if u put in this amount of time better incriment but the incriment pool is actually stronger players too

I wouldn't avoid non increment. Increment just hides the same problem, you tell yourself the loss was blundering the rook on move 50 and not the deep think that caused the time trouble that caused the blunder. Non increment can teach you to manage your time, even in increment games.

Increment players are all strong until they get under 20 seconds, they just usually aren't punished because the other player it either low as well, or start blitzing moves trying to 'win on time' when they should squeeze the position.

Opponents try to win on time too so what. Increments give more equality in chances and make Blitz less frustrating in general and add fun. Btw FIDE conducts games with increments only for Blitz (3|2). Increments are fair because you have to move your hand physically, push the clock button etc. With computer UI you still have to deal with mouse or touchpad, they aren't always accurate. So without increments you are punished not just for slow thinking and this isn't fair.

As for 20 seconds, under 20 or even less seconds increments are still comfortable, as you don't always need very deep thinking in end games.

Avatar of GooseChess
basketstorm wrote:

Opponents try to win on time too so what. Increments give more equality in chances and make Blitz less frustrating in general and add fun. Btw FIDE conducts games with increments only for Blitz (3|2). Increments are fair because you have to move your hand physically, push the clock button etc. With computer UI you still have to deal with mouse or touchpad, they aren't always accurate. So without increments you are punished not just for slow thinking and this isn't fair.

As for 20 seconds, under 20 or even less seconds increments are still comfortable, as you don't always need very deep thinking in end games.

They both have their time and place. Needing to consider time is why some prefer non increment. You need to predict how long the game will be and act accordingly, or even influence it longer or shorter depending on the situation. With increment this is less important. Still playing non increment I think can help with increment.

Avatar of jamiejohn09

When the game gets tense, it’s completely normal for calculations to feel shaky. What helps is slowing down your thought process: pick two or three candidate moves and really visualize the responses before committing. Don’t rush just because the position feels sharp. Also, practicing tactics every day trains your brain to stay calm under pressure, so when you face a tense moment in a real game, the patterns feel more familiar. Over time, this makes your calculation steadier and less stressful.

Avatar of pfren

This is an interesting game (and yes, there were multiple errors by both sides).

IMO the bad moves played mostly come out of poor understanding of the positional needs of the game. Neither side played with a concrete plan, so they were chasing ghosts.

If interested, I can throw in a lengthy (likely VERY lengthy) analysis, which will probably focus on things that were NOT what bothered you when playing and analysing. It's been a long time since I looked at such a game, so this is some kind of challenge to me.

The cost will be $ 0.00 plus 812% VAT.

Avatar of jon-burner

When the game gets tense, it’s easy for calculations to go off. A useful tool is to focus on just two or three candidate moves and visualize responses carefully before deciding. Daily tactics practice also acts as a tool to build pattern recognition and calm thinking under pressure, making your calculations more reliable in real games. For reflecting on personal experiences and thought processes, this unsent project provides an interesting tool for capturing thoughts you haven’t expressed elsewhere and I was reading something on TodayNest recently about how stress and time pressure can affect focus and decision-making, which gave me some ideas on how to slow down and think more clearly during tricky positions.

Avatar of TheSonics
pfren wrote:

This is an interesting game (and yes, there were multiple errors by both sides).

IMO the bad moves played mostly come out of poor understanding of the positional needs of the game. Neither side played with a concrete plan, so they were chasing ghosts.

If interested, I can throw in a lengthy (likely VERY lengthy) analysis, which will probably focus on things that were NOT what bothered you when playing and analysing. It's been a long time since I looked at such a game, so this is some kind of challenge to me.

The cost will be $ 0.00 plus 812% VAT.

Bro! I'm sorry I missed your reply, haven't logged on in a while!

Of course I would love any advice and it's an honor that an IM even read my post

I'm sure I can benefit from any type of analysis although the aim of the post was learning ways to calculate better under stress (after the position has gone "out of control", but suddenly, a win presents itself).

Of course the positional aspects can correlate to tactical so, whenever you have time I'd be more than happy