I am a beginner at chess and I would like to ask if there is bluffing in chess.
Chess is a game of complete information. There are no hidden pieces in the game. However, there are people who claim that there is bluffing in chess. Is that true? Does this happen in high level games? How often does it happen?
Thanks.
Yes
one may try a swindle and i've done it in the past when my back was to the wall.
it happens x% of the time.
bluffing in chess is an art and from what i've seen in this thread ... no way am i revealing my secrets!!!
cross my palm with silver!
I see your b6 and raise: Bd5!
I see your b6 and raise: Bd5!
Can you see my bluff?
He he he, that's how good it is!
In otb chess, I played a move that at first glance appeared to be a blunder, but was really a trap. I jumped out of my chair in disgust ,with many sighs,mumbled curses, and a long, sad face. My opponent immediately reached for the "blundered piece". When he was about 2 inches from touching it, he suddenly stopped and pulled his hand back. After further consideration he saw the trap. This was a bluff in every sense of the word. Later on after the game I thought long and hard about my bluff. Was this proper etiquette? I think it was not proper and have never done it again. What do you think? Proper or not Proper?
Botvinnik claimed Smsylov tried bluffing him once by coming back to the bd when it was his move, moving very quickly and then walking away again - I guess implying that he had an ironclad win or draw (which as it turns out he didn't). Botvinnik did not use the term "bluffing" (or at least the translator didn't) but actually said it was a cheap trick on Smyslov's part, but it does sound like a form of bluffing to me.
In otb chess, I played a move that at first glance appeared to be a blunder, but was really a trap. I jumped out of my chair in disgust ,with many sighs,mumbled curses, and a long, sad face. My opponent immediately reached for the "blundered piece". When he was about 2 inches from touching it, he suddenly stopped and pulled his hand back. After further consideration he saw the trap. This was a bluff in every sense of the word. Later on after the game I thought long and hard about my bluff. Was this proper etiquette? I think it was not proper and have never done it again. What do you think? Proper or not Proper?
It could have disturbed your opponent or someone else, and was a bit over the top besides
How not to bluff:
lol, I've seen that video many times. He makes it so obvious how upset he is... or perhaps he is trying to lead Anand on?
You can bluff, although I don't really bother. Generally, acting like you "blundered a piece," even though you actually want them to take it because it's a trap, is extremely unlikely to be convincing beyond beginner level. And even if they did think you blundered, they are going to check if it is a trap anyway.
I'm really more of a purist... I generally don't care to get involved with all of the psychological warfare. If I get up out of my seat, it's because I genuinely want to relax temporarily. And I only offer a draw when I think all of the play is drained, not to put psychological pressure on my opponent. What I will do however is insist on not giving signs of resignation. As others have said, if I know I made a blunder, I will try to act completely normal, or if I have a bad position, I will still act like everything is under control.
Me too. If they want to play games, that's fine, they can make faces or moan or screw in pieces or whatever, but the only thing I'm interested in is the board. If your moves beat mine then congrats. If you want to waste energy on making faces and wondering how I may interpret them that's totally up to you lol.
lol, I've seen that video many times. He makes it so obvious how upset he is... or perhaps he is trying to lead Anand on?
No it's a blitz game (5 minutes each) and he really does throw away a winning position when he allows Anand a relatively simple tactic which attacks two pieces at once.
IDK I sometimes bluff if I want to.
Back in my 1500-1600 rated days my dad could always guess what was happening on the board based on how I moved my arms. If I was losing or my opponent made a move I would be thinking. My face would be tense and my hands would be on my forehead, or maybe thinking. If I was bored my hand would be on my cheek, sort of slumping to one side. If I was winning I would walk around. Usually I do the right things..In a complex position I just refill my water cup and walk around..
For example in one game I hung a piece within like 15 moves but I won that game. How? I got some water, washed my face, and started counterattacking.
Nowadays I play up, requires more thinking, truly a challenge. These tricks I use can certainly help.
When Fischer wrote his famous article on "The Ten Best Chessplayers of All Time," in the section on Spassky he noted that Boris had the best poker face in chess: "His expression never changes; you can never tell if he just blundered a piece or started a fantastically deep combination."
To the extent that bluffing exists in chess, it is mainly in the opening with move orders, and often based on the players' personal histories. The sort of bluffing that goes on at lower levels is just crude attempts to deceive, and rarely works.
Hey!!! excuse me!!
One thing I sometimes do to bluff is to make a seeminly quiet move (like h3) really fast. When you move quickly like that, your opponent sometimes thinks that he fell into a trap, and may use too much time looking for "ghosts".