If you have examples from your own games of this concept, please share! Always looking for more ways to royally p*ss off opponents
The BEST chess advice I was ever given
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Hi all! Finally playing regular chess again after adjusting to my 9-5 work schedule. It's been a bit different, but I feel like I'm making progress which is great. Had success in a recent ECF tournament, and have even started playing Rapid again (which I didn't have time for at uni).
It's really nice to be playing chess for the love of the game again, too, and I've been diving into adapting my opening repertoire to better match the playing style I've developed over the last few years.
Discovering the love of the game again, though, has also reminded me of the best piece of chess advice I ever got (courtesy of my wonderful coach, @Madalien2 ):
"Make your opponent hate chess."
Whatever the position, make them hate chess. Winning? Beat them in the most brutal and efficient manner, hammer home how much better you are than them. Losing? Be annoying, don't resign. Don't lie there and take it. Create chaos, make them work to prove they know how to win. Let me show you two recent examples:
Game 1 - Winning? Make them hate chess!
Leaving the opening fairly equal, my opponent tried a scary but unsound sacrifice. I defended quickly, and was immediately able to win further material as he desperately tried to attack, getting his queen trapped in the process. Up material, it would be simple enough to trade into an endgame. But why bother when you can completely brutalize the position immediately?
Game 2 - Losing? Make them hate chess!
Despite my early dominant position, I took my foot of the pedal and found myself completely losing. Defending as long as I could, I suddenly realised what my opponent had forgotten: Everyone is rubbish at checkmating with just knight and bishop! So I sacrificed my remaining pieces for his pawns, and made him prove he could work it out in the time he had left. He could not.
(BONUS CONTENT)
The other great advice she gave me relates to the opening - if your opponent has deviated from the lines you know, do have a quick look to see if there's a reason why people haven't played it against you before...
Game 3 - I didn't know the opening theory, but the idea is the same as if they had blundered h3
Common trap in the Budapest that wins a queen after h3, and it works here too after g3 instead! I hadn't studied it, but instead of autopiloting development, I took a moment to reflect.