Why play slower when losing?

Sort:
Kernicterus

It's surely been discussed, but I'm discussing it anyhow.  Why do people play slower when they're losing a game? 

It just can't be a coincidence that players tend to play more rapidly when they are on the winning end of a game, while players who are losing begin to sluggishly make an appearance.  If I had these same tendencies, then perhaps I would expect that it's a natural human tendency.  Given that I actually like to sweep my lost games off the list quickly and get rid of the negativity, I don't comprehend this phenomena. 

Anyone? Do you do this?

maulmorphy

trying to win a (nearly) lost game is like running uphill... not impossible, but a lot harder than sailing down the hill.

 

some of the people that do this might be poorsports, but most (95%?)of them are practical and are giving the lost games extra care to try to somehow safe it.

TheGrobe

A couple of possible reasons I can think of:

  1. Practical:
    Wanting to control their sequence of upcoming losses and wins in order to manipulate the overall rating impact to be as favourable as possible.
  2. Emotional:
    Avoidance of the games that they find unpleasant to deal with.
  3. Spiteful:
    Obvious....
  4. Illusory:
    The correlation you reference is only imagined.  Perhaps when you're in a winning positions your game becomes the proverbial "watched pot".
Kernicterus
TheGrobe wrote:

A couple of possible reasons I can think of:

Practical:
Wanting to control their sequence of upcoming losses and wins in order to manipulate the overall rating impact to be as favourable as possible. Emotional:
Avoidance of the games that they find unpleasant to deal with. Spiteful:
Obvious.... Illusory:
The correlation you reference is only imagined.  Perhaps when you're in a winning positions your game becomes the proverbial "watched pot".

4 is out.  I've already pondered that before posting and I tend not to notice such things until they become glaring.  I don't even mind that they play slower...I merely question the logic behind it. 1 doesn't stand up...as you'd think people would also start playing slower in their winning games in order to control when they want to achieve their higher rating pts, no?  Might be a small number of people who do.  

2, I'd understand completely.  3, sure...perhaps in some cases.  And what maulmorphy said...is probably the case many times too.  I'm impressed with people who think longer and harder when they're losing.  I barely think when I'm winning...and not at all when losing. 

PrawnEatsPrawn

I slow down in difficult positions for a couple of reasons:

1. I take longer to consider difficult positions.

2. I only move in difficult positions/games first thing in the morning. If I have to take a second look (sometimes I don't fully trust my own analysis) then a second morning is required.

Finding good moves is easier and quicker when you are winning.

blackfirestorm

Because they are just bad losers!!

ozzie_c_cobblepot

Adding to post #3

 

5. Report abuse, play slowly, wait for opponent to be banned.

Kernicterus
ozzie_c_cobblepot wrote:

Adding to post #3

 

5. Report abuse, play slowly, wait for opponent to be banned.


Oh Ozzie...take your posh upper crust 2% problems outta here.

TheGrobe

Slow losers, yes, but does slow necessarily mean bad?

Kernicterus

Schachgeek.  Wow, that was so off topic that I don't even know what to say.

TheGrobe.  Nope, slow doesn't mean bad.  I tend to think it's emotional...but Prawn and MaulMorphy pointed out that there is more work involved.

angrymk

Who cares, as long as time is left on the clock then they can play as slow as they want.

Elubas
AfafBouardi wrote:

It's surely been discussed, but I'm discussing it anyhow.  Why do people play slower when they're losing a game? 

It just can't be a coincidence that players tend to play more rapidly when they are on the winning end of a game, while players who are losing begin to sluggishly make an appearance.  If I had these same tendencies, then perhaps I would expect that it's a natural human tendency.  Given that I actually like to sweep my lost games off the list quickly and get rid of the negativity, I don't comprehend this phenomena. 

Anyone? Do you do this?


I tend to play slow no matter what position I'm in lol.

When I'm better I'm calculating the best ways to increase my pressure on the opponent. I guess a situation where I would play fast is not only a winning position, but a mindlessly easy one, like Q+K vs bare king. When I'm in bad shape I might want to find every last tactical or defensive chance I have, which unfortuately I do not find often. In fact sometimes I play faster in a bad position (actually I think dead lost is a better way to put it, because when I think I have good defensive chances I hold on really hard, but if I was down a piece even if I played like a genius I'll probably still get crushed unless I get lucky), because I have less motivation to find a good move.

Eternal_Patzer
Schachgeek wrote:

Or perhaps they are working hard to salvage the half point.


I'm often guilty of the above.   In bad/losing positions, of which I get plenty, I have to slow down to fight my natural tendency to play worse and worse as the position gets worse and worse, with the final result being the infamous "blunder in a lost position".   Being a resiliant defender in bad positions is a neglected skill, but a valuable one.

electricpawn

I play slower in bad - but not lost - positions because its harder to find a good move. Conversely, I try to slow myself down when I'm in a stronger position to improve my chances of finding the best move and to avoid mistakes.

costelus
ozzie_c_cobblepot wrote:

5. Report abuse, play slowly, wait for opponent to be banned.


Ha ha ha! I guess you are still waiting!

dsarkar

Valid reasons:

In highly complicated positions, I slow down - either I try my "notepad" analysis on it (I must admit - a single position might consume hours), or try to think of traps, positional evaluations, etc.

While losing, I slow down - I think harder to find moves so that I can salvage the game. If I cannot, I resign - I don't like dragging a losing game.

Xhu
dsarkar wrote:

While losing, I slow down - I think harder to find moves so that I can salvage the game. If I cannot, I resign - I don't like dragging a losing game.


This, really. When winning, the moves seem to come easier. There are more options, and clearer lines towards gaining a heavier advantage. When losing, it's often more difficult to see a good way forward, and extra care must be taken to avoid danger.

Kernicterus

http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=30399031

I accidentally just went to his page and I see that only my game is being ignored...cute. 

PrawnEatsPrawn
AfafBouardi wrote:

http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=30399031

I accidentally just went to his page and I see that only my game is being ignored...cute. 


Oh no, that's altogether different, not what I or many of the others were talking about.

spork
AfafBouardi wrote:

Schachgeek.  Wow, that was so off topic that I don't even know what to say.

TheGrobe.  Nope, slow doesn't mean bad.  I tend to think it's emotional...but Prawn and MaulMorphy pointed out that there is more work involved.


My personal take (FWIW as a novice) is a slight twist on Prawn et al's theme:

When I play slowly (independently of position strength), it tends sometimes to be because I am tired or lacking focus. This leads me into worse positions. The worse position causes me to try to think harder, which is made difficult/less effective by being tired/distracted in the first place, and so on. In addition to the "think harder" theme, I add "think less effectively".


Also, regarding your point on emotion: When I get emotional, I tend to resign, not drag out the game. I despair at the rotten position I've gotten myself in, throw up my hands and finally see that I need to stop trying to think and just let my poor opponent have their victory. When not emotional, I try to keep thinking.

So, it's not just spite and it's not just conscious efforts to think harder that slow down play in weak positions - sometimes it can be unconscious factors, too, at least for me.