British Championship Thread

[JustinHorton]

I dunno. I am scrupulously on time for games which not at all a common habit where I live, but time trouble nearly always occurs anyway.

[Ian Lamb]

jones looks to have improved a touch black dint get e6 in. well Jonathan some people like to play in timetrouble and get in a scramble then win from there but its a very dangerous game to play.but most game wells gets in timtrouble i seen him play against higher rated oppents.i just bought kramnik dvd my path to the top and he belives that if you spend more 20 minutes on a move the next one percentage wise is not the best which did suprise me when i heard him say that.so he recommends no longer than 20 mins on a move if you cant see the best move buy that time then you wont play the best move is his view. what you think about his view?

[Jonathan Bryant]

I dunno. I am scrupulously on time for games which not at all a common habit where I live, but time trouble nearly always occurs anyway.

To clarify ...

when a person is both routinely late and routinely in time trouble the causes are the same (or at least I'm suggesting that they are)

I would add a second element to this theory ...


What the late attender/time trouble addict tells themselves is the cause of their behaviour and what is actually the cause of their behaviour are two very different things.


PS: At the Staunton, Sokolov was even worse at turning up on time than Wells. Sokky was 20 mins late (at least) every time I visited. Even when he got there he would wander over to glance at his board then before he moved he take himself off to the refreshments table to make himself a cup of coffee. Only after picking up a biscuit would he actually get on with playing chess. Must have seen him do that half a dozen times. Don't recall him getting into time trouble though.

[JustinHorton]

I'll be amazed if Jones makes it to move thirty.

Howell ought to win again today but he does have a time trouble problem, doesn't he?

[Ian Lamb]

wow williams has give up the rook now for 2 pieces and his king to me looks safe on the white squares so i think jones could be toast now.Maybe not! how can black develop here?

[Jonathan Bryant]

what you think about his view?

Since you've asked me directly I'd say that:-

(a) Definitely agree with Kramnik here. I've observed this in my own games. If I think for 10 mins or more I'm almost certainly about to make a mistake. I've toyed with the idea that should I ever get to 10 minutes thinking time again i will make my choice then play the other move on the grounds that it's likely to be better. Can't quite bring myself to do that.

(b) I'm sure lots of people do like to play in time trouble. I strongly doubt that it has ever produced better results for anyone in the long run however (whatever they tell themselves

(c) I'd like to answer your posts much more often than I currently I do but I find them really hard to read because of the lack of punctuation/capitalisation/paragraphs and so forth. As a result for the most part I don't read them. This strikes me as a shame because I'm sure you've a lot of interesting things to say. I just don't see why I should have to work hard to find out what those things are.

[JustinHorton]

I'd love to know what other people don't do, that I do, which enables them to avoid time trouble. But of course they can't tell me, because they don't really know what I do that they don't...

[Jonathan Bryant]

I'd love to know what other people don't do, that I do, which enables them to avoid time trouble. But of course they can't tell me, because they don't really know what I do that they don't...

The thing that I did that *really* improved my time management was looking carefully at where the time was going. I identified a couple of risk parts of the game where I tended to unneccesarily leak minutes (just after the opening and just before the time control mostly) and i did something about it (e.g. http://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.c ... ck-iv.html).

I'd known about this technique for 20 years - the suggestion is from Chess for Tigers - I just hadn't done the work. I'd carefully recorded the time I'd take for every move I've every played in a serious game, just hadn't actually done anything with that information.

I also think talking about what you've got, as opposed to what you need (or think you need) is probably a good thing as far as time management goes. And if you turn up six minutes late what you've got is 1 54 instead of 2 00

[Ian Lamb]

ok thanks for your comments Jonathan and views. Iam typing fast but your right i should take more time and care over it. Any how Howell sacked the exchange now and the Jones v Williams is getting quite unclear now since williams gave his rook for 2 pieces.

[JustinHorton]

It's odd though, you get people who are professional players, who presumably have very good reason to address the problem, many opportunities to do so and all the advice they could want in seeking to - and yet they never manage to do it. I think the problem may be that you do in general develop your intellectual habits quite early on in life and adjusting them isn't just hard, it can disrupt your whole thinking process in trying to improve it.

[Alex Holowczak]

The easiest way to be punctual: Travel to the venue on public transport. You have to set out early to ensure you get there at all, let alone on time.

I always gauge my time use against my opponent's, rather than a time limit (unless I'm near a time control). If my opponent plays very slowly or very quickly, then I'll just try to play at a sensible pace. I don't think I've ever lost on time unless it's a Blitz game. There comes a time when you might as well just move. Make the opponent beat you over the board, rather than lose by yourself on time.

I don't have much sympathy though for people who turn up late as a matter of course if they lose.

[JustinHorton]

The easiest way to be punctual: Travel to the venue on public transport. You have to set out early to ensure you get there at all, let alone on time

Not sure why this would apply more to public transport than to people who drive.

[Ian Lamb]

its a matter of taste i know a Im who very seldom loses on time but he likes to turn up 10 mins late when all the players are sat down in there seats so he find his board then sits down with nobody Disturbing him.I know a couple of GMs who like to be there 10 -15mins early and just stare at the board to be focused on there game ahead.

[JustinHorton]

I'll be amazed if Jones makes it to move thirty

...and I pronounce myself amazed, although I suppose I should have borne in mind that Jones also played on a long time yesterday.

[Jonathan Bryant]

It's odd though, you get people who are professional players, who presumably have very good reason to address the problem, many opportunities to do so and all the advice they could want in seeking to - and yet they never manage to do it.

Indeed. My conclusion, drawing on my experience working at the alcohol rehab for several years - is that professional players such as Wells not changing their habits is a result of them not wanting to change. Not deep down. (More accurately it's probably not wanting to go through the process of change).