Improve In Chess Tips - Get Better Chess Results With PROPER Time Management 1

A little break from our OTB improve-in-chess tips, I think it's about time we tackle a facet of chess improvement that hasn't been tackled a lot in most books, courses, etc.

What is this issue I'm talking? Time management. You see, the clock is part of the game. There are 3 ways to win a game:

1. Your opponent resigns.
2. Your opponent is checkmated.
3. Your opponent's clock runs out of time.
Each of these awards you a point. A game won through checkmate doesn't gain more points than a game won through the clock. That's why it baffles me why players haven't paid much attention to it.

Here's a common scenario...

I (a couple of years back), and I believe other improving chess players too, find myself able to find the correct moves during home analysis, when playing skittles (untimed and informal) games, or when playing solitaire chess.

When I have all the time in the world, finding the best move in the position is a piece of cake. HOWEVER, you and I don't have all the time in the world in a REAL tournament game!

The clock can be a good friend, and it can be one of your worst enemies too if you don't know how to manage it.

Chess players face different problems on the board - dealing with openings preparation, attack and defense, finding the right chess strategy, how to convert one's advantage into a win, and the list goes on and on and on. And before you know it, if you don't practice good chess time management, you only have 5 minutes left for the next 20 moves! Or worse, you have lost a winning position because your flag fell.

And this brings me to the following point,

If you want to improve in chess, it's NOT enough to have know how to find the RIGHT move...you also need to find it as fast possible.

Strong players have EXCELLENT time conservation techniques that I will reveal on the next parts of this series (so stay tuned :D). For now, let's get started with chess tip...

Planning Ahead To Manage Your Time
This sounds pretty obvious, right?

BUT seriously, have you paid serious attention in managing your time before a tournament? How long should you think about every move when you have 120 minutes or 2 hours for the game? What about games with fast time controls - 30 minutes with a 10-second increment?

Not so sure?

Then let's have a closer think about it. On the average, a game reaches up to 40 moves. With 2 hours for the whole game (120 minutes divided by 40 moves), we have approximately 3 minutes per move.

Do the same for other time controls and you will have a rough idea of how much time you should spend per move. Being aware of this will save you from time trouble.

OK, this chess improvement and time management post has taken too much of your time. Haha.

So let's stick to this for now, and come back tomorrow where I take a look at the time saving techniques I was referring to earlier.

Time management and having a solid thought process - these 2 are some of the MOST important things you need to take care of if you want to improve in chess.

One resource that has tackled this EXCELLENTLY is GM Igor Smirnov's Grandmaster's Secrets. What I like about the book is how Igor clearly explains how to properly think in chess - no matter what type of position is in front of you.

Of course, it also comes with tips that will only boost your chess improvement further - how to train, tournament preparation, knowing you and your opponent's weaknesses, managing time, and those are just to name a few.

If you want to improve at chess, if you want to play better chess and eventually win more games, the Grandmaster's Secrets by GM Igor Smirnov is a chess video course you should check out!