Chess lessons › Good chess habits
Playing in time trouble
When the clock runs low, play safe, simple moves, and forcing ones when you can see they work.
The idea
When the clock runs low, play safe, simple moves, and take back first.
- Black’s queen and bishop both aim at this pawn, and mate is threatened.
- One pawn move here blocks the bishop and attacks the queen.
- With seconds left, play the simple safe move, not an attack of your own.
In a game: When you are short of time, keep pieces protected and play a forcing line only when you see its end.
How the lesson begins
Sooner or later you will be short of time. Then you cannot work everything out, so play by simple rules. Make safe moves that keep your pieces protected. Play a forcing move when you can see that it works. If your game adds a few seconds after each move, called an increment, use it: quick moves keep your clock from running out. And when you are winning, do not play for tricks: play the moves that keep the win.
Here Black has just taken your knight on d4.
A question
You have ten seconds left. What do you play?
Show the answer
Qxd4, taking back.
Right. Take back first. A recapture is quick, safe and good.
In numbers
Games lost on time
| Rating | Value |
|---|---|
| Under 800 | 21% |
| 800 to 1199 | 19% |
| 1200 to 1599 | 19% |
| 1600 to 1999 | 22% |
| 2000 and up | 23% |