Milestone: 1400 on Lichess Blitz

As fun as winning every game of chess is, some victories are more satisfying than others. Nail-biters, i.e. games decided by fractions of a second, engage every blood vessel and adrenal gland in the body, and when they end it is like escaping from a pack of hungry wolves. Brain-twisters, i.e. games decided by carefully planned strategy and subtly laid traps, engage every neuron and synapse in the brain, and when they end it is like discovering the solution to a long and tangled equation. What makes these victories triumphs is when they elevate one's rating to new heights.

Of the four Blitz variations Lichess offers, the two I alternate between are "5+0" and "3+0." I only played 5+0 in the beginning; but, interestingly, when my rating stagnated and I gave 3+0 a try, it soared as though I'd unlocked a secret power. Now, each is a backup for the other. When it feels like I'm in a 5+0 slump, I switch to 3+0; and when 3+0 turns against me, I switch to 5+0. I'd lost four 3+0 games straight on August 9th before switching to 5+0 and racking up five straight wins the same day. On the morning of August 12th I'd lost two 5+0 games and then proceeded to win them back immediately at 3+0. The report that follows picks up from the evening of August 12th.

12 August 2022, move 15

The victory that put me within striking distance of 1400 came in a 5+0 game against a 1391-rated opponent on the evening of August 12th. Assigned the black pieces, I challenged White's 1. e4 with 1...e6, and on move three we entered the French Defense Advance Variation. It was familiar territory for me but evidently not for my opponent. On move 12, after initiating an exchange of pawns, knights and queens, I captured an en-prise pawn on b4 with check; and on move 14, after an exchange of bishops, I captured a second en-prise pawn on d4. On move 15 I checked White's king from c2 with my knight, and after playing 16. Kf2 White resigned. My rating climbed from 1388 to 1394.

Lesson learned: The French Defense continues to be a rewarding response to 1. e4 -- as long as White follows with 2. d4. When White continues with the Exchange Variation, I am improving with 4...Be6; but when White plays 2. Nf3, which happens frequently, I lack a sound plan.

13 August 2022 (1), move 14

The next game, on August 13th, was a 5+0 against a 1451-rated opponent. Assigned the white pieces this time, I opened with 1. d4, to which Black responded with the dreaded Englund Gambit. The game was slipping away from me, until Black got careless and on move 10 I went from -2.7 to +6.2. My lead grew to +11.8 on move 13, but on move 14 Black found a perpetual check that both of us had overlooked for a couple of moves. The game ended in a draw, and I gained one point on account of Black's significantly higher rating. 1395.

Lesson learned: Considering how often I face 1...e5 when trying to play the Queen's Gambit, I should have long ago learned how to refute the Englund. Instead, I continue to rely on improvization, which wastes time and leads to sloppy positions.

13 August 2022 (2), move 25

That afternoon, impatient to conquer 1400, Lichess paired me with a 1302-rated opponent. Assigned the white pieces again, I opened with the Queen's Gambit and dominated the center early. Black outplayed me in the middlegame and on move 15 was besieging my king with his knight, queen and rook. He was also beating me on the clock. I had just 60 seconds remaining after move 17 to Black's 02:48. By all indications, I was on the verge of getting checkmated or losing on time. But Black blundered his knight on move 25 and subsequently lost his poise. After move 31 my clock was down to 00:10.2 while Black still had 01:11 on his; however, after move 32 I was down to 00:07.2 while Black dropped to 00:15.2. After move 37 I had 00:00.6 left and Black timed out. Lichess awarded me 4 points for the win, increasing my rating to 1399.

Lesson learned: Use the clock as a weapon. It's less of a factor in Blitz than it is in Bullet, but it is still what tips the scale when material and positions are equal.

14 August 2022, move 31

The next morning, I woke up early -- potentially too early to be playing Blitz chess, but the urge overcame me and I tapped "5+0" on the Lichess app. My opponent this time was rated 1421, Lichess assigned me the black pieces, and we entered into a battle of Queen's Gambit v. Czech Pirc. On move 18 I blundered my dark-squared bishop, and on move 20 I should have lost my light-squared bishop but White's attention was focused on my queen. For some unknown reason, White insisted on centering his castled king on the back rank. This allowed me to double my rooks on the e-file, pin White's knight to his king, and capture the knight on move 30. On move 31 I forked White's king and rook with my knight, but it was a blunder as the knight undefended the forward rook. White failed to catch my error, I captured his rook, and two moves later White resigned.

Lesson learned: More than the Czech Pirc is proving a strategically superior defense, it's allowing me to play fast in the opening and apply psychological pressure. It is also serendipitous that during a visit to Prague I should achieve a chess milestone using the Czech Pirc.

Adult improvers -- that's what Ben Johnson of the Perpetual Chess Podcast calls people like me -- are distinguished from aspiring players in two respects: goals and commitment. With respect to goals, the adult improver doesn't have any beyond increasing his online rating. Aspiring players, in contrast, have more competitive goals in mind, such as perfecting an opening in preparation for a tournament or qualifying for a FIDE title. With respect to commitment, the adult improver will sporadically set aside free time for study and analysis, mostly on a superficial level. The aspiring player dedicates time and resources consistently throughout the week and his approach is methodical and thorough.

To date I have read two chess books -- Bruce Pandolfini's excellent Weapons of Chess and Fred Reinfeld's Improving Your Chess. They impacted my performance significantly, and it's clear to me that further improvement will require more reading. To that end I bought three chess books at Antikvariat August in Stockholm when I was there in July and mailed them to Israel. They are Positional Chess by Shaun Taulbut, The Art of Defence in Chess by Lyev Polugayevsky and Iakov Damsky, and H.O.T. Chess by Paul Motwani. How long it takes me to read them, how much of their information I absorb, and what lessons I learn from them that can be applied to my games will likely determine when the next milestones occur.