Milestone: 1300 on Lichess Bullet

It was 14:14, and I had arranged to meet a friend visiting from the U.S. at 14:30 at a location roughly a ten-minute walk from work. I needed to use the toilet and had the urge to play a game of chess while doing so. Since there wasn't enough time for a Blitz game, I clicked the "2+1 Bullet" button on the Lichess Quick-pairing menu.

The last time I had played a game of Bullet was 14 September 2023. It was a win, and it elevated my rating to an all-time high of 1294. Bullet demands hyperalertness, lightning-fast internet and an environment that is sealed off from distractions. Rare is the occasion when all three conditions are met. Yesterday was one such occasion.

---

murl13akk v. physics2112

1. e4 e6
2. d4 d5
3. e5 c5
4. c3 Qb6
5. Be3 Qxb2
6. Nd2 Qxc3
7. Rc1 Qa5
8. dxc5 Bd7
9. Nf3 Nc6

Murl13akk, rated 1327, opened with 1.e4, and after 1...e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 we were in familiar Advance French territory. I continued 3...c5, and after 4.c3 Qb6 Murl blundered his b-pawn with 5.Be3. I captured with 5...Qxb2, and already after 6.Nd2 White was at a disadvantage of -2.3.

Next I captured with 6...Qxc3, and after 7.Rc1 attacking my queen I retreated with 7...Qa5. White had three attackers on c5 and continued 8.dxc5, and I replied 8...Bd7 because I knew from experience that the light-square diagonal to my king on the queenside was a potential vulnerability. White developed a knight with 9.Nf3 and I should have attacked White's queen with 9...Ba4, but I was reluctant to move my bish a second time and instead developed my knight with 9...Nc6. This was a mistake for two reasons: it obstructed my bish on d7 and it missed an opportunity to put pressure on White's position. Evaluation: -0.7.

10. Bd3 Nge7
11. 0-0 Qc7
12. h3 Nxe5
13. Bf4 Nxf3+
14. Qxf3 Qa5
15. Nb3 Qxa2
16. Nd4 Qa5
17. Rb1 b6

After White developed his light-square bish with 10.Bd3, it should have been obvious to me that 10.Nb4 attacking the bish was my best reply, but I played 10...Nge7 because again I was averse to the idea of moving the same piece twice and I felt neglecting to develop my kingside would come back to haunt me later. White castled with 11.0-0, and I targeted the pawn on e5 with 11...Qc7. White played 12.h3, disregarding the threat to his e-pawn, so I went ahead and snatched it with 12...Nxe5.

In his French Defense handbook, Richard James writes: "The FRENCH DEFENCE is a battle for control of the central dark squares: d4 and e5. If White keeps control of these squares he will stand better. If Black can take over control of these squares he will be able to advance his centre pawns and win the game." Having removed White's center pawns from the board while retaining mine there, I could claim to have won the battle for center control. At the same time, though, White could claim compensation for his lost d- and e-pawns in the form of superior piece activity. With 13.Bf4 White sought to demonstrate that his claim was stronger, but I found 13...Nxf3+ and won a tempo. White recaptured with 14.Qxf3, and the engine says I should have continued attacking with 14...e5 -- but that move is too antipositional-looking for me to have considered, and instead I targeted the pawn on a2 with 14...Qa5. White attacked with 15.Nb3, I captured with 15...Qxa2, and after 16.Nd4 I retreated my queen with 16...Qa5 to give her an escape diagonal. White attacked my pawn on b7 with 17.Rb1, and my 17...b6 gave White an advantage of +4.8.

18. cxb6 axb6
19. Ra1 Qxa1
20. Rxa1 Rxa1
21. Kh2 Nc6
22. Nxc6 Bxc6
23. Be5 Ra3
24. Qe3 Bc5
25. Bd4 Bxd4
26. Qxd4 Rb3
27. Ba6 0-0
28. Qd1 Ra3
29. Qc1 Rxa6
30. Qxc6 Rfa8
31. Qb5 d4
32. f4 g5

White was down to 00:35.9 on the clock, and after 18.cxb6 he had just 00:23.7 remaining to my 01:15. I recaptured with 18...axb6, and White's best move was 19.Nb5 threatening 20.Nc7+. Instead he played 19.Ra1 allowing an exchange with 19...Qxa1 and 20.Rxa1 Rxa1+. I correctly used my tempo after White's 21.Kh2 to get my knight off the dark-square bishop's diagonal, but the game review insists 21...Ng6 was significantly better than 21...Nc6. White initiated an exchange of knights with 22.Nxc6 Bxc6; and even though I was up four points in material, the eval bar gave White a slight advantage of +1.0, presumably because his king was safer than mine and because he had the equivalent of fifteen points in active pieces whereas I had only eleven.

Now with 00:11.2 left on the clock, White attacked my rook with 23.Be5, so I pinned White's bish with 23...Ra3. White attacked my iso b-pawn with 24.Qe3, so I counterattacked with 24...Bc5 and finally got my dark-square bish off the back rank. White offered an exchange of bishes with 25.Bd4, and I accepted with 25...Bxd4. After White recaptured with 26.Qxd4, I blundered 27.Qxg7 by playing 26...Rb3 -- but White missed that my g-pawn was hanging and continued 27.Ba6. At last I castled on move 27 with 27...0-0, and after 28.Qd1 attacking my rook I played 28...Ra3 attacking White's bish. White, with 00:02.7 on the clock, counterattacked with 29.Qc1, and we traded off bishes with 29...Rxa6 and 30.Qxc6. The game review wanted me to support a d-pawn push with 30...Rd8, but I played 30...Rfa8. White continued 31.Qb5, and I pushed 31...d4. White pushed 32.f4, and here the game review wanted 32...Ra5, presumably so I could follow up with 33...Rd5 and 34...Rad8. I played 32...g5, however, but it didn't matter: White timed out.

---

Final thoughts

I disagree with Magnus Carlsen's decision not to defend his title in the 2023 FIDE World Championship on the grounds that the 14-game Classical format failed to excite him and that it should be replaced with, or altered to include, Rapid and Blitz games. He is correct that Rapid and Blitz make for a more exciting viewer experience, but Rapid and Blitz also necessarily feature lower-quality chess. No one is publishing books on the greatest Blitz games every played; even at the highest level, Blitz games are full of inaccuracies and blunders. The games that we will study for generations to come are Classical games.

Why then did I go to the trouble of annotating this Bullet game? Because in my case, there is enough that I can learn from it to make the annotation worthwhile for my own short-term goals and style of play. Last month I participated in an informal chess tournament at work, obtained a favorable position as Black in an Advance French opening where opponent also played 5.Be3, but promptly lost my advantage because I couldn't calculate over the board the way I can online. Bullet doesn't develop one's calculation skills -- it arguably undevelops them -- but it does reveal where one's intuitions are flawed, and honing one's intuition is handy for situations where the brain refuses to calculate. One intuitive lesson I take away from this game is that Black can never take his foot off the gas, i.e. when there is an opportunity to attack or apply pressure to White's position, Black should usually prefer that over his own development.