Blitz II

Another thing I have noticed during my recent blitz glut is that when I make a mistake, I am quick to become frustrated at myself. After having made 30 good moves against a strong opponent, finding myself in a winning position, to throw it all away with a single beginnerish oversight really sucks. In order to keep playing long sessions without further evaporation of rating points, it’s important to forgive oneself immediately, and see not only the next game with fresh eyes but the next move in the current one. One of the beauties of blitz is the immense swindle potential, and I have won plenty of games from monumental material and positional deficits. If you’re losing in blitz, suddenly it’s the opponent who feels all the pressure to play accurately and not to bottle it - you are are simply testing their technique, with nothing to lose.

I have found that this means these blitz games often present themselves as small opportunities for self compassion. It goes against my instinct to not be harshly critical of my mistakes, especially in their immediate aftermath, but practising doing so when the stakes are as low as in a virtual board game should hopefully bleed into the rest of my, slightly less trivial, life.