Blitz

Since playing in the tournament I mentioned last week, I have apparently caught “the bug” once more, and am spending most of my spare time playing 3/0 blitz games. There are two specific feelings I’ve identified that I am craving, and that make it worth playing so much of;

• seeing tactics instantly, especially when very low on time (particularly satisfying when you’re in a winning position and your opponent is trying to flag you)

• winning an endgame on just premoves, which again presumably means your opponent is trying to flag you.

I play slower than most, which is perhaps why I find myself in so many time scrambles, but the adrenaline that comes from winning one of them is a lot higher you might expect from a virtual board game. My rating is climbing nicely too, although I have also begun to accept the inevitability that I will need to do some actual studying if I want to improve any further.