The Chess Files
The answers are out there.
By Jim Eade
The Russian player Alexander Grischuk won the World Blitz
Championship earlier this month, finishing one half point ahead of Norway’s Magnus
Carlsen, the highest rated player. Which
leads us to consider this issue’s chess
mystery: Is blitz chess good or bad for
the developing chess player?
If you ask seasoned chess trainers, their answers will be
all over the map. Some are adamant that
blitz chess is harmful to their students, teaching them bad habits such as
going for cheap traps instead of the best move.
Other are just as certain that blitz chess is just one of many
activities that gives a growing player needed experience.
In the days of analog clocks, blitz chess meant that both
players had five minutes total for the entire game. If you ran out of time, you lost the
game. Nowadays, digital clocks are the
norm and the standard practice is to start with a certain amount of time and
then give bonus time for every completed move.
The World Blitz Championship’s time control was 3 minutes plus 2 seconds
per move.
I can’t give a definitive answer to whether blitz chess is
good for your game. I can, however, tell
you that it is fun. I spent many, many
hours playing blitz chess when I was young, and I had a blast.
If you have a chess mystery you would like solved, write to
me at jimeade@comcast.net, and I’ll
take a crack at it.
Today’s puzzle comes from the just concluded World Open in
Philadelphia. It is white’s turn to
move.
Solution: 1. Bh6+
If 1…Kxh6 then 2. Nxf7+ wins Black’s Queen.
If instead Black retreats with 1…Kg8 then 2.g5 forces the
knight on f6 to move, allowing white to play 3.Qxf7+ with a straightforward
win.
