How to prepare for longer time controls?

Question

I am used to playing rapid games 15 0 . This has made a bad habbit to always hurry my moves, and I sometimes miss the better moves because i'm too hasty. The question is how do I slow down my thinking so I can include more analysing of potential moves instead of jumping to the obvious - whic sometimes is not the best move . Does anyone else have similar problems ( those competing in tournaments ) and what did you do to overcome it if it happened to you.

PS. I am talking about chess ofcourse . Also what are the usual long time controls in chess tournaments in Australia ?

Answer 1

Just relax and take your time (yeah, I know it sounds stupid, but...). Remember it's like a completely different game playing in tournaments; and you don't have to move like your hair's on fire or you're about to catch a bus. Settle into your chair and set a spell--think of 15-minute games like they're bughouse (or doubles or whatever they call it Down Under), just something you maybe do in between rounds to get your mind off real chess. And (like Lasker said) once you've found a good move, keep on looking for an even better one.

Answer 2

Find practical books with lots of puzzles and questions. I don't mean gimmicky puzzles with bizarre configurations of pieces and the problem is mate in four, but books about situations that come up in real life (pins, pawn battles, forks, etc.). Many of Pandolfini's books are in question-and-answer format, and if you cover the answer page you can try to figure out the answer yourself. Someone else I read suggested that you force yourself to work through every possible capture and attack and see what might develop. Even if it looks absurd, like taking a protected pawn with your queen, you might find a brilliant queen sacrifice. Really good players spend as much time looking for patterns as working out moves. For example, they see a certain pawn formation and they remember how it was successfully attacked in another game.

Answer 3

Study a collection of one player's games (I recommend Capablanca) and play out the moves from that player's side. Try to predict the next move. If you didn't get it, don't go any further until you understand why.

Capablanca probably has the purest style of any great player, and made the least amount of blunders.

Answer 4

Sit on your hands. It sounds stupid, but by the time you move your butt to get your hand out, maybe you remember to take your time.

Answer 5

Sit on your hands.