Week 28: three time losses in 48 rapid games

Week 28 (July 16–21, 2024): 48 rapid games, 22 wins, 25 losses and a draw, and a drop from 1018 to 991. There were three time losses in those 48 rapid games. Each included a position the engine assessed as winning for me. The clock records and key moves below put those results in context.

Three time losses in 48 rapid games: the week in numbers

Wednesday, July 17 was nineteen games: 10 wins and 9 losses. With Black I scored 13–12–1, with White only 9–13. My opponents and I blundered about equally (106 to 109), and in twelve games I had at least an 80 % chance of winning and didn't win.

The three time losses were #690 against mrchief117, #696 against proplayerA1 and #705 against Yavin0810. All three are on that list of twelve. In #690 the story is extreme: at move 31 I had mate in one, 31.Qxe7#, and played 31.Qc8+ instead; on move 32 I missed a mate in two. After my 33rd move Stockfish had me at +5.04 with 68 seconds left, and the clock ran out before I made move 34. On the way there I had spent 72 seconds on move 24 and 68 seconds on move 30, and both of those moves were blunders.

One more pattern that is getting hard to ignore: in #736 against charly188 I had two pawns against a bare king and a forced mate available, and my 55...f2 left White's king with no legal move. Stalemate, a draw. That's the third time since early June that I've stalemated a beaten opponent.

Three key positions

The long think that cost the advantage

Game #690, White against mrchief117 (1027), the game I lost on time. I was winning, +5.78, and Black's pawn on f5 and knight on d7 were both undefended.

. . . . . k . r
p . . n p . . p
. p . . . . . q
. . p . . p . .
. . Q . . P n .
. . P . P . . .
P P . N . . . .
. . K R . . R .

I spent 72 seconds on 24.Rh1, which attacks the queen on h6. The queen simply moves, and Stockfish's reply 24...Qc6 even attacks my rook on h1 along the long diagonal. +5.78 fell to +1.65. The engine's 24.Qd5 is a double attack on two pieces that have no defender. It's the kind of move that wins material quickly and would have saved me clock time later. I still got back to a winning position, and that's when the mate in one came and went (game on Chess.com).

The knight in front of my queen

Game #692, Black against Monreb (1016), in a Center Game. I was better, −1.56, with my knight on e5 and my queen on e7, one behind the other.

r . b . k . n r
p p p p q p p p
. . . . . . . .
. . b . n . . .
. . B p . . . .
. . P . . N . .
P P . . . P P P
R N B Q . R K .

7...Nf6 develops a piece, but my knight on e5 was attacked by White's knight on f3. White can take it, 8.Nxe5, or play 8.Re1, attacking the knight with my queen right behind it on the e-file. The evaluation went from −1.56 to +1.68. Stockfish's 7...Nxf3+ trades the attacked knight with check and keeps my edge. I won this game anyway, but I gave away more than three points of evaluation with one natural move (game on Chess.com).

A pawn move that uncovered a bishop

Game #693, Black against Subhasish_9 (1011). Move 4, equal (+0.50), and White's queen and bishop were already out early.

r . b q k b . r
p p p p . p p p
. . n . . . . n
. . . . p . . .
. . B . P . . .
. . P . . Q . .
P P . P . P P P
R N B . K . N R

4...Bc5 develops, and allows 5.d4. That pawn would attack my bishop on c5, which has no defender, and by moving it would open the line from White's bishop on c1 to my knight on h6. Two threats with one pawn move, +0.50 to +3.67. My opponent played 5.d3 instead. It's the same idea that cost me my queen in game #477 in week 21: d2–d4 uncovering the c1 bishop. Stockfish's 4...Na5 attacks White's undefended bishop on c4 first. I won this game too, but the pattern is now in my notes twice (game on Chess.com).

The lesson of the week

My time losses are not about playing too slowly in general. They're about where I spend the time. In #690 I burned more than two minutes on two moves in a winning position, and both were blunders. So the lesson I'm taking into the next weeks is a clock rule for 10-minute games: when I'm clearly winning, I look for checks, captures and loose pieces first, and if I find a simple win I play it without a long think. Long thinks belong to the positions where the evaluation is close. Winning positions need clean, quick moves, and, as #736 showed, one last look at whether my opponent still has a legal move.

All games this week

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For a general method beyond this week's games, see the clock-review guide.