Speedchess is the most popular form of chess played today with good reason. The games always last less than 10 minutes and there are many other reasons it is so popular. Because speedchess games end so quickly, dozens & dozens of games can be played by one person in only one hour. Hundreds & HUNDREDS of games therefore fit into a VERY short timespan. For example, www.chess.net boasts over 50,000 games a day! Speedchess is a whacky, pulse quickening version of 'real' chess. Although the moves are the same, speedchess is not chess. It is based on the stress created by intimidation, confusion & panic and lacks the beauty of any well planned maneuvers.
Speedchess is:
"MOVE FAST OR DIE"
"MOVE OR DIE" "MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" DIE! DIE! DIE!
It's difficult to explain the chaos, quickness & crazyness without actually showing you a game. SPEEDCHESS is an awesomely quick way to drill, drill, drill & learn some openings. Thats not a bad way to learn & see right away what works or fails. It forces you to become very confident & familiar with openings, very quickly. HOWEVER, SPEEDCHESS is addictive and a dangerous way to ruin your game! Bad drills make bad skills......
SPEED CHESS IS AN ADDICTIVE NARCOTIC!!!!!!!
I say addictive, because it really is a hoot! As soon as you feel the thrill of playing your first game, you get pumped and want to play more. Also, the misteaks you will make are so crazy & silly, you always want to try again & again & again. BEWARE! It is also a NARCOTIC !!! No really, I mean this in every true sense of the word 'narcotic'. It dulls the senses & sensibilities. You will do things so silly in speedchess, that you will go nuts! The time pressure forces you to make obvious errors, which you would usually not make without the extreme rush of the time limits. THis is OK if you write down the mistakes for learning. But be careful to only use speedchess as a learning tool. Use speedchess to quickly load up a great list of blunders in your notes. If you fail to do that, then speedchess can ruin your game. Garenteed!
The rules of speedchess are quite similar to regular chess but different in two major ways. The basic rules regarding the object of the game & generally piece movements are all the same. The biggest difference is 'Calling' check & 'Touch' rules. In regular chess, everybody says: 'CHECK' when the opposing king is in danger (even though at the higher levels of play it is considered obvious & therefore rude).
In speedchess, the 'checks' are not announced because the object of the game is to literally take the king off the board. In speedchess, you can make what surmounts to a 'wrong' move in regular chess. When in check, in speedchess, you don't HAVE to capture the attacker,move the king or block the threat.. IT IS WITHIN THE RULES OF SPEEDCHESS TO IGNORE A CHECK! In regular check, it would be an illegal move & not allowed to take place.
Subsequently your opponent can 'Capture the King' which ends the game. It's part of the chaos. A very common complaint by new speedchess players is that they didn,t see the check or "He didn't call check". That's the way it goes. The other major rule difference is the 'No touch rule'. In regular chess there is a strict rule about touching only the one piece which you move. If you touch another piece by mistake, you still have to move it. If you touch your opponents piece, even if by mistake, if you can capture it then you have to. In regular chess it's called the touch rule & it is very strict
In speedchess, you can fiddle with, move, touch, retouch & refiddle with as many of your pieces as you want. AS LONG AS your clock is on your time. After you make a move in any timed game, you press the clock button and your turn is over. In speedchess your opponent wants you to burnout your clock & have your very very limited time expire because speed chess ends when either players clock expires, it's sudden death regardless of position or material. IT IS SUDDEN DEATH, no ands ifs or buts. At five minutes a game, you would lose right away if you spend more than a few moments pondering any move.
WARNING DANGER WARNING!!
Speed chess should only be used as a beginners tool to learn openings. If you get 'hooked' on speed chess, it will ruin your non-timed games, because, speed chess forces you to make an OK move, instead of sitting on your hands, and looking for the BEST move. THIS IS A TERRIBLE THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It happened to me, I DO NOT FIND IT EASY to sit at a board and search for any depth in my own moves. I always have a quick move ready, but not the habit of circumspection. My 6000+ (4,500 wins & 2,000 losses) speed chess games have drilled & drilled & drilled & drilled & drilled into my 'chess wiring' the rote mechanical impulse to snap out an OK move quickly, rather than search for any depth, position, combination, tactics or decent properly thought out strategy. I succeeded in learning my openings but failed at noticably bettering my long games.I am working on it. It is the bane of my existance. I'm on the road to recovery now, things will get better...............
The Chess site That is ALL OVER THE PLACE!! www.LUBIENSKI.com
Andrew Lubienski, 9 Silverwood Circle #3, Annapolis MD 21403
EMAIL: Lubienski@hotmail.com TELEPHONES: (305) 942-3290 , (443) 822-9234
~ SPEEDCHESS ~