Reflections on Internet Blitz

By WIM Pamela

Long gone are the times when I travelled from one tournament to another in Europe! I’m a WIM with a FIDE rating of 2285 and currently a homemaker.  I’ve got new responsibilities in life now, but it would be too sad to put chess aside entirely. So I’m glad there is the opportunity to play online, even if I feel I was happier two years ago, when I joined ICC.

At first I thought playing online could really substitute for tournament chess. However, it turned out that the most popular time control on ICC is 3-minute games or even bullet. I’ve spent quite a lot of time explaining to my challengers that I cannot play bullet at all - my hand is not quick enough for that! As for  3-minute blitz... at least it taught me one valuable lesson - not to take these games too seriously! In a way, speedy games are easier than the long struggle of a tournament game. They relieve you of the responsibility to produce good decisions on every move. The pressure for the outcome of the game simply isn't there, because there’s not a lot at stake. You lose one - you start another. There is also a great time saving illusion: I can play several games in one hour and even manage to squeeze in some household work between them. In general, the atmosphere almost seems like "let’s forget about 'serious' chess and enjoy!"

As a player who aspires to return to tournament chess one day, though, I wish I could get a chance to play standard games against titled players. I feel as if this indulging into sweet pleasures has gone too far. I’m beginning to crave a real meal!

Many of ICC people seem to be engulfed in their own small world to the point of denying ( ignoring? ) the existence of OTB chess. Every once in a while there are discussions popping up about comparable accuracy of ICC and FIDE ratings. With all due respect to Internet Chess Club - that’s blitz versus regular chess, end of story. What alarms me is the fact that the participants of those discussions appear to be lacking the very idea of what constitutes a chessplayer: the ability to perform under the pressure of a one-on-one tournament game. Achieving real success in the real chessworld must be our ultimate goal, the goal that can accept no substitutes in "pumped-up" ICC ratings. ICC brings us together, but it’s not a universal equalizer for all. There’s "Nintendo" chess and there’s OTB chess. Let us all have fun while we can, keeping in mind that the real test is yet to come.

(1) Pamela (2379) - justel (2270) [D19]
ICC, 6.3.99 3 2 ICC, 6.3.99 3 2, 1999
[Pamela]

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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.0-0 0-0 9.Qe2 Ne4 Also possible are 9...Nbd7 and 9...Bg6. With the text move Black is stopping White's main strategic idea, the e3-e4 advance. 10.Na2!? White retreats, but it's only temporary. [10.Bd3 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Nxc3 12.Qc2 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Nd5 14.Rb1 is a well-known pawn sac.] 10...Be7 [10...Bd6 was played in the recent game Wojtkiewicz-Formanek, Foxwoods 1999. 11.Bd3 Bg6 12.Nc3 Nxc3 13.bxc3 Bxd3 14.Qxd3 Nd7 15.e4] 11.Bd3 This is the idea. I want to avoid exchanging knights, hoping to force the black knight from e4. 11...Nd7 12.Qc2 Ndf6 [12...Ng5?! is a dubious pawn sacrifice. 13.Bxf5 Nxf3+ 14.gxf3 exf5 15.Qxf5; 12...Nd6 13.e4 Bg4 14.Ne5 would leave Black's light-squared bishop stranded.] 13.Ne5? I missed a better move here. [13.Nh4! and the subsequent f2-f3 will chase the black pieces away. Black must be careful not to lose a pawn then.] 13...Nd6 Now it's probably equal. 14.b4 A risky advance. Since my original plan of the center expansion failed, I attempt to grab some space on the Q-side. 14...Bxd3 15.Qxd3 Nd7 [15...a5 16.b5 cxb5 17.axb5 Qb6 18.Ba3] 16.Rd1!? This move signals the beginning of an ambitious plan. White's pawn structure will be inferior, but I hoped to restrict Black's pieces freedom. 16...Nxe5 17.dxe5 Nf5 18.Qe2! Keeping the pieces on the board is important. [18.Bb2 Qxd3 19.Rxd3 Rfd8 20.Rad1 Rxd3 21.Rxd3 Rd8 is comfortable for Black.] 18...Qb6?! [18...Qc7 19.e4 Nh4 (19...Qxe5? 20.Bb2+-) 20.f4 Rfd8 21.Be3 Ng6 22.g3 I kind of like White's position, but I'm not sure how to proceed from this point on.] 19.a5 Qb5? That's just bad. The queen leaves the 7th rank unprotected, and I can take advantage of that. Also, the pawn structure change devalues Black's pawn majority. 20.Qxb5 cxb5 21.e4 Nh4 22.Be3 [22.Rd7? Rfd8] 22...Rfd8 23.Rxd8+ Bxd8? A typical blitz move. My opponent automatically rejected recapturing with the rook because of the a-pawn hanging. In fact, I wasn't going to take it! [23...Rxd8 24.Rc1 (24.Bxa7 Ng6 and Black regains the pawn solving all his problems.) 24...Ng6 25.f4 Rd7 26.g3 (26.Rc8+ Bf8 27.Nc1 Ne7 28.Ra8 Nc6 with ...Rd8 to follow.) 26...a6 27.Rc8+ Bf8 28.Rb8! with the idea to meet 28...Ne7 with 29.Bc5. White keeps the pressure on.] 24.Rd1 Bc7 [24...Ng6 25.f4 Nf8 was Black's best defensive option.] 25.f4 a6 26.Rd7 Rc8 27.Bb6! This move decides the game. Black's pieces are suffocating, and if I only manage to win the b7-pawn.... 27...Bxb6+ [27...Bb8 28.Rxb7 and the black rook is forever confined to the defensive duty on the back rank.] 28.axb6 Rb8 [28...h5 29.Rxb7 Rc2 30.Rc7 Rxg2+ 31.Kf1 The b-file is clogged, and my pawn is unstoppable.] 29.Nc1+- The knight is headed to c5, and there's nothing to be done about it. 29...Ng6 30.g3 f6 31.exf6 gxf6 32.Nd3 e5 33.f5 Nf8 34.Re7 Rd8 35.Nc5 Rd6 36.Rxb7 h5 37.Rb8 Kf7 38.b7 Rb6 39.Rxf8+ I like this game because it reflects my style, or rather what I want it to be. 1-0