Correspondence Chess
Opening a new chapter in my chess experienceMy tips for playing correspondence chess on lichess
-
Turn ON confirmation for resignation
I accidentally resigned a casual correspondence game against a
friend when I meant to click on the analysis button. This is a
no-brainer setting to turn on. I know I'm not alone here because
I've seen other people's correspondence game results, and some of
them are baffling. -
Turn ON move confirmation
Took me a few times to realize I needed this setting too. I got so
used to casually dropping moves on the analysis board that every
once in a while, I wouldn't realize I was on the real board!
Thankfully, I accidentally played the move I was already heavily
considering, so they weren't one move blunders. But they very well
could have been!I've also seen a lot of one move blunders in correspondence
games. Let's elevate our chess by... -
Play variations out in the analysis board
It's there. It's not cheating. In fact, one of the joys of
correspondence is entertaining all of the lines that never get
played (and that you probably wouldn't see in a rapid game)!When I describe correspondence to friends I always say it's like a
game within a game. Every time it's my turn, I go through all the
candidate variations and possible moves I can think of: each line
is like a game that may or may not happen. -
Make and submit your moves on the analysis board
This is an extension of the aforementioned tips. Essentially, the
analysis board is king. You've spent all that time working through
variations on it, so why throw away your work right before you're
about to make a move? Don't go to the real board. Just make your
move and submit it (without adding conditional premoves). -
Use the opening explorer strategically
There are 3 tabs in the opening explorer:- Master games
- Lichess games
- A user's games
I haven't found the latter useful at all, yet.
Master games are probably the best indicator of decent moves to
consider in the opening, but they are not exhaustive.Lichess games are tricky, and I'm seeing now that it's best to
strategically tailor/filter what kind of games are shown. Are
bullet and ultra bullet games by 1600's useful? Probably not.This is another aspect of correspondence chess that I'm beginning
to enjoy. When you play blitz, you play your pet line or opening
theory you may or may not know that well. At my level, it's quite
likely neither my opponent or I have any idea what the correct
moves or ideas are in a particular opening.Correspondence is my chance to play a game that could possibly
resemble one played by a higher rated player, who actually knows
how to play the first several moves. -
Take notes on positions
It really helps to evaluate lines by jotting down ideas offline. This is
where I began to feel correspondence is a game within a game. -
Play solid moves
Correspondence is not bullet. It is far less likely that you're
going to swindle someone with a crazy sacrifice, or even entice
someone into a tactical line 5+ moves deep. In my vast experience
of 9 rated games so far (lol), it just doesn't happen. Your opponent
will see it, or at least see enough of it to want to avoid it.
And this brings me to the biggest "tip" (which is mainly for myself):
- Study positional chess
I've gotten a few books to help me on this front. On half of my moves
I think to myself, "there are no tactics here, what am I supposed to
do? How do I steer my opponent into a bad position or into a tactical
one that's beneficial for me? What is my plan here?" The last straw
was seeing the computer analysis of one of my games as +5.5 with equal
material. And I didn't seize the opportunity because I didn't realize
how winning my position was.
Those are some of my thoughts on correspondence! gl hf!