ANDREW BRETT wrote on 01/08/08 at 15:28:24:

That's a great idea, I'm surprised that someone like Adorjan hasn't already tried it! Maybe there is a FIDE rule that bans it?!

GMTonyKosten wrote on 01/07/08 at 15:41:03:


Why not do a handstand instead if you want to get blood into your head !! 

Playing when tired is to my mind largely a psychological problem.

Tests have bee performed which indicate that performance on cognition tests does not fall precipitously after normal ranges of sleep deprivation. Sure, there's a performance dropoff, but it's not as huge as one might think.

I think the bigger driver of underperformance comes from telling onself 'I'm so tired, I can't concentrate, I can't play today', putting oneself in a negative mindset, and looking to evade critical positions etc.

Two of my best games have come after getting only three or four hours sleep, in one case with severe jetlag thrown in. In this range of mild sleep deprivation, I believe the psychological effects outweigh the physiological ones.

My solution is the conventional one of trading the queens if at all possible, playing conservatively and naturally and avoiding all calculation.

But it varies from person to person and from opponent to opponent. Most of the games I play when tired are local league games where I fancy myself basically stronger than my opponent. If that isn't true then different tactics may be needed. But basically sticking to instinct and avoiding too much thought or calculation has to be right. Pretty much what Aagaard says.

I am always tired when playing chess due to my day (and night) job. 

My solution is to play long theoretically forcing lines for as much as possible. For example I can reel off 24 moves of Sokolsky exchange sac theory in the 7. Bc4 Grunfeld, and then start thinking on move 25. 

Its easier to play theoretical moves because they don't require much thought. Thinking for yourself is always harder and more taxing than memorising. 

There's a major consolation in being tired at the end of the tournament.   

Remember that your opponent is tired too!

If you do that, then chess becomes a sport and your desire to play through the tiredness will be a major asset.  Instead of asking chess players whether they should eat cookies or something else, take a look and see how marathon runners and other athletes fight through tiredness.  The physiological needs are even more dire among athletes, and they have better funding!  There are plenty of links that will help you if you read the research that has already been done.

Greetings,

Stigma
A general guideline is that when playing (much) weaker opponents, play solidly - wait for them to make weakening moves.

They invariably make such moves, often leaving their pawn formation disjointed where the stronger player can then take advantage of such "holes" through positional play - something which the weaker player may well not comprehend.

The above "strategy" is what should be done.

More often than not, however, one sees quite the opposite!

The stronger player feels, "I should be able to crush him/her!" - and then goes looking for an (all-out) attack. This invariably leads to their trying too hard and blowing the game.

Given the above advice regarding how the stronger player should approach the weaker opponent - as the weaker player, one can easily see how to cross-up their strategy. 

Mix it up!

If you have a opening in your repertoire which leads to complex play, now's the time to use it!

The more complex/complicated the resulting play, the better.

The above presupposes that you are as well versed in these complex positions/concrete tactical lines as a Dragon specialist.

If you apply the above suggestions to when you are tired...

1) As the stronger player, you minimize the risk of making a tactical blunder - just wait for the opponent to weaken their pawns, play positionally and/or exchange off to a winning ending;

2) As the weaker player, if you are as at home in the complex opening as a Dragon specialist would be, then you'll find you may not have to think that much for most of the game - except at critical points - the plans/moves are so well-known to you; whereas your stronger opponent may well be struggling to work his way through the complications (giving you time to rest between thinking sessions, thus conserving your energy for when it's needed).

Many years ago, I had a couple of games as the weaker opponent (by some several hundred points) turn out well for me - one draw, one win.

During the draw, I had black in a Dragon against a player rated ~2200 USCF. After about a dozen moves, my opponent didn't look too good. I caught his eye and raised an eyebrow in a "Are you (feeling) alright?" expression. He answered (over the board) that he didn't know what came next! The game swung both ways but ended in an agreed draw.

The win was a fortunate one.

Again playing with the black pieces, I'd made a complete pig's dinner of the opening - my stronger opponent (~2050 USCF against my ~1620 at the time) then went for an attacking combination without bothering about completing his development - and fell to a queen mate on the back rank!

1. d4, d5; 2. c4, e6; 3. Nc3, Nf6; 4. cd, ed; 5. Bg5, c6; 6. e3, Bf5(?); 7. g4, Bg6(?); 8. Qb3, b6; 9. Bxf6, Qxf6; 10. Nxd5(?!), cd; 11. Qxd5(?), Bb4+; 12. Kd1(?), 0-0; 13. a3?, Qxf2; 14. Ne2??, Qe1#



The idea of ..., Bf5 was something with which I was experimenting as a means of combatting the Colle/London to exchange off the Bd3 and/or prevent Rc1 following a exchange of pawns (cd, ed). I really shouldn't have played it at this point in the QGD [6. ..., Be7 was best, staying in well-known lines], although it is one of Black's plans, as White obviously had 7. Qf3 in response.

At the time, I didn't see that.   

Fortunately, neither did my opponent - or, if he did, he didn't play it.

Kindest regards,

Dragan Glas

Tiredness and morning games have a twofold effect on me:

a) Early opening blunders

b) Late game disasters

So, your strategical solutions may not be of help to me. I could even go further and suggest that it is more beneficial to figure out in which period of the game you tend to blunder and not in what type of positions.