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Letting lower rated players defeat themselves

MAYBE the KIA is news to a 1000 rated player, but in general, amateur level French Defense players see it plenty, and most of them seem to think it's no big deal to play against. I'd say play it if that is what you like to play, not because you think it's going to be outside their prep, because it will not be.

MAYBE the KIA is news to a 1000 rated player, but in general, amateur level French Defense players see it plenty, and most of them seem to think it's no big deal to play against. I'd say play it if that is what you like to play, not because you think it's going to be outside their prep, because it will not be.

I agree that the opening was super passive. But once you got in your groove, you played with direction, while your opponent clearly drifted.

The reason I'm commenting is because I think it's worth noting that your online vs OTB ratings aren't so far off. 2200 lichess rapid and 2000 lichess blitz should be roughly around 1600 USCF based on my experience. So the fact that you're 1500 means you're definitely in the same ballpark. If you tell yourself that you're super underrated when it's not necessarily the case, you might get upset with not meeting your self-imposed expectations. I didn't want that to be the case.

Keep up the grind!

I agree that the opening was super passive. But once you got in your groove, you played with direction, while your opponent clearly drifted. The reason I'm commenting is because I think it's worth noting that your online vs OTB ratings aren't so far off. 2200 lichess rapid and 2000 lichess blitz should be roughly around 1600 USCF based on my experience. So the fact that you're 1500 means you're definitely in the same ballpark. If you tell yourself that you're super underrated when it's not necessarily the case, you might get upset with not meeting your self-imposed expectations. I didn't want that to be the case. Keep up the grind!

Yeah when playing against players <1500 uscf, typically games are won by blunders. Since you are decent at blitz, you can just play passive until they get under 5 minutes and get easy wins from there. but at a higher level, opponents won't play nothing moves to allow everything, like the a6 blunder. Take your chances as soon as you can, and keep improving!

Yeah when playing against players <1500 uscf, typically games are won by blunders. Since you are decent at blitz, you can just play passive until they get under 5 minutes and get easy wins from there. but at a higher level, opponents won't play nothing moves to allow everything, like the a6 blunder. Take your chances as soon as you can, and keep improving!

Very interesting. I seem to have more of an opposite situation.
I am 2000 on lichess while in classical FIDE i am 1900.
I feel that I am able to concentrate more while playing OTB. While at home i find it hard to sut and concentrate for a long game.

Very interesting. I seem to have more of an opposite situation. I am 2000 on lichess while in classical FIDE i am 1900. I feel that I am able to concentrate more while playing OTB. While at home i find it hard to sut and concentrate for a long game.

@MaxxLange said ^

MAYBE the KIA is news to a 1000 rated player, but in general, amateur level French Defense players see it plenty, and most of them seem to think it's no big deal to play against. I'd say play it if that is what you like to play, not because you think it's going to be outside their prep, because it will not be.

Interesting! I guess this was a poor assumption on my part and I appreciate that insight (seems it was bound to haunt me eventually). I made this assumption because it feels like I generally get good positions out of the opening when I play it so I assumed it was understudied. I’ll likely keep playing it depending on my mood though

@MaxxLange said [^](/forum/redirect/post/SgtNPnSa) > MAYBE the KIA is news to a 1000 rated player, but in general, amateur level French Defense players see it plenty, and most of them seem to think it's no big deal to play against. I'd say play it if that is what you like to play, not because you think it's going to be outside their prep, because it will not be. Interesting! I guess this was a poor assumption on my part and I appreciate that insight (seems it was bound to haunt me eventually). I made this assumption because it feels like I generally get good positions out of the opening when I play it so I assumed it was understudied. I’ll likely keep playing it depending on my mood though

@Ivanchuk_Student said ^

I agree that the opening was super passive. But once you got in your groove, you played with direction, while your opponent clearly drifted.

The reason I'm commenting is because I think it's worth noting that your online vs OTB ratings aren't so far off. 2200 lichess rapid and 2000 lichess blitz should be roughly around 1600 USCF based on my experience. So the fact that you're 1500 means you're definitely in the same ballpark. If you tell yourself that you're super underrated when it's not necessarily the case, you might get upset with not meeting your self-imposed expectations. I didn't want that to be the case.

Keep up the grind!

Thanks for the comment! I used to think that way until recently actually. I decided to just focus on the game rather than focusing on the elo. Seems to be working out so far!

@Ivanchuk_Student said [^](/forum/redirect/post/7gNOrgNE) > I agree that the opening was super passive. But once you got in your groove, you played with direction, while your opponent clearly drifted. > > The reason I'm commenting is because I think it's worth noting that your online vs OTB ratings aren't so far off. 2200 lichess rapid and 2000 lichess blitz should be roughly around 1600 USCF based on my experience. So the fact that you're 1500 means you're definitely in the same ballpark. If you tell yourself that you're super underrated when it's not necessarily the case, you might get upset with not meeting your self-imposed expectations. I didn't want that to be the case. > > Keep up the grind! Thanks for the comment! I used to think that way until recently actually. I decided to just focus on the game rather than focusing on the elo. Seems to be working out so far!

@zqx2009 said ^

Yeah when playing against players <1500 uscf, typically games are won by blunders. Since you are decent at blitz, you can just play passive until they get under 5 minutes and get easy wins from there. but at a higher level, opponents won't play nothing moves to allow everything, like the a6 blunder. Take your chances as soon as you can, and keep improving!

For sure for sure. People at my club tend to play pretty quickly, so it’s not so easy to get people so low on time. Certainly hear you on the passive strategy. Not sure I would take this approach against someone higher rated.

@zqx2009 said [^](/forum/redirect/post/RAyQTOrt) > Yeah when playing against players <1500 uscf, typically games are won by blunders. Since you are decent at blitz, you can just play passive until they get under 5 minutes and get easy wins from there. but at a higher level, opponents won't play nothing moves to allow everything, like the a6 blunder. Take your chances as soon as you can, and keep improving! For sure for sure. People at my club tend to play pretty quickly, so it’s not so easy to get people so low on time. Certainly hear you on the passive strategy. Not sure I would take this approach against someone higher rated.

@MR_Halaand said ^

Very interesting. I seem to have more of an opposite situation.
I am 2000 on lichess while in classical FIDE i am 1900.
I feel that I am able to concentrate more while playing OTB. While at home i find it hard to sut and concentrate for a long game.

Interesting! It’s definitely hard to remove the distractions. Jesse at ChessDojo has talked a lot about that and how screens impact concentration.

I recently picked up a Chessnut board to try to get better practice ar home. Basically shut the door and try to remove everything else. Seems to be helping I think!

@MR_Halaand said [^](/forum/redirect/post/e4kayzWW) > Very interesting. I seem to have more of an opposite situation. > I am 2000 on lichess while in classical FIDE i am 1900. > I feel that I am able to concentrate more while playing OTB. While at home i find it hard to sut and concentrate for a long game. Interesting! It’s definitely hard to remove the distractions. Jesse at ChessDojo has talked a lot about that and how screens impact concentration. I recently picked up a Chessnut board to try to get better practice ar home. Basically shut the door and try to remove everything else. Seems to be helping I think!

I'm similar to @MR_Halaand: ~1800 USCF classical/rapid and ~2000 across time controls on Lichess. But my USCF blitz is pretty bad (around 1400 or so), so that's more representative.

I've always wondered what the difference was. Maybe I put more effort into my OTB rated games, or maybe it's about the 3D view and seeing/knowing the person I play against. Or maybe I encounter a greater variety of players/openings on Lichess than OTB.

The point you make about letting lower-rated players self-destruct is a good one. I'm actually kind of surprised at the quality of games at your opponent's 1000 USCF level. In my experience, 1000 USCF players self-destruct far more easily lol - one- or two-move blunders that drop pieces in almost half the games I watch.

Either way, good on you to do this kind of deep analysis of your games! Keep up the great work and wishing you luck on your OTB journey.

I'm similar to @MR_Halaand: ~1800 USCF classical/rapid and ~2000 across time controls on Lichess. But my USCF blitz is pretty bad (around 1400 or so), so that's more representative. I've always wondered what the difference was. Maybe I put more effort into my OTB rated games, or maybe it's about the 3D view and seeing/knowing the person I play against. Or maybe I encounter a greater variety of players/openings on Lichess than OTB. The point you make about letting lower-rated players self-destruct is a good one. I'm actually kind of surprised at the quality of games at your opponent's 1000 USCF level. In my experience, 1000 USCF players self-destruct far more easily lol - one- or two-move blunders that drop pieces in almost half the games I watch. Either way, good on you to do this kind of deep analysis of your games! Keep up the great work and wishing you luck on your OTB journey.