Pogchamps 5 has got to be one of the most-watched chess events in the entire world! Hundreds of thousands of people all around the world tune into this one event every day! However, it’s genuinely unfortunate that many people don’t take the time to really think and analyse these mistakes.
In this blog post, we’ll be covering 2 of the biggest mistakes seen in Pogchamps 5, being Time Management, and “Bad move” because of a very specific tactic. Let’s get started!
Time Management
Take a look at this position. By all means, Jarvis (playing white) is completely winning, with a +2 advantage. Yet, he was lost in this position, due to time-out.
Spending a full 30 seconds of his 3 minutes on this move could only be described as a waste of time (It isn’t even the best move cause he had an outpost on e6). It is advised to consistently and constantly check the clock to ensure you still have enough time.
Extra tip for blitz players, try getting into the habit of blitzing out your move within 5 seconds. In order to do this, try noticing and identifying common patterns or game plans within the position!
Bad Moves (But only because of a specific Tactic)
Notice this game, how QF4 is a completely losing move. While CDawgVA (playing black) managed to fork Jarvis (playing white), Black is completely losing due to a counterfork only possible because of this pin.
While this tactic is noticeable to us, the same philosophy applies. Some moves are bad but only due to a specific tactic, sometimes 2-3 moves. In order to find these moves, consider following this Checklist!
Check - Always look for Checks, As that is the most forcing move in the game. You force your opponent either to move the king or take the piece.
Captures - The second most forcing move in the game. When a capture occurs, it’s very likely your opponent will recapture, to not lose material.
Attacks - The third most forcing choice in a game. If you attack a piece, either that piece has to capture, move away or be defended. In this case, White could’ve found this move by looking for attacks.
Following the Checklist is critical in order to avoid missing 99% of tactics. When you play your next game, consider checking both your checks, captures, and attacks as well as your opponent’s checks, captures and attacks to avoid making silly blunders.
Conclusion
Time management and avoiding bad moves are always going to be critical parts of your chess play, no matter your rating. If there’s one thing you should remember after reading this blog post, it’s that always look for Checks, Captures and Attacks, as that will Massively benefit you in the future.
We hope you found this lesson helpful and we look forward to seeing you here again!
