Author: Harpo
Date: 03:35:05 02/12/00
I get the impression that many people play against their computers using standard time controls. I give Fritz or CM two minutes per move and take as much time as I like. This is usually around five minutes but it can run well over half an hour in complicated positions. In the event that a game is going into a level endgame I save it and pick it up the next day (a cushy third shift job greatly facilitates this approach). The pros of this "time control" are obvious. You get the best features of OTB play and postal play in one! Those of us who are tactically challenged can avoid being blindsided by attacks we would normally miss. You actually have enough time to carefully analyse all of your candidate moves and the computer's candidate responses to each move (which, in my painful experience, is the bare minimum effort required to get an occasional draw!) It's one of the potential cons that I'm concerned about. I haven't played in a tournament in ages but I would like to in the near future. Is this style of play merely a decadent whim (one which I highly recommend, by the way) or am I training myself to play like a sloth? I'm inclined to suspect that busting your hump against a monster of an opponent strengthens your play _regardless_ of the time control. What do others think? Harpo
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