Practical Tips for the Tournament Player Vol.1

Time Management

How to use the time on on your clock effectively

Most time trouble starts long before the critical moment. When several moves are roughly equal, we hunt for the perfect one and pay for it twenty moves later.

Jan Markos offers three rules for spending the clock where it matters. Decide quickly while the armies are not yet in contact and there are no tactics, and save your thinking for positions with hanging pieces, forks and an exposed king. Use your opponent's time when the position has a stable character, but in a tactical tangle, wait for his actual move. And in a won endgame with increment, bank a few seconds with safe moves before committing to the winning plan.