LESSON 01
Give every minute a job
In The Great Hesitation, one opening decision consumed almost six minutes. The move worked; the clock did not.
opening ≤ 20%
middlegame ≥ 50%
finish ≥ 30%
middlegame ≥ 50%
finish ≥ 30%
LESSON 02
Checks before stories
When the king is loose, calculate every forcing move before inventing a positional narrative.
CHECKS → CAPTURES → THREATS
then choose the shortest proof
then choose the shortest proof
LESSON 03
Scan the longest lines
A bishop crossed the entire board and took the a8 rook. Before moving a central pawn, look from every bishop, rook, and queen to the edge.
g2 — f3 — e4 — d5 — c6 — b7 — a8
LESSON 04
Confirm the mate
A forced sequence and a later mate-in-one both appeared. The final scan is simple: checking square, escape squares, captures, interpositions.
21…Nc6+! 22 Qxc6+ Nxc6+
23 Ke6 Rf6#
23 Ke6 Rf6#
Two games, one lesson
THE CREEPY CRAWLY
Let the opponent overextend
The unusual shell survived a pawn storm. Once Black sacrificed both knights, simple captures converted the position.
14…Nf4 15 gxf4
20…Nxf5 21 exf5
24…Qxd3 25 Qxd3+
20…Nxf5 21 exf5
24…Qxd3 25 Qxd3+
THE GREAT HESITATION
Winning is not yet won
Black created mating geometry while living on seconds. Calculation found the attack; time pressure repeatedly broke its execution.
king exposed + forcing pieces
− usable clock
= pattern seen too late
− usable clock
= pattern seen too late
The three-second scan
1Am I in check?
2Do I have mate?
3What hangs?
POSITION: after 21 Ke5
Black to move. Which thought belongs first?
Clock covenant
I will not spend the game proving one move. I will preserve enough time to recognize the position the earlier moves were trying to create.