The discerning reader will have noticed that in this book, hidden in plain sight, are a number of principles which set out the essence of bullet chess.
The industrious reader will have taken out his or her notebook and carefully listed these principles for repeated study.
The patient reader will have read to the very end of this book and will therefore not have to bother listing the principles, because we will save you the trouble.
1. Winning on time is as honorable as winning on the board.
To misquote Dante “Abandon Pride, all ye who enter here.” Players who think that winning on the board somehow means more than winning on time will have a hard time playing bullet. If a player thinks that losing on time is acceptable, that’s just what will happen all too often. Leave your pride at the tournament hall, and accept that the bullet rules are right – checkmate or time decides the game, and it doesn’t matter which way you win or lose.
2. Time is money.
In bullet all those wonderful and valid chess principles that we know (or should know) and love (or ignore) are only a means to an end, and the end is winning. Sure, it’s great to have a big material advantage, and if weakening your opponent’s pawn structure or having the bishop pair makes you happy, go for it. Happy players play faster and better. But in the end, if your principled play doesn’t force mate or run your opponent out of time, it doesn’t matter. So don’t hesitate to trade material or other advantages for time, or vice versa. Ultimately you have to convert whatever currency you are using into a win, or else it’s all just show.
3. Post-mortems are for losers.
Sound play is great if it works, but otherwise who really cares? Constant, relentless strategic or tactical pressure usually wears down your opponent, leading to an increasing time or positional advantage. But “unsound” traps and tricks can work too, if they are used at the right psychological moment. When your opponent loses and points out the refutation, you can smile sweetly.
4. The initiative is crucial in bullet.
Usually this involves a direct attack on the opponent’s king, although the initiative can take many forms. Almost any kind of threat will do, as it is harder for most players to defend than to attack. Keep in mind, however, that unexpected moves are also hard to meet, so it may well be better to hold an obvious threat in reserve in order to confuse your opponent. Because defending takes time, it is often worth giving up at least some material in order to seize the initiative and create threats. This is even true in the opening, as the opponent may either overlook the threats or fall fatally behind on time. In the middlegame, confronting your opponent with difficult, irrevocable positional decisions may flummox him or her. In the endgame, direct attacks can save time and may be the best – or even the only – way to convert an advantage.
5. If you’re winning, don’t pick a fight.
If you are ahead on time and on position, the game is yours to lose. Don’t try to be a hero and win brilliantly (see point 1, above) – just play quickly and let nature take its course. Care is always required in bullet, as no position is so good it can’t be wrecked.
6. If you’re losing, fight on!
Conversely, if you’re losing, don’t resign. Anything can happen in bullet, and until you are mated, there’s hope. Keep the possibility of counterplay alive by avoiding exchanges if possible and especially by avoiding checkmate!
7. When the position is balanced, play quickly and consistently.
Bullet games are volatile, and often it is possible to say that one player is clearly winning or losing. But in between are those unclear or balanced positions where you “just have to play chess.” In bullet, “just playing chess” means playing finding a plan and playing quickly. Don’t think deeply in non-critical positions, trying to discover positional nuances that will impress your friends and frighten your enemies, and never, ever get emotionally involved in the position! There just isn’t time for a serious relationship!
8. Have fun.
We keep coming back to this, don’t we? Your ego should not be tied to your bullet rating, and one good (undeserved?) win should balance several losses. Bullet is art, and while in one sense winning is all that matters, the imperfections in the game allow for wins which you could never hope to see in tournament chess. Bullet games can be beautiful, in their own way.
A word on etiquette
We now turn to the delicate subject of bullet etiquette. Since bullet is supposed to be fun, it’s difficult to understand why some people get upset about it. It may be the frustration of making mistakes, but that’s what bullet it all about. Here are some “do’s” and “don’t’s” of bullet etiquette: