Weekend Arena

Well played to RowanKent, Midnight17 & ADannatt26, our top three players today, scoring 23 points, 18 and 16 respectively.  There was some very good chess today, so well played to all - it was great to everyone winning at least one game.

I think that one question that all members must ask themselves is "how can I do better?"  Arena chess rewards players who win games quickly because they fit more games in and so have more opportunities to score points.  But, everyone knows this, and so there is a temptation to rush.  I would strongly suggest that you are better to play reasonably quickly, but also to understand that there are periods of games and certain positions which require more thought.  I suspect that the easiest way for most players improve their results is to try to be aware of the moments in games which deserve more attention.  After all, you get no points for losing games.  Another thing to think about is when you go Berserk.  You get more points for winning if you do take this option, but you also half you time.  It is probably worth thinking about this as well.

I would like to congratulate two players in particular today.  Firstly sana333.  This was sana333's first tournament in the SJC Lichess club and sana333 played really well, winning 6 games out of 9 and coming 6th overall.  Very well played, and welcome to the club.

I would also like to congratulate MerryJazz.  MerryJazz regularly does very well in these events, but today had a tough start, losing several matches.  In that situation, it can be tempting to give up and stop trying.  But, that is not what happened.  Instead, he continued playing and managed to win 3 and draw 1 of his last 5 games, including winning against the runner up in todays event.  Very well played.  Is it possible that you were rushing a bit at the start?

If you have a Lichess login, you can see the full results and look through all the games here: lichess.org/tournament/5qIyeEDu