Power naps and surprise openings: How players are trying to ace fast classic

As R Vaishali staggers out of the playing hall, one can see the fatigue on her face. Many of her colleagues are also feeling the burn after playing two fast classical games in a day at the pilot event of Total Chess.

“Today has been a very tiring day, much more tiring than I had expected,” Vaishali tells The Indian Express after drawing the second game against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, following a loss against the Frenchman on Wednesday.

It’s the first time most of the 24-player field has dabbled in fast classical — games with 45 minutes on the clock with 30-second increments for each move. While the games end faster than regular classical games, playing two games in a day for five days at a stretch feels like a test of endurance. At the Total Chess pilot event, not just the organisers, but the players also are testing their strategies — both on the board and off it — to ace the format ahead of the full tour next year that will culminate in a World Championship.

“Playing two games in a day against the same opponent who’s so strong is going to be pretty tough. It’s going to test everyone’s endurance,” Vaibhav Suri, R Praggnanandhaa’s coach, tells The Indian Express.

The 24 players have been divided into four groups of six each with double-headers against the same opponent for five days at a stretch. While rapid and blitz tournaments too see players playing multiple games in a day, those don’t really count in their classical ratings — which is what every chess player is fiercely protective about — and adds pressure on them to do well in fast classical.

“It plays with your mind. The rating is also on the line. Every game, every move matters. The biggest trick that normally allows you to play many rapid or blitz games in a day is that it does not count for (classical) rating. So you take it slightly lightly. If you’re not so well prepared for an opponent, that’s okay. But when rating points are on the line, you realise that these fast classical games are equally important as any classical game for which you prepare for so many hours,” says Peter Leko, the coach and mentor of Vincent Keymer.

Work smart

For regular classical games, players can spend six to seven hours on rigorous opening preparation. But with there being two games in a day at this tournament, many of the players have had to find a balance between preparing deep and resting.

Story continues below this ad

Arjun, known to have a voracious appetite for prep, says he didn’t go as deep as he normally would for his games.

“It’s about being slightly smart with your preparation. You can’t over-prepare also, because the energy levels will take a hit sooner rather than later in the tournament if you do that,” adds Suri. “Everyone seems to have a brief plan, but I am pretty sure all plans are flexible. The format requires that.”

Pragg reveals that in the break between the two fast classical games on Wednesday, he took a power nap of 15 minutes but also spent time brushing up on his opening prep.

A strategy that some players employed on Wednesday was to try and surprise their opponents in the opening, forcing them to lose some time overthinking their response since there is just 45 minutes on the clock. Pragg, for example, found himself in time trouble in the first game against German grandmaster Vincent Keymer as early as the 14th move, having just 6 minutes on his clock by the 15th. Levon Aronian was also caught off-guard by Jorden van Foreest’s opening tactics.

Story continues below this ad

“In the first game (on Wednesday), Vincent did surprise Pragg out of his opening because it was something he has not played for a while. Then Magnus Carlsen played the Dutch Defence against Anish Giri, which is an opening that you just do not see at this level against a player like Anish. But these games are data for us to figure out what others are doing,” says Suri.

(The writer is in Budapest at the invitation of Total Chess)