SM-blikstit: LauttSSK 2

The heavily anticipated mega blitz chess tournament of the year concluded in Pori. Here are the results, highlights, observations, and commentary from LauttSSK 2:

1. Ashwin Kumar (2114)
   
2. Petr Vesely (2076)
   
3. Jyrki Heikkinen (2020)
   
4. Pekka Kauppala (2017)
   

Boards 4–1

Results

Day 1 – Group A – 7th (54½/84):

1. 11/21 (52 %), perf. 2024
   
2. 11 (52 %), perf. 1950
   
3. 16½ (79 %), perf. 2108
   
4. 16 (76 %), perf. 1981
   

Day 2 – Division 1 – 22nd (48/108):

1. 1. 13½/27 (50 %), perf. 2161
   
2. 12 (44 %), perf. 2036
   
3. 11½ (43 %), perf. 1981
   
4. 11 (41 %), perf. 1905
   

Day 1 Highlights

Ashwin:

• a spectacular loss to Mika Karttunen
  
• beat M Pekka Asomäki
  

Petr:

• beat Janne Myller
  
• drew with FM Heikki Salo
  

Jyrki:

• beat M Jere Huovinen, M Teemu Vihinen, Markko Keto-Tokoi
  
• 12 game winning streak (at one point had 15/16 points)
  

Pekka:

• beat FM Dietmar Vinke
  
• 10 game winning streak (at one point had 14/15 points)
  

Day 2 Highlights

Ashwin:

• beat NvkM Tanja Tuominen, FM Jari Järvenpää, M Mikko Tolonen, Mikhail Andronov, Andrey Drats, Timo Syvälahti
  
• drew with FM Harry Mansner, FM Tapio Salo, Jussi Upero
  

Petr:

• beat FM Markku Henttinen, Evgeny Ivashko
  

Jyrki:

• beat M Teemu Vihinen
  

Pekka:

• drew with FM Ilkka Saren
  

Observation and Hypothesis

The most interesting observation for me was that Jyrki and Pekka thrived on Day 1, but struggled on Day 2. Whereas Petr and I thrived on Day 2, but struggled on Day 1. This is interesting because Petr and I are somewhat similar in the sense that we are both OK chess players who are good blitz players. And Jyrki and Pekka are good chess players but OK blitz players. My hypothesis based on this observation is that Day 1 suits the styles of strong chess players, whereas Day 2 suits the styles of strong blitz chess players. It would be interesting to analyze past years to test this hypothesis.

Rules, Drama, and the Future

The new rules brought a nice big dose of drama to the competition, with a lot of players struggling to adapt, and a lot of other players thriving in the new era. In my view, the new rules are good for blitz chess because they force players to play neatly. No longer will the wild picking and dropping of pieces in the final seconds be tolerated. Instead, now the well behaved player who has managed his time well and doesn't hurriedly drop the pieces will benefit as he can simply claim a win if the opponent drops his pieces.

Now, more than ever before, it is imperative that players manage their time much much better! Do not put yourself in a position where you need to blitz it out in the end, because you will drop the pieces and lose immediately. Instead, just play cooler and faster moves beforehand, so that you don't have to worry about it.