Train in vain

I won the rated blitz tournament at the club tonight (7.5 out of 10). As White I played 1. e4, as Black I played the French vs. 1. e4 and against 1. d4 I just kind of played what I felt were reasonable moves (I used to play the Dutch as it works well with the French if you start 1…e6, but I am looking at new options, just haven’t researched them enough).

A couple games I felt I played too passively, which is not a good idea in blitz; you spend too much time trying to get your pieces untangled. Should really just open it up, give a pawn if necessary, and go for broke. About the only time I used a specific opening was one game against the French where I played 1. e4 e6 2. b3 d5 3. Bb2 dxe4 4. Nc3, the Reti gambit. I don’t feel comfortable playing it at longer time controls, but in blitz I feel it works well – for the pawn you get quick development, castle queenside and attack. If Black really wants the pawn then let him have it (as I did after 4. …f5 5. f3), and you can end up with a big lead in development. Yes Black should be better with best play, but you are not likely to face best play in a 5 minute game when they haven’t studied this variation.

This doesn’t change my plan to use the Reti (1. Nf3 2. c4) as White in real tournament play. Maybe it should, but I’ve already gone down the 1. e4 route. Blitz is just for fun, but I have rating points I need to save (and hopefully increase upon).

On another subject, if there are any radio DJs reading this, please stop playing that awful Train song. I’d rather listen to Mr. Mister, and they suck too.