Or how I improved my bullet rating with one simple trick.
My classical rating is above 1700, but I've been really struggling with bullet, falling as low as 1208. Now matter how hard I tried, I could not break the 1400 bullet limit. And then I had a "brilliant" idea: what if I were to play instantly, not even thinking about the moves? If my opponent fails to mate me, I'd win on time. And there is an opening that is well suited for just that - the hippo. For those unfamiliar, it is defined by the moves d3, e3, g3, b3, Bb2, Bg2, Ne2, Nd2, a3, h3 and optionally O-O (mirror for black). Typically they can be premoved no matter what the opponent plays, and then I can just shuffle the queen on the first rank and gain time advantage. For best effect, any pawn breaks should be prevented by closing the position. The strategy is obviously intended for 1+0 games.
Surely this stupid strategy could not work well, but I decided to try it just for fun. Imagine my surprise when I reached 1500 with relative ease. Behold the pinnacle of my bullet career:
ru.lichess.org/FkPXon2v/black
I know, 1500 bullet rating is nothing to brag about, but I find it amusing that I managed to gain ~150 points by not even trying to play meaningfully. If you're stuck below 1500 in bullet, you know what to do.
My classical rating is above 1700, but I've been really struggling with bullet, falling as low as 1208. Now matter how hard I tried, I could not break the 1400 bullet limit. And then I had a "brilliant" idea: what if I were to play instantly, not even thinking about the moves? If my opponent fails to mate me, I'd win on time. And there is an opening that is well suited for just that - the hippo. For those unfamiliar, it is defined by the moves d3, e3, g3, b3, Bb2, Bg2, Ne2, Nd2, a3, h3 and optionally O-O (mirror for black). Typically they can be premoved no matter what the opponent plays, and then I can just shuffle the queen on the first rank and gain time advantage. For best effect, any pawn breaks should be prevented by closing the position. The strategy is obviously intended for 1+0 games.
Surely this stupid strategy could not work well, but I decided to try it just for fun. Imagine my surprise when I reached 1500 with relative ease. Behold the pinnacle of my bullet career:
ru.lichess.org/FkPXon2v/black
I know, 1500 bullet rating is nothing to brag about, but I find it amusing that I managed to gain ~150 points by not even trying to play meaningfully. If you're stuck below 1500 in bullet, you know what to do.