Blitz strategy: play like a complete idiot

@zorba7676: Of course I don't intentionally play badly, but if I didn't play badly then I'd have a better rating. The fact is that players like us, and even players stronger than us, blunder all the time. We just don't notice it while we're playing. Strong players (and by "strong" I mean, say, IMs and GMs) can almost stop paying attention when they play against patzers like us, because they know that we can't help but blunder.

This becomes more obvious if you watch enough of Ben Finegold's streams: he intentionally plays the worst moves, argues with the chat, checks his phone, drinks ice tea, and then starts paying attention only when he's a rook down and has 20 seconds remaining to his opponents 2 minutes. Then he wins both on time and on the board and makes it look easy. The reason is simply that his opponents can't help but blunder, and he sees it. We don't.

That's not to say there's anything inherently special about Ben Finegold or other GMs: everyone starts as a patzer, of course. I think the main thing preventing most people from getting better at chess is just the time available to them. But the fact remains: weak players make blunders and strong players don't, and you don't really need to bait the blunders from the weak players, you just need to wait. That's what makes them weak.

"then starts paying attention only when he's a rook down and has 20 seconds remaining to his opponents 2 minutes."

I think GM Finegold can't play with this style against others GM or IM.

In a match betwen two players if one is far better he can play without efforts and win. This is not a secret.

This hurts. It‘s like an accident - but I can’t take my eyes off.

@JM3000: I didn't say he could. In fact, I said exactly the opposite: I said weak players can't help but make blunders, and strong players (by which I meant IMs and GMs, say) can.