Losing on time OTB

I play 15+3 time control otb, and end up losing 2/7 games on time, even if I have a winning endgame, like 3 pawns or a minor piece up.
Any ways to play faster otb/ not get lost in variations/ see tactics fast ?
Please note that I don't have anyone to practice with and a limited time to spend on chess everyday.

Thank you in advance

If the opponent just captured one of your pieces, don’t spend more than 20 seconds looking for an intermezzo. If you want to attack the king by sacrificing, make sure you calculate far. If you see an easy plan to promote a pawn, do it. Also sometimes you can get away with sacrificing a piece for two pawns in the endgame.

Thanks @J_SEDA_conant
@J_SEDA_conant said in #2:
> If you want to attack the king by sacrificing, make sure you calculate far.
how long do you think it's worth spending on calculating in an otb game?
@J_SEDA_conant said in #2:
> Also sometimes you can get away with sacrificing a piece for two pawns in the endgame.
Any way to know when it'll work and when it'll not? Normally at such positions I'm at under 1 minute and opponent has 5 minutes

@Soccergirl_08 said in #3:
> Thanks @J_SEDA_conant
> how long do you think it's worth spending on calculating in an otb game?
Until you see a checkmate or the opponent has to give up material, or in rare cases if you can get more pieces into the attack (rooks, bishops, queen), like sacrificing a bishop on h7 to play Qh5 and Ng5 starting attack (commonly known as Greek gift)
> Any way to know when it'll work and when it'll not? Normally at such positions I'm at under 1 minute and opponent has 5 minutes
If pawns are even, you can do it almost any time. Worst case scenario, rooks are on the board and you will have to watch out for losing a pawn as it could lead to a draw. If your opponent has more pawns, follow a “checklist”: if there are no rooks or queens, your odds are better at winning. If the opponent only has knights and pawns, go ahead. You probably win. If there are queens and/or rooks, wait to sacrifice. Of course, this is all dependent on the position, like how close both players’ pawns are to promotion and if players’ pawns are isolated/doubled. Keep in mind that you should consider stacked pawns as one, since a king can stop them all

I'm the "thinker" type myself, I know the pain. Do you have a consistent opening repertoire already? That's one way to save time, when your opponent has to think and you don't.

As for "seeing tactics fast", you just have to gradually improve as you play and do the usual chess stuff (puzzles etc.) No magic tricks there.

Instead, maybe think about your own time management, how exactly do you get into time trouble. Personally, I keep reminding myself to "just make the damn moves" and believe it or not, it helps. If I make the first 20 moves in 10 minutes in a 30+0 game, I won't get into time trouble. If I make only ten, I most certainly will.

@Soccergirl_08
Don't think during opening. Plan in middlegame what to do by using time. Looking at endgame if it's easy then simply do exchage or if not then think for sometime to proceed.
And if you are playing attackingly make sure to calculate everything because it wrongly calculated it can backfire. And if you are playing quite defensively don't spend more than 5 minutes on a move in a 25+0 game.

Practice online games with 10 minutes time control. If you get used to this time control, you won't be in time trouble in 15 + 3 otb game. You can also create a game with 12 minutes if 10 minutes is too fast.

>Please note that I don't have anyone to practice with

You do have lichess, though. I'd recommend more practice online with similar time controls. OTB is not that different from online chess. Try to be aware of where you waste the most time. In rapid and blitz you often just have to be decisive and make a move. No point in finding all the best moves, then losing on time.

Thanks @J_SEDA_conant !
@Haymarket said in #5:
> Quick tip: make safe, meaningless moves fast to increase your time. Of course you must be careful not to draw with threefold (or 50 moves rule). Okay thanks!
@ShiningDrongo said in #6:
> I'm the "thinker" type myself, I know the pain. Do you have a consistent opening repertoire already? That's one way to save time, when your opponent has to think and you don't.
>
> As for "seeing tactics fast", you just have to gradually improve as you play and do the usual chess stuff (puzzles etc.) No magic tricks there.
>
> Instead, maybe think about your own time management, how exactly do you get into time trouble. Personally, I keep reminding myself to "just make the damn moves" and believe it or not, it helps. If I make the first 20 moves in 10 minutes in a 30+0 game, I won't get into time trouble. If I make only ten, I most certainly will.
I do have a repertoire, Queens gambit as white and French as black.
Normally, I look at an interesting variation, and a normal variation when it seems that there would be some advantage if you play the interesting variation. Welp, I'll try to keep reminding myself to "play the damn moves too" XD
@Akbar2thegreat said in #7:
> @Soccergirl_08
> Don't think during opening. Plan in middlegame what to do by using time. Looking at endgame if it's easy then simply do exchage or if not then think for sometime to proceed.
> And if you are playing attackingly make sure to calculate everything because it wrongly calculated it can backfire. And if you are playing quite defensively don't spend more than 5 minutes on a move in a 25+0 game.
Normally, I think a lot in middlegame, and then get an awesome endgame position but very less time (less than 1 min but up 3 pawns with a bishop and knight on board or so)
@ryan121 said in #8:
> Practice online games with 10 minutes time control. If you get used to this time control, you won't be in time trouble in 15 + 3 otb game. You can also create a game with 12 minutes if 10 minutes is too fast.
10 min with or without increment?
@Frogster64 said in #9:
> You do have lichess, though. I'd recommend more practice online with similar time controls. OTB is not that different from online chess. Try to be aware of where you waste the most time. In rapid and blitz you often just have to be decisive and make a move. No point in finding all the best moves, then losing on time.
Okay thanks, and yes I learnt that there's no point in finding all the best moves and then losing on time D: