When do you call it quits?

 

This is a common question. When you are playing two sessions, when can you stop to gain a mental advantage over your opponent? This feature will try to help you discover the answer.

 

When playing two sessions, the split will always be 2/3 or 3/2 in a 5-game match. The following situations will influence your decision whether to play the third game in the first session, or leave it to the second.

 

1. The overall position

Normally, of course, you want to go into the break in the lead. If you lead the match after 2 games, consider quitting, and letting your opponent lose sleep over the position they are in. But if you had two convincing wins in the first 2 games, and are playing at a high standard, you may consider playing a third game to press home your advantage. If you are at a 1 game all situation, I think you should nearly always leave the third game to the second session, as it will most likely be the crucial game.

 

2. The last game you played

Another crucial thing you have to look at is the last game you played. If you won that game (and the game before that) convincingly, you should probably play a third game. Winning the first 2 games doesn’t necessarily mean that you should play on. A mistake I made in my R1 game was played on after winning the first two games, but I had played scrappily in game 2. I should have quit while I was ahead. 

 

3. Other factors

There may be other, smaller things that influence your decision. If you are feeling tired, or it is late at night, you may not want to play on. You may want to play the game in 3 sessions (this would be the case for later rounds). If there are other small things that are on your mind, this may effect your decision. But most importantly THE CHOICE IS YOURS (Editor’s note: and your opponent’s of course!)

 

I want to hear your views! E-mail me at wrong_is_wright@hotmail.com

 

Written by Simon Wright