Tips for Beginners that will Raise Your Ratings Right Away
Time: In bughouse, speed is more important than in most forms of chess. The side that has more time has more control over the flow of pieces. In general, you want to have more time than your partner's opponent. Time is more important when the material count is against your side on either board.
Defense:
Always defend before attacking unless you have mate. By having mate, I mean that you already have the necessary pieces and have mate in every continuation. Your opponent must have less time than your partner.
Don't bring your king out. Often keeping your king back is more important than recapturing.
Don't think in terms of defending by having your partner stall unless its the only alternative. Remember that you can be mated by the pieces your opponent already has.
It is much harder for Black to defend than for White. In general, I advise against playing or allowing a sac on f7. Know the standard defensive moves. Playing Qe7 before the sac occurs is a wonderful defensive move because it allows your king to escape to d8 if it ever becomes necessary. The best opening in terms of not having any weaknesses is 1.e4 d5 2. exd Qd5 3.Nc3 Qd8.
When your opponent puts a piece anywhere that it attacks a square near your king, always respond by defending. It only takes two or three pieces to mate.
When you are in check, it is better to interpose than to retreat.
It a good idea to defend the square your king is on. It may prevent the opponent from following the king if you have to retreat.
Asking for Trades: I advise asking for trades only when they are most necessary. For your partner to give you pieces, he probably has to give up on doing what he wants to do on his board. Learn what to do when you aren't getting any pieces. Develop your own pieces. Don't sacrifice if you don't have a definite follow-up or compensation.
Trading: Remember that trading generally helps only one side. Do not trade for the sake of trading. If you see that your partner has many pieces that aren't being used and his opponent has none or only a few, it suggests that trades will generally help your partner's opponent, not your partner. Remember that when you trade, you are trading off your defenders. A board with few pieces generally favors the fastest team. The speed of a team is determined by its slower player, not its faster one.
Resigning: Resigning is for slow tournament games. You should only resigned if you are force mated, you have less time than your partner's opponent, and the players on the other board have stopped moving. Even then you might want to consult your partner.
Do not resign if you get into an argument with your partner. The game will be over soon enough, and then you'll have a different partner next time.
Do not spam your partner if you want him to do something. Assume your partner wants to win too. Sometimes explaining helps more than spamming.
Defense:
Always defend before attacking unless you have mate. By having mate, I mean that you already have the necessary pieces and have mate in every continuation. Your opponent must have less time than your partner.
Don't bring your king out. Often keeping your king back is more important than recapturing.
Don't think in terms of defending by having your partner stall unless its the only alternative. Remember that you can be mated by the pieces your opponent already has.
It is much harder for Black to defend than for White. In general, I advise against playing or allowing a sac on f7. Know the standard defensive moves. Playing Qe7 before the sac occurs is a wonderful defensive move because it allows your king to escape to d8 if it ever becomes necessary. The best opening in terms of not having any weaknesses is 1.e4 d5 2. exd Qd5 3.Nc3 Qd8.
When your opponent puts a piece anywhere that it attacks a square near your king, always respond by defending. It only takes two or three pieces to mate.
When you are in check, it is better to interpose than to retreat.
It a good idea to defend the square your king is on. It may prevent the opponent from following the king if you have to retreat.
Asking for Trades: I advise asking for trades only when they are most necessary. For your partner to give you pieces, he probably has to give up on doing what he wants to do on his board. Learn what to do when you aren't getting any pieces. Develop your own pieces. Don't sacrifice if you don't have a definite follow-up or compensation.
Trading: Remember that trading generally helps only one side. Do not trade for the sake of trading. If you see that your partner has many pieces that aren't being used and his opponent has none or only a few, it suggests that trades will generally help your partner's opponent, not your partner. Remember that when you trade, you are trading off your defenders. A board with few pieces generally favors the fastest team. The speed of a team is determined by its slower player, not its faster one.
Resigning: Resigning is for slow tournament games. You should only resigned if you are force mated, you have less time than your partner's opponent, and the players on the other board have stopped moving. Even then you might want to consult your partner.
Do not resign if you get into an argument with your partner. The game will be over soon enough, and then you'll have a different partner next time.
Do not spam your partner if you want him to do something. Assume your partner wants to win too. Sometimes explaining helps more than spamming.
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