Randomness has never failed to fascinate me. I see it everywhere, do you? If you are new to this theme, I recommend that you start with something random now. Think of a word you haven’t thought for quite a while. Yes, that’s random. Isn’t it?

A few weeks back, I told my friend that I am going to write an article about randomness soon. I am not sure if he took it seriously, but he did show me a book he carried to the tournament – Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Have you ever been fooled by randomness? Do read that book, it is an interesting read.

Randomness has fuelled me in many ways. I am going to share a few interesting ideas that you could use in your chess life as well. But, I will answer your WHY question before anything else

Why use randomness?

The use of randomness opens doors to fresh perspectives. A mental coach once revealed to me that breaking the monotony is essential to exercise maximum focus in short stints. I have used it many times; sometimes to deal with the boring classes at school.

Going with the flavour of the article, I just scrolled my latest pgn downloads and my mouse made a choice of its own.

The capture on c6 proved to be a turning point in the game. One could avoid mistakes like that by breaking the monotony and taking a fresh look at the position. Switch to something else for a few seconds and then comeback to the current position. This could help you avoid many blunders in the future

How to use randomness during the game?

If the game has been too demanding, forcing you to make important decisions right from the opening – consider taking a break. Think of a random thought and then come back to the game.

How my friends do it without knowing?

Most of my friends do this without knowing. Want to know how?
* Tea breaks. They go and refresh themselves with tea
* Look around if there are some posters/pictures at the venue
* Watch the games on the other board
* Walk. I have observed that some players have a routine – they never change the path.
How do I do it?
Well, I can share one instance. I think about The Lively Library

How do I use randomness in chess?

When I am not in a mood to stick to my chess routine, I choose a colour and then pick a chess book that has the chosen color. I flip to a random page and start solving/reading whatever is on that page.

Randomness at work:

You will all easily relate with mouse slips. Right? But, mouse slips are not random You can call me crazy, but I have found some meaning in those occasional mouse slips. Don’t believe me?

Read on!
I was playing a blitz game on a Sunday afternoon while listening to a track from Backstreet Boys. You want to know the name of the track? Well, since this post is about randomness. Lets jump to the track:
Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon

Now, coming back to the article. (Now, that is what I call – breaking the monotony)
I was paired against a random opponent with black pieces.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 and here I played 3…a5!?!?!

Well, it was not intentional. It was a mouse slip, but I went on to defend the game. But, I had made a mental note of this possibility. A few years later, I found an article on this variation in Burgess’s book 101 Chess Opening Surprises. It is called ‘The Bulgarian Defence’

Never waste your learnings! I studied this a little bit and two International Masters – Ravi Teja and Chakravarthi agreed to face my surprise in a friendly game online.
Forgive us for the mistakes, it was a 2 minute game.

Thank you, Ravi Teja and Chakravarthi Reddy
Not bad, Isn’t it?
If you try this line in your game, don’t forget to tell me 😛
I deserve some credits too

I’ll be back with another article soon! Till then, stay random!