Spend effort where it matters

The clock makes this plain in chess, where every minute is counted. Off the board, sharing out your effort well becomes a habit only if you practise it there, as this week’s task asks.

On the board, your clock runs only on your turn, and every minute spent now is gone for later. Strong players move quickly when the move is obvious, such as a forced recapture, and slow down when a move cannot be undone. Here Rxd8 Kxd8 would leave only kings and pawns. Once the rooks are off, they never come back, so that is the moment to think.