07 Dec 11
Originally posted by WanderingKingYes, the addiction does.
I'm addicted to one minute bullet chess and I agree with Eladar. It does make me a worse player.
Much like a gambling addict, a blitz addict will play improperly and lose out but if you play with the intention of playing well and improving you can gain from blitz and bullet chess.
07 Dec 11
Originally posted by tomtom232Then give yourself adequate time to think. 🙂
if you play with the intention of playing well
Maybe there is some value in using blitz to test one's intuition. So how long do you spend analysing each of your blitz games?
But even if I convince myself that there are some benefits, I can't help but wonder what bad habits I'm practicing at the same time. Is it optimistic to assume that the benefits can be carried over to longer games while dropping the bad habits?!
I currently believe that there are better ways of training any factors that blitz claims to help with.
08 Dec 11
1 edit
Originally posted by VarenkaActually it is contrary... at least in my experience.
Then give yourself adequate time to think. 🙂
Maybe there is some value in using blitz to test one's intuition. So how long do you spend analysing each of your blitz games?
But even if I convince myself that there are some benefits, I can't help but wonder what bad habits I'm practicing at the same time. Is it optimistic to assume that the benefits c ...[text shortened]... ly believe that there are better ways of training any factors that blitz claims to help with.
I don't gain any bad habits in blitz chess but the bad habits I do have become more pronounced which allow me to target them and eliminate them more quickly than playing slow games.
Now I can see how some people would gain some bad habits playing blitz but that is the wood pushing factor... some start making moves without thought simply because they think they don't have time to think when in reality they just aren't thinking during there opponents moves. I think that usually occurs because of a lack of planning... it is harder to think about productive tactical possibilities during your opponents moves simply because you probably already saw all the tactics you are going to see when you made your last move. However, if you strive to be thinking about the position in general at all times you will see an improvement not only in your blitz games but in your long games as well because you will have added an abilitiy that gives you twice as much clock time in the game since you are now always thinking about plans and in always thinking about plans you are now getting better at planning.
In short, any sort of chess(barring ridiculous variants) can be used to improve if you utilise it properly and blitz can help train many abilities at once if used properly.
08 Dec 11
Originally posted by tomtom232No, I didn't go over the game afterwards, my computer at home is down, so fritz won't help.
Did you go over it afterwards? Did you capitalize with minimal moves?
Once you start playing better blitz players your games start looking a lot like your slower games do.
It is kind of counterintuitive but most people lose blitz games because they don't have a clue strategically... they become lost because they can't brute force like many chess pla ...[text shortened]... ntrols and not something ridiculous like some of the 1 sec per move games I've seen played.)
What are minimal moves?
I didn't lose because of strategy, I lost on time. In both games I was ahead on material and closing in on his king.
The pieces he dropped were not on combos, they were because when his unsupported piece was attacked, he chose to make a useless pawn move to save time.
If you look at the original post, you'll see that I was playing 2 0 games.
08 Dec 11
1 edit
Originally posted by EladarIf he was dropping pieces like you say and you couldn't win in two minutes I would say it was because you didn't know what to do in that situation (you didn't have a plan) and you were just moving around taking his pieces while hoping to find a checkmate... most likely this happened because you felt rushed by the time controls. That is a bad habbit and probably occurs to a lesser degree in your slower games.
No, I didn't go over the game afterwards, my computer at home is down, so fritz won't help.
What are minimal moves?
I didn't lose because of strategy, I lost on time. In both games I was ahead on material and closing in on his king.
The pieces he dropped were not on combos, they were because when his unsupported piece was attacked, he chose to make ...[text shortened]... to save time.
If you look at the original post, you'll see that I was playing 2 0 games.
08 Dec 11
Originally posted by tomtom232It would happen because that's the way I play chess. When I figure out how to have a plan (other than a few moves ahead trying to set up an attack or set up a tactic), then I'll be better. Until then, I'll just suck and rely on my board vision and what little I know to defeat people who are about my level.
If he was dropping pieces like you say and you couldn't win in two minutes I would say it was because you didn't know what to do in that situation (you didn't have a plan) and you were just moving around taking his pieces while hoping to find a checkmate... most likely this happened because you felt rushed by the time controls. That is a bad habbit and probably occurs to a lesser degree in your slower games.
09 Dec 11
I'm forced to agree with Mr. TomTom. Blitz certainly does help you, and for the most part it helps in the way that TomTom cited. If you have weaknesses, they become glaring in blitz. If you narrow down your repertoire a bit - you will find you learn a great deal about your pawn skeletons. The most important part of blitz is after the game. Analyzing your wins and especially your losses. I may play two to three games and then analyze them while they are fresh. While the games themselves may be played in ten to twelve minutes... The postmortem may take twenty or thirty minutes. Its very helpful to go over your endings in detail (you will reach more and more endings the more you play blitz). You will find that more often than not you will drop a game by a simple ending principle, like failing to find the active diagonal - or failing to control the d file. Simply because you thought you saw a tactic. Early on tactics are important but after awhile you'll be playing better competition and for the most part you'll both see the same threats tactically (if evenly matched). You'll then be playing largely positional slug-outs.
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