Hot Topic (More than 10 Replies) Blitz games vs slow games (Read 1194 times)
brabo
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Re: Blitz games vs slow games
Reply #11 - 11/30/14 at 21:36:41
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http://schaken-brabo.blogspot.be/2012/11/de-onzin-van-blitz.html

An article in which I discussed the (non)sense of blitz.
Just one paragraph which I translate:
"Blitz/ bullet have a.f.a.i.k. also an added value for standard chess. You practice tactics, stress-management and you get a good feeling of which positions you do play better. It is also a good tool to test your repertoire. Some grandmasters take online blitz very seriously as I read some time ago that the German grandmaster Falko Bindrich was irritated because moderators took away his +3000 rating on Playchess. This prevented him to play against very strong grandmasters and to improve his repertoire."
  
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Pale Horse, Pale Rider
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Re: Blitz games vs slow games
Reply #10 - 11/30/14 at 20:00:07
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ErictheRed wrote on 11/30/14 at 16:28:27:
LostTactic wrote on 11/30/14 at 14:07:08:
I think 3-5min blitz games are excellent for practising your opening repertoire and finding any potential gaps in your knowledge.


I don't.  I find that most people (including myself) play all kinds of crap in blitz games, so they really aren't helpful for openings at all.  Or anything much besides having fun and unwinding after work, really.


I think it really depends what you do with your blitz games. If you just play many blitz games in a row it won't help much.
I try to "analyze" my blitz games afterwards. Of course this analysis is much different than in a "real" game. I check the moment were I went out of book and try to figure out if it is a hole in my knowledge (and if yes I will try to fix this) or if my opponent just played a move bad enough to not require preparation. I also check for blunders from both sides in order to find out what kind of tactical motives I miss easily ...
  
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Uhohspaghettio
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Re: Blitz games vs slow games
Reply #9 - 11/30/14 at 17:15:33
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I'm not sure how many stupid things Nakamura has to say/claim/do before we can start just discounting what he says. His own dad was his coach and trainer since he was less than five years old. If playing blitz alone helped beyond a certain point then I'd be a grandmaster by now.
  
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ErictheRed
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Re: Blitz games vs slow games
Reply #8 - 11/30/14 at 16:28:27
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LostTactic wrote on 11/30/14 at 14:07:08:
I think 3-5min blitz games are excellent for practising your opening repertoire and finding any potential gaps in your knowledge.


I don't.  I find that most people (including myself) play all kinds of crap in blitz games, so they really aren't helpful for openings at all.  Or anything much besides having fun and unwinding after work, really.
  
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kylemeister
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Re: Blitz games vs slow games
Reply #7 - 11/30/14 at 16:13:47
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And when Nakamura reached that 2300 level, he had played in about 200 USCF tournaments (of all kinds) ...
  
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ReneDescartes
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Re: Blitz games vs slow games
Reply #6 - 11/30/14 at 15:13:30
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Smyslov_Fan wrote on 11/30/14 at 11:59:22:
ReneDescartes wrote on 11/29/14 at 18:24:45:
...

I'll guarantee you one thing about those strong players who play blitz: they didn't get strong by playing blitz!

Almost everything ReneDescartes was good and accurate except this bit. Nakamura is just one of a large group of players who got strong playing thousands of hours of blitz and bullet chess. For some players, such as Alejandro Ramirez of Costa Rica, the only way they could get regular competition was by playing online blitz and bullet chess. 

There are many ways to master chess, including playing blitz and bullet. I still recommend the old-fashioned methods that Rene mentions, but it is possible to get strong by playing blitz too!


In the year 2000, for example, as Nakamura went from USCF 2308 to 2418, he played in 13 classical tournaments, not counting any FIDE tournaments he may have entered. That's a lot of hours of slow chess. Later he may have been an internet blitz addict--but I think he was already good by the time he started playing so much blitz.

I agree with LostTactic about the openings. A little blitz experience can help you play in time pressure, too, though time pressure in a slow game with the fate of several hours of your best work on the line is quite different from blitz.

But mostly it's a pleasant waste of time (unlike slow chess, which is the highest and best possible use of time  Wink).
  
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LostTactic
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Re: Blitz games vs slow games
Reply #5 - 11/30/14 at 14:07:08
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I think 3-5min blitz games are excellent for practising your opening repertoire and finding any potential gaps in your knowledge. When I first took up the Nimzo-Indian and began practising my repertoire I quickly became accustomed to all the trappy lines White has at his disposal. It's better to fall for them in a 3-5min blitz game where I don't really care about a rating than in an otb game where I do. Therefore I think if you play this fast games as a tool to refine your openings and not as tool for chess improvement it is very worthwhile.
  
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Smyslov_Fan
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Re: Blitz games vs slow games
Reply #4 - 11/30/14 at 11:59:22
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ReneDescartes wrote on 11/29/14 at 18:24:45:
...

I'll guarantee you one thing about those strong players who play blitz: they didn't get strong by playing blitz!

Almost everything ReneDescartes was good and accurate except this bit. Nakamura is just one of a large group of players who got strong playing thousands of hours of blitz and bullet chess. For some players, such as Alejandro Ramirez of Costa Rica, the only way they could get regular competition was by playing online blitz and bullet chess. 

There are many ways to master chess, including playing blitz and bullet. I still recommend the old-fashioned methods that Rene mentions, but it is possible to get strong by playing blitz too!
  
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ReneDescartes
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Re: Blitz games vs slow games
Reply #3 - 11/29/14 at 18:24:45
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Neither investigating the tree of variations in detail nor  planning intelligently can be done in 10-15 minute games, let alone 5-minute games; yet those skills are what most of chess is. Honestly, if this is most of your experience, you probably have no idea what skilled chess players actually do. Play games at 2 hours+ per game, preferably in person (so you won't worry about cheating), and before every move try to note the important features of the position--all of them--and anticipate everything dangerous that could happen for the next two or three moves--not missing anything. If this sounds like a lot of work, it is; and organizing it in your head, disciplining yourself to do it, suppressing the urge to move until you've completed the necessary investigation, etc. is not trivial.

I'll guarantee you one thing about those strong players who play blitz: they didn't get strong by playing blitz!
  
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Re: Blitz games vs slow games
Reply #2 - 11/12/14 at 07:17:39
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Blitz is Fun and  convenient on the wen, if you play longer than 5 minutes on Internet you are probably playing a computer assisted opponent a good proportion of the time so I guess that's why good players only play blitz online.
  
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Re: Blitz games vs slow games
Reply #1 - 11/12/14 at 06:47:16
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Er, "slow chess games" might be considered as something like at least 2 hours per player per game.   

5 minutes per player per game is an old standard for a just-for-fun version, blitz/speed chess.
  
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Michael Cobb
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Blitz games vs slow games
11/12/14 at 05:12:58
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I have been accustomed to slow chess games.....10-15 minutes or more.  I am seeing more and more that higher level chess players play at 5 minutes or less online. Why do they play such short games?  What is the benefit?  Should I start learning to play shorter games? I appreciate any input.  You all have been great with all the fantastic advice!

Thanks
  
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