Tactics trainer - is that useful?

I solved many problems on the first tactics trainer on the web (Chess Tactics Server). In fact, there I learned of the existence of chess.com.

The solving time on CTS is very short. In order to gain points, you normally have to solve a problem in under 5-10 seconds. At fist I was very frustrated by this issue and I wanted to leave.

What made me stay was an advice given by an IM active there. He said that he recommends this type of exercise to all his students, he was convinced that solving tactical quizzes against time would greatly improve the chess playing ability. You get to feel when, in a position, it is worth trying to analyze complicated variations arising after a sacrifice for instance. Because not even a GM can analyze fancy sacrifices for all the moves. Well, 3 years after that ... I think he was right :) 

OK, the tactics trainer here is far better than CTS. There are more problems, some of them quite long and requiring exact calculation. What is surprising to me is that not many people solve a significant number of tactical quizzes. I'm talking here about gold, premium and diamond members. On CTS, even GM's spend tens of hours solving quizzes. What happens here? What is the reason for which so few people (especially those with high ratings in Tactics trainer) are active "tacticians"?

Maybe they don't realize how good it is. Personally, I always use up my 3-puzzles-per-day quota.

I recently started using it again.  I asked myself that question (What is the reason for which I'm not using TT) and couldn't come up with a satisfactory reply so I've been using it.  Twenty problems at once at least a few times a week.

One thing I don't like about Tactics Trainer (and I am going to repost this in the  Chess.com Feature Request and Wishlist #5) is that the complexity of the puzzle is given away by how much time is alloted for the problem.  For example if you only get 40 seconds you know it's a one-move wonder.  If you get 240 seconds it's a long complex variation.

In order not to know whether it is complex or simple, you can take the time away in the options. That is what I do, this way I have no clue whether it is a 1 mover or a 8 mover :)

i spent over 40 hours in that  proved not that useful for me yet my OTB ranking fide stays the same my online chess is the same thing been 1 year now in chess.com but I like it so Ill keep spending hours in it and I guess it can't really do no harm lol also like the high ranking there love to see high numbers after my name

I think tactics trainer is great. It's actually the #1 reason I told my students to join this site.

Yeah but then I don't get rated & I like geting rated.  My goal is 2400.

Love the Tactics Trainer! I recently started using it.  My thinking is if I miss a one or two mover on the tactics trainer then I need to work on tactics. With my plan I can do 25 problems/day. I go through 25/day and then go over the ones I missed again. I have done this for a few weeks.  It can not hurt because it gets your eye trained to recognize patterns and opportunity. A game can be over if you win or lose a piece so why not? I am doing more training and less blitz. Sharpening the sword.

I try not to let the time affect me. I try to move only when I see it or know that I won't. I think you could get into a bad habit by trying to "beat the clock".

You are bound to see improvement.  If I spent the thousands on hours I "invested" in blitz instead in solving tactics I would be a much stronger player today.

mschosting

how many problems have you sovled and what is your pass rate? When I played it I had a little game with myself to pass a certain percentage of the problems. I felt that this helped me focus, and added a bit of fun.

Well, if that's your idea of fun :)

I can tell you now Im in 2200 I think but if I stay there all day long I get above 2500 lol my average is 2200 but in a single day I can swing between 1800-2500 lol if I would try it today probably would be something like 1700 Im hanging pieces in every online chess game Im in :(

I actually forgot to say what it was I was wanting to say in my first post. I think that it's a balance between blitz and training, all of one and none of the other is no good. I never used to play any blitz at all, but did do my tactics. Not by choice.

Anyway, managed to get some blitz action and my rating went up. Still make daft tactical blunders now and then - can't believe I still get caught out with a weak back rank being exposed - however, I do see and look for thing I never even though of before.

Also, 40 hours ain't really that long. If you think about starting a new job it takes you more than one week (40hrs) work to really pick it up.

But, yeah, keep at it.

The trainer is lots of fun, but I think the puzzles are too flashy. It's almost always about sacking the queen or attacking the king. I'd like to see more tactics for picking up a pawn or minor piece. I've learned I need to just completely ignore the clock too, only move when I'm sure, even if it takes 2 minutes.

 True expecially above 2100 I just look what is the biggest position I can sac that as a continuation attack bigger then 2 moves lol If I see a Q sac followed by 2 cheks to the king I ain't thinking about it anymore :)

mschosting: you put the problem in very simplistic terms: "I bought book X written by author Y. Most of the reviews of X were favourable. I spent 40 hours working through the positions in the book. Then I went to a toiurnament and my rating dropped. I got home and threw away the book. I will never read another chess book. Also, Y is an idiot."

Improvement is a slow, but steady process. Don't expect surprising results over night and don't forget that tactics is just one component of the game.

I also noticed that some people are obsessed with their ratings. The rating in tactics trainer is just a number used by the server to select the next problems for you. Nothing less, nothing more. 

Not all the puzzles are flashy (like involving queen sacrifices). There are puzzles which require a 4-5 move combination in order to get a single pawn (thus a winning edge in the endgame). 

But again, my question was: why so few of the top rated players here are active in tactics trainer? Why even GM's spend hundreds of hours on CTS, while amateurs here, even if they are premium members (thus they have unlimitted TT), don't use it??

 In high level this TT is kinda weak compared to other free trainers and I think maybe above 2200 or 2300 basically anyone serious in chess the ammount of time % spent on tactis as to be very few at weaker level maybe untill 2100/2200 most will study endgames above that if they have 8 hours to study they will use 9 in openings :) people who spend more in tactics trainer are below 2100 the reason is easy a book may be better but not half as fun and if your not really serious why not have some fun and TT is a great way to foul ourselfs thinking that we don't waiste our time on blitz we use it wisely training tactics! :P

So the answer is:

So few of the top rated players here are active in tactics trainer because they are training openings.

People may claim openings are no good to study well thats true at begginner level hanging pieces every turn but at master level all they need is a slight advantage to decide a game

mschosting, please chose a variant:

a) Portuguese language has no propositions. Thus, there are no full stops. The communication consists of just a bunch of words put together from which people try to extract some meaning.

b) You are probably 4-5 years old and haven't attended yet a school.

Am I missing something?

that's a pretty funny thing to say in a paragraph where you are making fun of someone else's grammar :)

not sure if you meant prepositions or punctuations, but either way very funny :)

All forum posts eventually digress into grammar insults lol. Let's be nicer and a bit more respectful, not everyone here is a fluent English speaker.