Is it even worth it playing Blitz?
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pika_pika_2
Jun 10, 2023
0
#1
I play blitz but my rating is in the 350-400 range. just when I'm reaching 400 I lose like several games in a row and drop my rating back to below 350.. I have played over 120 games, but don't really see much improvement, I just get lucky sometimes when my opponent makes a mistake. I don't really have the patience to play longer 10 min or 15 min games, but I do like the 7 day one. I get distracted easily playing longer games, and I can't stop making the same blunders in blitz. so my question is, is it even worth it to continue playing Blitz, even though I just don't have the patience to sit there for a 10 minute timed game?
Jun 10, 2023
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#2
I think people play blitz because they want to play a game of chess, but they don’t want a one minute games or spend 10+ on one game. A 3 minute game of blitz does not waste a lot of time and you can still think of moves unlike bullet.
Jun 10, 2023
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#3
I'm just having a hard time I guess. Raising my rating is near impossible at this point.
Jun 10, 2023
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#4
Something like 5|5 blitz can be good as well you there is not a worry about time pressure.
Jun 10, 2023
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#5
I dunno.. frustration is kicking in I guess. I get whooped on by people my rating and lower.
Jun 10, 2023
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#6
It takes time but eventually you will get the hang of it you can try to play me if you want
Jun 10, 2023
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#7
pika_pika_2 wrote:
I play blitz but my rating is in the 350-400 range. just when I'm reaching 400 I lose like several games in a row and drop my rating back to below 350.. I have played over 120 games, but don't really see much improvement, I just get lucky sometimes when my opponent makes a mistake. I don't really have the patience to play longer 10 min or 15 min games, but I do like the 7 day one. I get distracted easily playing longer games, and I can't stop making the same blunders in blitz. so my question is, is it even worth it to continue playing Blitz, even though I just don't have the patience to sit there for a 10 minute timed game?
I think you just need to learn how to "sit there" for longer time controls. If you find yourself being "easily distracted" then one possibility is that you aren't making use of this "extra" time for other things.
Some productive things to think about mid-game are:
- Calculation on what to play if they opponent next move is this or that.
- What should my plan be here? What should my opponent's plan be here?
- What are some weaknesses in my opponent's position? Can I take advantage of those?
- What are some weaknesses in my position? Can the opponent take advantage of those?
- What are some of the key imbalances in this position?
These questions and many more can be complicated to evaluate, or answer, but it gets easier with practice and experience. Even just using a little time to double check your calculations or moves (before you play them) can be useful.
Longer time controls tend to be better for learning; at least this is true for the lower ratings. As one gets more experienced and has more patterns in their pattern recognition, then playing blitz or bullet becomes easier since they mostly know what to do already and can play well on less "thinking time."
p.s. When I joined chess.com, I used to play 5 min blitz because I didn't know better and after a little while, I realized that playing 10 min games was better for me. I mostly played 10 min games on chess.com and longer time controls in-person from then on and I've mostly stuck to that over the years even up to now. I don't think it is about one exact time control "better" than another. It is more about having enough time to not feel rushed, but also a little "extra" time to think on a position if you need it.
Jun 10, 2023
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#8
And with those calculations that can help you make better choices and moves in blitz games
Jun 10, 2023
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#10
I’m sorry that a 5|5 isn’t blitz I mean I definitely didn’t just play a game with my opponent having 5:46 on his clock after abandoning the game while it was blitz.
Jun 10, 2023
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#11
Kaiba has a point, to improve your game, one needs to become proficient at a number of different things in chess. After your game improves, so will your rating.A chess-iprovement curve is not a smooth slope,either,but looks like a seismic recording of an earthquake,jagged ups and downs that over time has a general upwards trend.At elo aprrox. 400,a player needs to develope a good thought process and be able to spot most 1-3 ply tactics consistantly.You really don't need to know anything about positional factors or openings past the 1st 3-4 moves tops. You do need to know the basics of checkmates and endgames. Thats it. So you need to study/practice these things, and play games long enough so you can use what you have practiced in a game---that means longer time controls. There is no way around that fact. So you need to save bullet and blitz for later on and play 15/0 ,that gives you about 15-30 seconds per move to think and enough time to sink 60 seconds into a move should you need to. You should also play in a chess tourney in daily .So a little study and practice per day, and long time controls. Good luck.
Jun 10, 2023
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#12
Check out this #chess game: pika_pika_2 vs canondew - https://www.chess.com/live/game/80186486325
Jun 10, 2023
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#13
Nm I don't know how to post a game here... That link is a game I just played, I had several seconds left but it wouldn't let me check mate the other player.. don't know why
Jun 10, 2023
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#15
Like halfway down this article, chess.com explains how to post a chess game via pgn diagram:
https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-use-the-chesscom-diagr
Jun 10, 2023
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#16
Know what I'm stupid.. I didn't have check mate when I thought I did. 😩 I might as well quit playing.
Jun 10, 2023
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#17
pika_pika_2 wrote:
Know what I'm stupid.. I didn't have check mate when I thought I did. 😩 I might as well quit playing.
You are NOT stupid. I've missed many checkmate in 1 situations in the past too. It occasionally happens to the best of us. We are human.
Jun 11, 2023
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#18
First start with Rapid then if you are ready then go to the Blitz
Jun 11, 2023
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#20
8thMarch2023 wrote:
Blitz is kiddie chess. Why not play daily format ?
Daily is nice for some things.
However, it is not a substitute for long time live games either. It has some things that makes it easier than live games, like analysis tab that is implemented into the games (without engine estimations of course) - AKA you can move pieces freely making visualization and calculation easier, plus there is an opening tab, that will exclude opening mistakes and quick defeats for people who are careful.
Daily is good for trying to find the best ideas you can find, because you have a lot of time on your hands, but realistically, it is like playing the game on a very easy mode because of the tools I've mentioned.
So the best thing people can do if they wish to improve is to play longer live games, and the longer the better, provided they use their time (playing 60 minutes per side is useless if one loses the game with 57 minutes on the clock).
@OP
If you wish to improve, you should forget bullet chess, blitz is not useful for you either (most people will not improve too much with blitz. At a somewhat higher level, let's say 1 500 (but even then it is not necessary), blitz can be useful for exercising openings, but that is more or less it.
Generally you should play longer games for improvement and taking the time to go through them as well. If you can, play 60 minutes per side, but at the very least play 15|10 games. You don't have to play too many of those games. Even one per day for instance (you can even play less) can help you to improve, if you go through those games and try to learn from your mistakes.