While still in opening theory I can make my moves quickly, but once the middle game starts I need more time to decide which road to go down. My schedule is also hectic, so I don't rush.
How Much Time Do You Spend Thinking?
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Oct 31, 2010
0
#23
I've spent as much as two hours per move minimum, every single move in a single game (a twenty-two move draw comes readily to mind), but in the vast majority of my games I spend a few seconds per move. It depends upon the complexity of the position, the stage of the game, the goal I'm seeking.
In the opening, I play my repertoire in most games, but in a small number invest time in database research. In such games, I have occasionally spend two or three days of several hours per day on a single mundane move that has been played frequently by others. Most often after doing so the next several moves take only a few seconds.
In the middlegame or endgame, if I have a clear advantage, I often make clear, simple, and obvious moves. These take seconds per move. On the other hand, if neither player has a clear advantage and the position is unbalanced, I might spend an inordinate amount of time on a game.
A frequent pattern that I follow is to log in first thing in the morning, look at every game, moving if I know what I want to do in thirty seconds or less. The games that remain, I may look at again briefly before leaving for work--it matters some what my work for the day is--then again at lunch. I'll look at the games again once or twice in the evening if I have time. Some games may go through this process for several days--thirty second blips six times per day--until my time is nearly run out, at which time I'll make the best move I've found so far. If the game is particularly important, I may make notes of my thinking process, and I may spend from several minutes to several hours.
Oct 31, 2010
0
#24
Excellent posts. Thanks to all. I read every post, and so far, everyone plays faster than me.
I started my 5th game yesterday and already logged about 2 hours after 12 moves, or 10 minutes per move. I'm trying out a new opening and went into a deep think after my opponent made an unexpected move early in the game. The rest of the 12 moves were out of book, requiring calculation. My head hurts. 
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Question - Are there thematic tournaments that do not require simultaneous games? I was excited about entering the 9th Chess.com Thematic Tournament - Benoni (1401-1600)
...until I read this -
Registered: 896 Time Control: 3 days/move Max Group Size: 6 Rating Range: 1401-1600 # Advance: 1 Tie Breaks: Yes Points Available: 518 Games Rated: Yes
You will play ~10 simultaneous games
(both games per opponent start immediately)
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10 Benoni games while playing well in my 5 current games? 896 people did find the time.
Oct 31, 2010
0
#25
Ziryab wrote:
A frequent pattern that I follow is to log in first thing in the morning, look at every game, moving if I know what I want to do in thirty seconds or less. The games that remain, I may look at again briefly before leaving for work--it matters some what my work for the day is--then again at lunch. I'll look at the games again once or twice in the evening if I have time. Some games may go through this process for several days--thirty second blips six times per day--until my time is nearly run out, at which time I'll make the best move I've found so far. If the game is particularly important, I may make notes of my thinking process, and I may spend from several minutes to several hours.
I found this part of your post the most helpful. Following a routine sounds great. Establishing this may be the ticket to greater activity in correspondence chess. Thank you.
Oct 31, 2010
0
#26
tonydal wrote:
I usually take somewhere between a few minutes to a half-hour (or more) per game.
At least I'm not the only deep thinker here. 
How much time one burns on a move is not really important. The real issue is what do you do with that time...how do you evaluate? What is your process? How do you determine your best move?
...just trying to pick your brain Mr. tonydal.
uhohspaghettio wrote:
I think maybe there should be a clock in the corner with 10 minutes or something. Otherwise it could turn into a test of who is spending longer at it. Of course there is nothing stopping you from cheating that, but then that's nothing new (there's nothing stopping you from using Rybka on every move).
That would take the relaxing point out of cc chess.
Really you shouldn't take it too seriously, because of the reasons you just mentioned. But that style of chess can be relaxing and most especially convenient for certain people who want an involved game but don't want to sit there for 6 hours straight, but rather make a move or two with the comfort of being able to log off whenever you want. I mean what you mention is what live chess is for anyway, no reason not to just play that then.
Oct 31, 2010
0
#30
I dont believe i have ever thought more than 5 or 10 min when making an online chess move :)
I play online chess sorta like blitz chess :P
Oct 31, 2010
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#31
MaddFunn wrote:
I dont believe i have ever thought more than 5 or 10 min when making an online chess move :)
I play online chess sorta like blitz chess :P
I guess it boils down to what one wishes to gain from correspondence chess. For me, it's the closest I can come to an OTB experience, since there are no chess clubs nor decent players in my small town.
If I can reduce my time down to Super GM time controls, spending four hours for 40 moves, I'd be making progress.
How do those players make it past four hours when the game goes past 40 moves/4 hours? Is there a restroom break?
Great thread title!
My answer: not enough.
Nov 1, 2010
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#33
I guess it depends on what you're working toward. If absolute best performance in each game is your key, then play one at a time. If you're working on learning an opening, then multiple games might make sense.
When I was playing 1-2 games at a time, I was spending a lot of time working through things (10-20 minutes/move). Then I ended up playing in three tournaments at the same time, so I was up to about 20 games. I quickly found that playing that same speed would not work, if I wanted to sleep.
What I started doing is setting a timer for three minutes. Usually, I run through possible moves, keeping track of the best one I find. When the timer goes off, I review that move one last time, looking for traps, etc. If I don't see a problem, I make that move.
If the position is more complex, and I feel as though I'm missing something, I'll not worry about the timer; I may take 10+ minutes then. But it's rare. I also use notes to remember plans, etc. and review them and the last few moves just to refresh my mind on the present game.
That keeps me on a fairly decent timeline, though still you could be at the board for over an hour with 20 games; that's hard for me to swing with my schedule, but you might be more flexible.
I'm trying to improve on faster analysis, too, so I'm trying to go faster. If I miss something, I'll pick it up in later game review and it'll go into my "Keep an eye out for this" file.
Having said that, my record was quite a bit better when I was playing 1-3 games than it has been with 20 going. Part of that is quality of opponents; I don't want to take anything away from the drubbings I've gotten recently by superior players. But I think I've gotten myself into some bad holes with my self-imposed time limit, too. So I've decided after the tournaments end to scale myself back to five or fewer for awhile to see what happens. I may try live chess for those times when I know I have a good block of time to play.
I go from several seconds to many minutes. I actually take more time when it's my oponants turn analyzing things and running through the possibilities. There is much joy when they make the move that I want them to make and the wow factor of an unexpected move makes me giddy as well. Of course I've always been a cut and slasher so...
I use about 5 minutes to visualise with no external help in order to help my OTB play. Then, I write down my thoughts in the notes, and have a look with a board. If I'm uncertain I can take up to 3 days to set my mind on a plan or move. But normally I'll decide on a move in under 15 minutes.
Musikamole wrote:
I currently have five turn based games in progress. It makes me a bit nervous when thinking of adding more games, because I do spend time thinking over each move. In a complex middle game position, I could easily spend a few hours working out continuations before entering a move.
I recently had a chat with someone who at one time had 600 games in progress, with only 360 games in progress currently! What is the average? 10 games? 20 games?
If you spent only 5 minutes per move, that would translate to 1 hour and 40 minutes to enter 20 moves. That sounds comfortable with 3 days per move.
What if all 20 games hit a critical moment (complex middle game position) at the same time? Ouch! Let's see...20 minutes x 20 games = 400 minutes, or 6 hours and 40 minutes. That would almost be a full work day!
How much time, on average, do you spend thinking on each move?
What advice do you have for someone who wishes to play more than 5 games?
I would imagine that my standard rating would drop, since I wouldn't have the time to go into these deep thinks as often. As a second year chess player, perhaps experience trumps ratings and/or best play? Is there such a thing as reasonable play in turn based chess?
What do you think?
Thank you.
After the opening I use probably around 10 min average. 5 minutes on easy stuff and 15+ minutes on what I might think is a critical position (up to 30 minutes or so)
If it's a tough position I'll usually miss something... especially if I spend a long time it seems that's a sure way I'll miss something which is frustrating :) so I try to enter my move only in the notes and come back to look again the next day with fresh eyes... but usually I'm not so patient :)
Some advice? Find two moves for each game instead of one... probably not what you think. Find your move as if you'll play it, then enter it in the notes only. The next day, with that position set up, make your planned move on your analysis board and now work hard to find your opponent's next move as if you've switched sides. If you work hard for your opponent's move, and are still happy with the move in your notes, then you can play the move for real 
Nov 4, 2010
0
#37
orangehonda wrote:
Musikamole wrote:
I currently have five turn based games in progress. It makes me a bit nervous when thinking of adding more games, because I do spend time thinking over each move. In a complex middle game position, I could easily spend a few hours working out continuations before entering a move.
I recently had a chat with someone who at one time had 600 games in progress, with only 360 games in progress currently! What is the average? 10 games? 20 games?
If you spent only 5 minutes per move, that would translate to 1 hour and 40 minutes to enter 20 moves. That sounds comfortable with 3 days per move.
What if all 20 games hit a critical moment (complex middle game position) at the same time? Ouch! Let's see...20 minutes x 20 games = 400 minutes, or 6 hours and 40 minutes. That would almost be a full work day!
How much time, on average, do you spend thinking on each move?
What advice do you have for someone who wishes to play more than 5 games?
I would imagine that my standard rating would drop, since I wouldn't have the time to go into these deep thinks as often. As a second year chess player, perhaps experience trumps ratings and/or best play? Is there such a thing as reasonable play in turn based chess?
What do you think?
Thank you.
After the opening I use probably around 10 min average. 5 minutes on easy stuff and 15+ minutes on what I might think is a critical position (up to 30 minutes or so)
If it's a tough position I'll usually miss something... especially if I spend a long time it seems that's a sure way I'll miss something which is frustrating :) so I try to enter my move only in the notes and come back to look again the next day with fresh eyes... but usually I'm not so patient :)
Some advice? Find two moves for each game instead of one... probably not what you think. Find your move as if you'll play it, then enter it in the notes only.
The next day, with that position set up, make your planned move on your analysis board and now work hard to find your opponent's next move as if you've switched sides. If you work hard for your opponent's move, and are still happy with the move in your notes, then you can play the move for real
Pick two candidate moves and sleep on it. I like that! Good advice. Thank you.
Nov 4, 2010
0
#38
rtrown22 wrote:
I go from several seconds to many minutes. I actually take more time when it's my opponent's turn analyzing things and running through the possibilities. There is much joy when they make the move that I want them to make and the wow factor of an unexpected move makes me giddy as well. Of course I've always been a cut and slasher so...
That is extremely clever. I will try that. Thank you.
It reminds me of my experience last night watching GM's and IM's over at ICC beat up on each other in 3 minute games. It's fun to predict what the next move will be...from a Grand Master! Sometimes I pick the same move as the GM. 
I send nano seconds