Speed Chess. Is it harmful to chess development?

I have been playing chess now since the age of 10. Over the years I have observed my strength ebb and flow based upon the time I have had to study, strength of opponents and some luck. I havent attended a live tournament in years so I have become addicted to online Blitz chess. It's entertaining and blunts my craving for chess play but I have noticed that "something" is missing from my play. I cant put my finger on it but I KNOW it has to do with only playing blitz games. I think I am losing my "depth perception". The ability to look 5 "good" moves into a game.

Can anyone identify? Is it just me?

Speed chess has taken its toll on me too. I have become adjusted to the blitz timings and played out too fast during rapid chess matches and losing many rounds in tournament. However, it is possible to remedy it by playing more rapid chess matches. Blitz chess however have improved my 'skill level' as i am able to react to certain moves as i have gotton 'used' to the patterns of my favourite lines. In conclusion, Speed chess is both beneficial and harmful to chess development. Some of it is good, but too much of it will ruin you.

I think if I play blitz games and then have to play 2 hours game

I tend to play faster. I need to make sure that I sit on my hands and slow down the game.

In blitz a big advantage is to memorize as many moves in the opening as you think is the best way and play it as fast as you can. you may need the remaining time to mate your opponent.

In 2 hours game relying to much on memory can mean that you lose the game because you are in doubt when you should stop relying on memory and then you should calculate.

No. Develop your pieces quickly.

Whenever I've played a lot of blitz games, I lose something that I can't figure out as well. I can't just jump into standard games against stronger players than myself, afterwards. So I just play through one of Petrosian's masterpieces, and it calms me down to get in that more reflective mood again. Works for me!

Thanks for the comments.

I've alway played played traditional length games since I was a kid. Only in the last year or so am I reallly giving "speed chess" a try. So far...I'm miserable at it! There's something in my personality that refuses to be rushed and sabotages what I'm rushing through.

I think what's missing from rapid play is the beauty and the elegance of a deeply conceived series of moves...

I haven't learned  anything from speed chess except that your opponents will rematch you endlessly until you finally lose a game to them.

You could call it harmful to development I guess, in the way that through it there is no development.  It's fun, and it take skill, but you have no opportunity to push your limits... after all, blitz chess is just the parts of chess you know so well that you can preform them nearly instantly (openings, tactical patterns, strategic patterns, etc).  You develop when you push and test the limits of what you know... blitz doesn't give you the opportunity.

I play both, but prefer traditional long games. I like playing fast chess because it forces you to rely on stripped down tactical thinking. However, I am very careful not to throw the balance of my play off by speeding through a long game. I really think its good to play both styles. However, you have to be careful that one doesn't dominate over the other.

It depends. If you are a fast player and are never in time pressure in regular time controls, blitz should only be played for fun. However, if you find yourself in time pressure regularly, you should probably play blitz to stimulate faster thinking.

I am beginning to use speed chess when I want to become familiar,comfortable with a new opening I want to use. It won't help with the nuances of the opening or a position but IT DOES allow you to get comfortable with what is possible.

 Nice!

I just joined a club and one of the Club's "generals" has been giving me a beating. However, I have been studying specific openings with variations e.g. the French Opening. There are four ways I do so:

1. I studied the book explaining the concepts of the opening
2. I look at games played with the opening
3. I play long games with it 3 day max per move
4. I practised what I learn't via Blitz 5minutes games  

I have found that I am excelling in my long games because of this combination.

Yes. Sometimes I have fun with it (particularly when I win), but after a while it starts to depress me that you can only use so much of your knowledge, because sometimes your understanding of something is too abstract to execute in a very short game, and you have no real time to plan. As someone who always wants to find the best move, find the deep truth in a position, it sort of limits the kinds of moves you are capable of, and instead forces you to find pride in not hanging pieces and playing logical but rather simple moves quickly rather than being able to look outside the box and really come up with something truly special.

I must say as well that I can't recall, ever, learning a new concept after a blitz game. I suppose it inspires you to be more alert and play more tactically (though it's double edged because it also probably makes your thought process more superficial), but you're really just using what you know really really well, and chances are for most people that stuff isn't too deep. And that depresses me, and to me takes out some of the depth, and beauty out of chess.

Sure, strong players can probably play some rather profound moves even in the 5 minutes, but they are still vastly limited in the depth and creativity of ideas they can display, just by their own, very different, standards.

I find that i do better with blitz games

testing

I have cut back significantly on my online blitz play; I only play now when I want to get a "feel" for an opening I am working on. This also gets me used to not feeling terrible if I lose the game.