Why ‘Just Play Fast’ Is Stupid Advice for Blitz (And What You Should Do Instead)

In general I noticed there are two types of people who talk about blitz.
The first will tell you it’s just a silly mode for blowing off steam. They'll play a couple of games while waiting for a bus, hang a rook on move 12, shrug, and forget about it. The second group treats blitz like it’s a some sort of lab experiment. They log every game, analyze time splits per move, graph their mouse speed, and run chi-square tests on opening win rates (I can't believe someone actually does this kind of stuff). And somewhere in the midst of all this chaos you’ll hear someone proclaim:
“Just play fast.”
Let me say this bluntly:
That’s terrible advice.
Not because speed doesn’t matter in blitz (of course it does) but because speed alone doesn’t win games. What wins games is momentum. And momentum is not the same thing as randomly slapping moves like you're trying to swat a fly.

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Blitz Is About Momentum, Not Chaos

Blitz isn’t chaos. Or at least, good blitz certainly isn’t. It’s not random. It’s not drunk chess. It’s not “let’s just see what happens.” The best blitz players don’t normally win because they play faster, they win because they build a rhythm that puts their opponent under constant pressure. They ask questions. They make decisions quickly. They control the flow.
This is what momentum looks like.
And once it starts going your way, it becomes self-reinforcing: fast, confident moves lead to better positions, better positions lead to easier decisions, and easier decisions mean you keep playing with speed and clarity.
The problem? Most players sabotage this momentum the moment they get an edge, they often start searching for a killer blow in positions where there's none**.**

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The Killer Blow That Kills Your Clock

You’ve probably fallen victim to this scenario before: you’re up on time, you’ve got a big positional edge, maybe even sniffing around the king. And then your brain almost freezes (no worries, I've been there). You see ghosts. You think, “There’s got to be something here, no way I can't finish this off right away.”
You spend 40 seconds hunting a knockout blow that never comes.
And when you finally give up and play a regular move, the damage is already done. The fire’s gone. The time advantage is gone. The momentum is gone.
Here's the brutal truth:

If you don’t find a winning tactic within the first 15 seconds, it probably doesn’t exist — and even if it does, you’re unlikely to find it now that you're burning daylight and doubting everything.

Blitz tends to reward clarity, not cleverness. What looks like a moment of brilliance is often just someone choosing clarity over hesitation and moving on. It’s the guy who says, “This looks good enough, so I might as well just play it.” That’s not sloppy. That’s a skill of its own.

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Fast Decisions ≠ Fast Guesses

Let’s clear this up once and for all.
Thinking fast is not the same thing as playing fast.
And playing fast is not the same thing as guessing blindly.
When people say “just play fast,” what they often mean is “stop thinking.” And that's where this advice gets dangerous.
If your move comes from panic and not pattern recognition, if you're moving just to move, you’re not blitzing, you’re essentially gambling.
Fast decisions come from habits. From being comfortable in your positions. From knowing what ideas matter and what doesn’t. And from accepting that even if you’re not 100% sure, 90% confidence is enough to keep the train moving.
Blitz doesn’t punish small inaccuracies nearly as much as it punishes hesitation. It’s the player who pauses for too long, second-guesses the obvious, or tries to be clever when just applying more pressure would’ve sealed the deal: that’s the player who ultimately loses.

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So What Should You Actually Do?

Let’s replace “just play fast” with something a little more honest:

Play with purpose. Think clearly. Move forward.

Let yourself feel the momentum of a game when things are going well, and don’t kill it by trying to be a perfectionist. Blitz is about stacking good-enough decisions at speed, not praying for divine revelation on move 22.
And obviously I’m not saying blitz can’t be casual or fun.
But if you’re trying to improve, if you care about your rating, or if you just hate that feeling of getting worse in winning positions, don’t just play fast.
Play sharp. Play quick. And play like your position deserves better than flipping a coin.
Because blitz might not be rocket science, but it sure thing isn’t darts either.