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I'm slow. How can I get good at speed chess?

#1

I think I may be peculiar. My "puzzle rating" is about 2150 and my
"blitz chess rating" is about 1300. I would expect normal people usually have slow chess, fast chess, and puzzle ratings all about equal. But for me, there is a this 850-point gap. I often get good positions in fast chess games but lose on time. If I try to play quickly to avoid that fate, then I can't make good moves. I used to know a master who could play incredibly quickly, and I have no idea how he did it. If I tried to play that quickly I'd pretty much just be making random moves. How is it possible to think that fast?

I think I may be peculiar. My "puzzle rating" is about 2150 and my "blitz chess rating" is about 1300. I would expect normal people usually have slow chess, fast chess, and puzzle ratings all about equal. But for me, there is a this 850-point gap. I often get good positions in fast chess games but lose on time. If I try to play quickly to avoid that fate, then I can't make good moves. I used to know a master who could play incredibly quickly, and I have no idea how he did it. If I tried to play that quickly I'd pretty much just be making random moves. How is it possible to think that fast?
#2

That rating difference doesn't seem that unusual to me :)

That rating difference doesn't seem that unusual to me :)
#4

I'm not sure where your study is at, so I will offer you several answers:

Answer #1:

To play slow and have a rating around the area you're at, indicates that there is much to chess that you don't know about, haven't heard about, and therefore can't apply within your games.

Fundamentals is where your overall improvement will lie.
Fundamentals is where your improvement in fast-clock will lie as well.

Check out my series on Imbalances if you want some help breaking open your mind and steering it in the correct direction.

Answer #2:

Tactics are ONLY available because of the fundamentals.
The reason you can't move fast is because you have your mind set on "calculator" mode, and as such, you're calculating your way through 'accidental' positions that occur at random and without obvious cause.

Here and there you'll notice a pattern or a tactical shot and win a game, but all of this occurs in a random sort of fashion.

What we want to do is focus our minds to setting the pieces on the best squares, having entire lists of reasons for why a piece has been moved where it's been moved, and then observe the relevant tactics that pertain to the rationale of each piece being where it is.

You can look at what the pros are doing playing fast-clock, but there is absolutely no way to learn from them.
The amount of information that they are simultaneously "processing", on separate "channels" in their brains, and where the intersections of these "channels" are tactically calculated and translated into plans, is completely out of the scope of us lower-rated players.

As with anything else, you have to start with the fundamentals and a solid foundation.

If I ask you, "Why did you move that piece there?" and you don't have a laundry list of things that 'said' move accomplishes, including examples of how there are good features to the move, bad features to the move, and neutral features to the move, then there is an entire world of chess waiting for you that is untapped.

Most people who attempt to learn chess never realize that it can be electrifying, pulse-thumping, and exhilarating, on levels that only sky-diving, with a faulty chute, rivals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzW5t-eOO0s&index=2&list=PLwoSSBBPePE3kvVA_PLIXmrBuP3hhwhKz&t=0s

I'm not sure where your study is at, so I will offer you several answers: Answer #1: To play slow and have a rating around the area you're at, indicates that there is much to chess that you don't know about, haven't heard about, and therefore can't apply within your games. Fundamentals is where your overall improvement will lie. Fundamentals is where your improvement in fast-clock will lie as well. Check out my series on Imbalances if you want some help breaking open your mind and steering it in the correct direction. Answer #2: Tactics are ONLY available because of the fundamentals. The reason you can't move fast is because you have your mind set on "calculator" mode, and as such, you're calculating your way through 'accidental' positions that occur at random and without obvious cause. Here and there you'll notice a pattern or a tactical shot and win a game, but all of this occurs in a random sort of fashion. What we want to do is focus our minds to setting the pieces on the best squares, having *entire lists of reasons* for why a piece has been moved where it's been moved, and then observe the relevant tactics that pertain to the rationale of each piece being where it is. - You can look at what the pros are doing playing fast-clock, but there is absolutely no way to learn from them. The amount of information that they are simultaneously "processing", on separate "channels" in their brains, and where the intersections of these "channels" are tactically calculated and translated into plans, is completely out of the scope of us lower-rated players. As with anything else, you have to start with the fundamentals and a solid foundation. If I ask you, "Why did you move that piece there?" and you don't have a laundry list of things that 'said' move accomplishes, including examples of how there are good features to the move, bad features to the move, and neutral features to the move, then there is an entire world of chess waiting for you that is untapped. - Most people who attempt to learn chess never realize that it can be electrifying, pulse-thumping, and exhilarating, on levels that only sky-diving, with a faulty chute, rivals. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzW5t-eOO0s&index=2&list=PLwoSSBBPePE3kvVA_PLIXmrBuP3hhwhKz&t=0s
#5

I have the exact same problem. I just can't play blitz. Most of the time I get better positions than my opponents but eventually I get very low on time and either lose on time or blunder, even though I always play with increments.
I think this has to do with the facts that I started chess as an adult (35). When I see players who started out as kids, I see they have a lot of patterns engraved in their brains, but I am still at a point where very few things are automatic for me, everything requires an effort and time, even the simplest things like noticing hanging pieces.
I think the way to be faster is to know patterns, not just be aware of their existence, they have to become a second nature.
For example, often times I'm a piece up and I have an attack on the king but I can't find the last blow, I take a lot of time here and eventually I trade pieces to get to an endgame a piece up, but then I'm in time trouble and blunder my piece back. If the patterns where a second nature to me, either I would have seen the last blow and finished the game earlier or I would have taken less time to decide to go to the endgame.

I think I can give a couple of practical advices for blitz :
-Don't look for the best move in the opening, it's too time consuming. Just play normal moves and keep your time for when it matters (that's something I should do but don't do).
-Make threats. Look for aligned pieces (pins you can exploit, discoveries you can set up, skewers...), hanging pieces, pieces that could be forked with knights... Try to make something out of these. Sadly in blitz, cheap tricks are more important than sound positional play, not only because your opponent may not see your threat but also because he may waste time looking for ways to stop it and it puts pressure on him.
-Look for your opponent threats but don't spend too much time on it if you don't need to. Look for elementary stuff like checks, discoveries, mate threats, attacks on hanging pieces... Don't take too much time on complicated tactical threats or long term positional threats.

One last thing. I don't know if you have that problem but I always forget the clock. Most of the time, when I lose on time, I didn't even notice I was in time trouble, or I saw it and then forgot. I don't have any advice on that.

I have the exact same problem. I just can't play blitz. Most of the time I get better positions than my opponents but eventually I get very low on time and either lose on time or blunder, even though I always play with increments. I think this has to do with the facts that I started chess as an adult (35). When I see players who started out as kids, I see they have a lot of patterns engraved in their brains, but I am still at a point where very few things are automatic for me, everything requires an effort and time, even the simplest things like noticing hanging pieces. I think the way to be faster is to know patterns, not just be aware of their existence, they have to become a second nature. For example, often times I'm a piece up and I have an attack on the king but I can't find the last blow, I take a lot of time here and eventually I trade pieces to get to an endgame a piece up, but then I'm in time trouble and blunder my piece back. If the patterns where a second nature to me, either I would have seen the last blow and finished the game earlier or I would have taken less time to decide to go to the endgame. I think I can give a couple of practical advices for blitz : -Don't look for the best move in the opening, it's too time consuming. Just play normal moves and keep your time for when it matters (that's something I should do but don't do). -Make threats. Look for aligned pieces (pins you can exploit, discoveries you can set up, skewers...), hanging pieces, pieces that could be forked with knights... Try to make something out of these. Sadly in blitz, cheap tricks are more important than sound positional play, not only because your opponent may not see your threat but also because he may waste time looking for ways to stop it and it puts pressure on him. -Look for your opponent threats but don't spend too much time on it if you don't need to. Look for elementary stuff like checks, discoveries, mate threats, attacks on hanging pieces... Don't take too much time on complicated tactical threats or long term positional threats. One last thing. I don't know if you have that problem but I always forget the clock. Most of the time, when I lose on time, I didn't even notice I was in time trouble, or I saw it and then forgot. I don't have any advice on that.
#6

First you crawl, then you walk, then you run, then you run fast. You cannot start running fast. It comes from experience. Just play classical chess. If your rating is commensurate with your puzzle rating, then maybe switch to rapid. Afterwards maybe switch to blitz.

First you crawl, then you walk, then you run, then you run fast. You cannot start running fast. It comes from experience. Just play classical chess. If your rating is commensurate with your puzzle rating, then maybe switch to rapid. Afterwards maybe switch to blitz.
#7

I agree with what @tpr added, as well. Playing slow time controls allows you to really slow down and calculate, reason through your options and select a move/idea/etc. that correlates with your reasoning.

The reason why you might be higher in puzzles/classical is because as you get into the fast time controls, you have less time to calculate and therefore must rely more on your intuition, which comes directly from your experience that you can apply in real time. You need to build that intuition, and the only way to really do that is to consume as much chess as you can, both by playing and by analyzing - both your games and master games.

I agree with what @tpr added, as well. Playing slow time controls allows you to really slow down and calculate, reason through your options and select a move/idea/etc. that correlates with your reasoning. The reason why you might be higher in puzzles/classical is because as you get into the fast time controls, you have less time to calculate and therefore must rely more on your intuition, which comes directly from your experience that you can apply in real time. You need to build that intuition, and the only way to really do that is to consume as much chess as you can, both by playing and by analyzing - both your games and master games.
#8

@mortfoo

TPR nailed it.

I'll say it over and over again, if GMs can use +30 minutes to deduce the best move in a single position...

...then the idea that we would think that we can play an entire game in less than 30 minutes is extremely REVEALING.

When we watch a GM spend 30 minutes on a single move, we are observing evidence of the massive chasm in chess regarding what we don't know.

The question for you at this point should NOT be, "How can I play faster and more accurately?" No!

The ONLY question for you is, "What in the world are those GMs looking at for 30 minutes straight?"

It is NOT calculation.

" Just play classical chess. " - TPR

Absolutely agreed.

Ask yourself what Masters use their clock for, and know that "calculation" is the very least of it.

Chess is the argument.

Tactical calculation are the words used to communicate the argument.

@mortfoo TPR nailed it. I'll say it over and over again, if GMs can use +30 minutes to deduce the best move in a single position... ...then the idea that we would think that we can play an entire game in less than 30 minutes is extremely REVEALING. When we watch a GM spend 30 minutes on a single move, we are observing evidence of the massive chasm in chess regarding what we don't know. The question for you at this point should NOT be, "How can I play faster and more accurately?" No! The ONLY question for you is, "What in the world are those GMs looking at for 30 minutes straight?" It is NOT calculation. - " Just play classical chess. " - TPR Absolutely agreed. Ask yourself what Masters use their clock for, and know that "calculation" is the very least of it. - Chess is the argument. Tactical calculation are the words used to communicate the argument. -
#9

stop fucking girls with a condom trust me you will be good at fast chess

stop fucking girls with a condom trust me you will be good at fast chess

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