How long do you spend deciding upon your moves in online chess?

I'm curious, please tell how long.

If you play quickly, and or would like to improve your play, my article I posted a few days ago already has over 8,300 views and 46 comments.

http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-number-one-reason-players-lose-chess-games-is

I'm trying to help everyone improve their game and my methods work!

In the opening I decide quickly. Afterwards, I try to use all my time. I evaluate the position the first day (pieces to attack, squares to occupy or defend, threats, mating patterns, possible exchanges and consequences, pices to imporove, area to play, etc.) and write down my objectives, the second I select and inspect quickly a few candidate moves that fit with my objectives, the third I examine my favourite in more detail. I take personal notes. The fourth day I verify the most difficult variants. If satisfactory I store the move for the next day. The fifth and final day I try some different moves to convince myself that the one I chose yesterday was the best. If I find nothing better I finally play it. If I find something better I spend half an hour to compare before deciding at the last minute.

Very much depends on the position. It can take from a few minutes in a (semi) forced situation to a full 3 days ( my max.) when I can't come up with a "plan" or strategy. I am talking about correspondence now.

My profile says I take 2:30 hr. on average per move.

I stopped playing 30/0 games for this reason. I rush my moves like I'm under pressure for time (and fall to pieces quickly) or I get into the end game with not much time to think. I'm geting old, I need time to think.

In some 30/0 games I've made moves within a few seconds. Not good.

I spend about 4 minutes and 30 seconds each move.

As long as I need to make sure I'm playing the move I believe is correct.  Certainly not perfect at it, but that's what I shoot for.

I'd guess around a 3 minute average. But if I'm not sure I'll close the game and come back, look at the position every so often.

Hi! Interesting question...

I'm just (re)starting to play online chess here, so I'm not exactly doing it in my current games (hope to progress some more from my current 1700+ rating first, given my 2100 fide rating... I'll see where "winging it" takes me before getting serious with this :-) ); but I plan to take every position as kind of a stoyko excercise - set it up on a real board, set the clock to some limit (30 mins? perhaps) and try to analyze the heck out of it (in my head, ofc) before deciding on a move.

For opening moves, my idea here is to try something new that I have no experience with, so I'm relying heavily on published books and databases, and I'm selecting the openings in my games quite randomly now... to try and get experience with various openings and structures. My OTB repertoire is very narrow and stable, so I think I can use the exposure to completely new positions..

I'm not even sure if it's allowed here or not - but I'm not planning to utilize any engine help in my games at all, as I'm trying to achieve something for myself with this and not to become an "operator" for the engine.

With playing online chess here I'm actually trying to improve my OTB analysis, so that's why I'm not planning to spend ages agonizing about the move, but rather simulate tournament conditions a bit... Of course if my goal was to improve my corr chess elo only, I would use a different process. The one that Heler uses sounds very thorough and good for such purpose...

I'm wondering what results will the process I'm planning to use bring; but I figured that analyzing positions regularly with some pressure added to simulate OTB game should bring some positive result... :-)

I have recently learned the folly of moving to quickly. My first game online, I lost a knight within the first several moves do to not really studying the board. I wanted to make a move quickly, in the hope that the other person was still sitting at their computer, and would respond in kind. Well he did, by capturing my unprotected knight. Now I take much longer to study the available options. In my recent games, I would say I take a few hours during the middle or end game before making a move.

About 2-3 minutes or so.

If it's mate in one; two seconds.

Sounds like a very solid way of playing! I like your thought process :)

I spend about 10-30 seconds per move. I'm not really sure why, but in online chess I just never feel like thinking very hard =/. When I play live chess I use all the time on the clock, however.

I normally spend about a few minutes on average. But sometimes I got an email notification saying that it is my turn on my phone, but I wasn't able to get any near to my computer for a while. So while driving or doing something else, I often think about the next move.

I'd not been spending enough time (probably no more than a minute to 5 minutes per move!) and my rating was starting to show it. I've started trying to spend at least 10 minutes per move (except in the opening, if I'm playing lines I know by heart). I've been doing much better now.

In the opening no more than .5 secs quite literally ( that's to decide on a move) mid game 1-5 seconds endgame it varies and my rating shows it, also as a side note my games always are those crazy middle games where the position can make others spend ten to 20 minutes a move

depends on the positioin! sometimes i have spent a solid hour, and sometime 5 minutes, and sometimes 5 seconds, depends, ocasionally i think once for a long time then rely on that thinking for my next 5 moves.

It depends on the position and who my opponent is. I tend to take longer when playing higher rated players. I'm taking (nearly) all the time there is in my game against you. Obviously, not all that time is devoted to thinking about moves; rather I think about it on and off until it's nearly time to move. If I'm still not sure, I spend a while there and then analysing it.

Not long enough, judging by a recent error in judgement during an online game...

20 seconds usually