Bullet vs. Blitz vs. Rapid - Which Should you Play?
"Bullet is the best because it forces you to calculate faster and it gives you high amounts of adrenaline."
"No, blitz is the best because it is the best balance of speed and being able to think, given that you have longer time than bullet, but not too much that it becomes boring."
"NO NO NO! Rapid is the best because you get to think longer, so you will get better results than if you speedrun bullet or something."
Are you wondering about which time control to play? Then this blog is perfect for you!
I have seen so many arguments about which time control is best; bullet, blitz, or rapid. Even within those, Chess.com has time controls within those categories, so choosing can be even more difficult. Just saying before we get into the juicy stuff, I am biased towards blitz (i play it the most so yeah), but I will try to be as neutral as possible.
For bullet, I believe that it is best for 800+ ELO, as I think lower rated players like rapid, given that it gives you much more time compared to bullet, and blitz to some extent. It gives you some adrenaline, and it forces you to calculate and make decisions quickly under pressure. However, some bad things about bullet is that you don't get to improve as much with strategic play, and also mistakes are pretty common due to time pressure. Chess.com has several default time controls in bullet; 20 sec | 1, 30 sec, 1 min, 1 | 1, and 2 | 1.
As for biltz, it is the most popular among all members on Chess.com, however, I feel that it is most common at 1000 ELO+, including GMs like Hikaru. For me, I think it is a very good balance of both speed and time to think. It allows for some tactical sharpness compared to the high speed-i-ness of bullet. For arguments against blitz, time pressure can still be prevalent, and sometimes, concentration can be a slight problem. Chess.com's blitz time controls are; 3 min, 3 | 2, 5 min, 5 | 2, and 5 | 5.
Rapid is, at least from my perspective, what most players start with (i did not), so it is most common at <800 ELO. It allows more cohesive strategic calculation and tactical moves, less mistakes than faster time controls, and you can practice without the hassle of time pressure. As for downsides, it does take quite a while to play a whole game, and it may not suit certain players that like faster play. 10 min, 10 | 5, 15 | 10, 20 min, 30 min, 60 min is Chess.com's default rapid time controls.
As for which is best for you, I will say this.
Bullet is best for people that love speed chess, like you don't really care about tilting, because that will happen.
Blitz is best for people who want a balance between fast and slow, not too speedy, not too slow.
Rapid is best for people who like to take long times on their moves, which I think would help in the long run if you play rapid a lot and then switch to blitz or bullet.
As for which is best for me, it is blitz.
7th post!!!!!!!!!!
