SPEED CHESS? ....

      Everybody knows that speed chess is shallow, and that it is not real chess, like postal chess. …. Ok, just kidding.

I like speed chess, but I use it for practice, to get rid of my blunders and obvious sight moves. And when I do play, I resign as soon as I lose my first piece, this way I remember how I lost.

Somehow, after doing speed, and switching to standard chess, I feel I have more think time. The trick here, is to quickly recognize that one is no longer in speed mode, and need to look deeper into each move. Actually, I have run into speed players, in standard time tournaments, that forget to slowdown and figure they can play quality chess in speed mode. (And you might be tempted to follow their lead.) If you ever run into these speed demons while doing standard chess, then take your time, and look deeper into the situation. You most certainly will find holes and flaws in their speedy play.

I like doing speed chess on an electronic media (computer or internet) as opposed to Over The Board play, this way I can review where I went wrong. Because it is not always easy to know where the mistake was made.

So, I would say that the practice of speed chess can improve the quality of your standard game. And if you don’t like to improvise and “shoot from the hip”, then only use speed chess as a tool to help reduce chess blunders. Most blunders are linked to knight moves, so practice knight moves on a chess board until those knight target squares pop into sight quickly.

UPDATE 8/9/12 (I have recently developed a collection (165) of basic key tactical positions on index cards. If interested, I can send you a free sample of these cards to your post mail address. You can send me a message through chess.com (SamV) or e-mail at galt6@sbcglobal.net.)