Finding good moves but…

Aloha! Thank you for reading I am hoping you can help me be better at chess. Thank you in advance. ^^

So I think I am finding really cool moves but I think I’m way too slow. I focus really hard and look back at the clock and all my time is gone when I would of thought only a few seconds should be gone. 

How did you get faster at finding moves?

If you wish to get better at chess, you should try playing longer games. 15|10 should be minimum time control you play, and if you can, play even longer games, it will not hurt. Speed chess is different, you don't have time to think. If you get better at slower time controls, you will be better at speed chess as well after a while, if that is your ultimate goal.

I've written a guide on how to improve your game from a novice level:

https://www.chess.com/blog/nklristic/the-beginners-tale-first-steps-to-chess-improvement

I hope it will be useful to you. Welcome and good luck on your chess improvement.

Yeah I'd play minimum 10 minute games, try to watch a couple basic opening videos as you'll learn the basic way you should set up. Something simple like a d4 setup with the london system is nice and solid and can get you into interesting middlegame positions. One good way to improve is just look and make sure you aren't blundering a piece or pawn with your move. If you can avoid blunders you'll move over 1000 with minimal improvement in actual tactics. 

Also do puzzles! If you run out of the free ones on here try to do them on lichess!

Hi! My name is Lauren Goodkind and I’m a respected  chess coach and chess YouTuber based in California: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP5SPSG_sWSYPjqJYMNwL_Q

Here’s some ideas to help you get better.  

-I recommend two books for you: “50 Poison Pieces”   and “Queen For A Day: The Girl’s Guide To Chess Mastery.”  Both books are available on Amazon.com.  Both books are endorsed by chess masters!  

-If you are serious about chess, I highly recommend you hiring a chess coach to help you.  

-Also consider all checks and captures on your side and also your opponent’s side. Always as, “If I move here, where is my opponent going to move?”. Do this for every single move!  

-Play with a slow time control, such as G/30 so you have plenty of time to think before every move. 

-I also offer 500 two-choice puzzles on my website: https://www.chessbylauren.com/two-choice-puzzles.php

-Send me one of your games and I'll be happy to analyze your game on my YouTube channel for free!  

I hope that this helps.

Definitely play some slower time controls.

I find G30 to be the fastest speed where I don't feel rushed at all.  I have no trouble using up the time in G60 either when I do play that.

15|10 is the best time control.
Thanks to the increment you can always win a won position or draw a drawn position.
Do not look at the clock, look at the board and play at a regular pace: start at 40 seconds per move and finish at 10 seconds per move. If you look at the clock and become anxious, then you cannot play.

As people have said, play slower time controls.... 10min rapid is the slowest you should be playing and even then it might be a tad too fast.... 15|10 apparently is the recommended... 30 min can be a fun learning experience too if you have the time and patience... after you play a game analyze it, regardless of win or loss and look where you went right and wrong... also don't worry about the clock if your opponent is playing fast and you slow, if they're playing fast they're likely to make a mistake....

Add that a few minutes of practicing some tactics puzzles as well in no time you'll be a lot better and faster

In time, with practice and repetition - like anything else in life - you will get better and you'll be able to find moves and recognize patterns faster.... for instance a move that - say - today it takes you 50 seconds to find, in a few months it will only take you 5 seconds to find it

Hi thats great advice but id like to mention something.. Playing speed chess doesn't mean you can't think... time is just something you have to decrease slowly. definitely i agree start off playing 20-30 minute games. if you're losing on time by a lot in these games you need to either just play daily, or try to overthink things a bit less. you may miss some things, but i'm sure taking 1:30-2 minutes to think for each move at the very most will provide you with enough information to move.

I'd also like to mention something - incremental chess. You literally can't run out of time - it's really useful, even if it's stressful to think "Oh no, I only have 15 minutes?" you'll end up playing games much longer than that.

Eventually, trying blitz games can be really helpful as well after you've mastered rapid (10-60min). Blitz, even 5|5 games do require fast moves, but with the increment you can analyse positions, calcuate, do some visualisation without being too stressed.

Bullet can be fun, but unlike blitz and rapid you need to train a lot or be able to do incredibly fast calculation for it. I play sometimes, but it's very easy for your strategy to go downhill if you play the exchange all your pieces in 10s/move pieces randomly kind of bullet. I'm not saying it's bad, but it's very easy to go wrong with.

For me currently, my favourite speed is 3|0, but I used to barely be able to make it through 30minute games without losing on time. I'm sure whatever you choose to do will help you with at least some part of your chess journey!

Good luck!