Strategy for Quick Improvement

I decided to learn chess about 2 1/2 months ago and I’ve been pretty obsessed with it right away. When I first started, I was blundering all over the place and didn’t even know what an opening was so I switched up my game plan.

I decided to cut down on rapid and start playing way more blitz. But instead of just trying to win I try to play the best moves. So even if I lose on time I feel like I’m training myself to find the right moves. Then with blitz you have the advantage of being able to play 3 games in the time you could play 1 rapid and get triple the game reviews for 3 completely different games.

I feel like I’ve progressed pretty well and most of my performance ratings land between 700-900 on average. Is it time to mix in some more rapid and take my time with positions or just keep doing what I’m doing?

Quality over quantity. The longer the games you play, the more instructive they are. You may play more games if you only stick to blitz, but you risk developing habits that may hinder you progress, like flagging your opponent, playing automatic moves such as a3/a6, pinning just because you can, exchanging just because you can, checking just because you can, etc.

Ideally, play OTB classical chess if you want to train calculation and strategy. If you can't, 15 | 10 time control is a good starting point on this site. If you wish to play longer games but can't stare at a screen for long periods of time, you can play correspondence chess (called daily chess on chess.com)

Also longer games are much less addictive.

I’ve always heard longer games help you learn to calculate better so I should work more of those in. I’ve heard OTB is good too, but isn’t it nice to have the game review to see what you missed? That’s the only reason I haven’t done more of it. However I have started going to my local chess club to see if I can learn from some higher rated players.

Game review is a crutch.

You get used to clicking a button and then telling yourself that "I'm analyzing the game!".

Well... no, you aren't. You're just clicking a button.

Who cares what move you SHOULD have made in some position that will probably never occur again (!) in your games. That teaches you almost nothing.

You should analyze your games by looking them over yourself, using your own mind not the engine. The object of the exercise is to teach you how to FIND good moves... and you won't learn that by clicking "Review" and letting the engine do the work.

If your goal is to become a better chessplayer, it is best to play classical chess so that you can actually think about your moves and learn.

The fastest way to improve is to study basic chess principles—opening, ending, and middle game. Instead of playing blitz and rapid for 10 hours, spend at least half of that time studying. In the long run, you will become a stronger player and in less time.

Game review is overrated. It can show you a mistake in the opening or a mistake in a tactical sequence. But it cannot explain why a middle game plan is better than another one. For this, you need a post-mortem with a stronger player.

@1

"I was blundering all over the place"
++ At your rating you still are. Blunder check before you move.

"I decided to cut down on rapid and start playing way more blitz" ++ A bad idea

"instead of just trying to win I try to play the best moves" ++ It is the same.
You try to win by playing good moves. To win you depend on your opponent making a mistake.

"get triple the game reviews for 3 completely different games"
++ 'He who analyzes blitz is stupid' - Nezhmetdinov

"my performance ratings land between 700-900" ++ That is not good progress

"Is it time to mix in some more rapid" ++ Play 15|10 exclusively if you want to improve.

"keep doing what I’m doing" ++ Then you will stay at your rating.

@tygxc is a well known troll

@11

"Oh I’m supposed to blunder check before I move the piece?"
++ Indeed. That alone is enough to reach 1500.

"I figured from there I can take that opening knowledge into longer time intervals."
++ It works the other way around: experience descends from the slower to the faster time control.

"any type of learning is beneficial right?"
++ A blitz game of say 6 minutes is not worth to analyse for an hour.

"you just seem like a hater" ++ Not at all, on the contrary.

"that seems like a reasonable progression" ++ It is not.

"bringing my rapid up to 1000 in the next couple months"
++ That is unambitious. Aim for 1500 by blunder checking.

"I’ve won 75% of my rapid games in the last month"
++ That means you played weaker opponents.
It is normal to win 50%. Higher means weak opponents, lower means strong opponents.

"play more classical" ++ Good idea, but hard online. Online 15|10 is best for progress.

Noted @Vonbishoffen

My advice (as a chess coach and 2100+ player):

Learn and apply the most important principles of chess.
Always blunder-check your moves.
Solve tactics in the right way.
Analyze your games.
Study games of strong players.
Learn how to be more psychologically resilient.
Work on your time management skills.
Get a coach if you can.