1st: make sue you have premove
2nd spend no more then 10 seconds on a move (10 seconds is probably too much)
3rd the only thing that counts is material and time, the position doesn't matter that much
4th If you are in a time disadvantage you have to start playing faster then your opponent, even if it means you lose a bit of material.
I usually play 1 minute strait where time counts even more. My point in 2+1 would be to not spend ten seconds a move on average. Also seen as you have increment premoving a few moves should be able to help you stabilise your time. When you go under 10 seconds just play the first move you can see
Thanks for the tips. I've tried increasing my speed but unfortunately my tactics practice isn't translating to my Bullet game. Here's a recent game where I was simply outplayed.
I wasn't able to calculate far enough before the exchange to see that it was ultimately losing. I was just trying to create some complications to make things more interesting but I miscalculated badly.
Having trouble with bullet? This guide will help (especially for 1 0)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/7-bullet-chess-tips-by-hikaru
Hikaru says it better than I ever could. 
Hope this helps!
Did I just read someone wanting to improve at bullet? -_-
I primarily use chess.com to play blitz chess (but time is still a factor too), of course I still play many OTB games (off of chess.com). My biggest recommendation is to learn theory. The best bullet/blitz players know a lot of theory; this essentially gives you more time, because you do not need to think deeply about the moves you know by theory - which gives more time to think for other moves. I dislike really quick time controls though simply because time is such a HUGE factor and position matters almost none; I like positional play. I have trouble seeing a mate in 3, but losing the game on time because of the really short time controls translating to me not putting the moves out fast enough. If you share this feeling, I suggest either playing with an increment, or games of fast time controls, but not too quick (like blitz chess rather than bullet).
From my own opinion (no increment):
10 minute games: require some theory, but gives time for OTB thinking - and time to "think" about several moves in the position.
5 minute games: requires good theory/repertoire while still allowing maybe one move to really stop and analyse the position.
3 minute games: same as 5 minute, but with no "thinking" time to stop and asses the position.
1 minute games: clearly bullet in every sense with a ton of theory required, fast internet connection, and time meaning almost everything, with material meaning just about nothing.
Juxtaposed with the tips given above by the other posts, this is about all there is to know. "Thinking time" may vary from player to player, obviously, but this is a simplified version of my "time controls perspective". Good luck with your bullet chess 
"With material meaning just about nothing."
I have to totally disagree with that. And just about every other decent bullet player would as well.
At a higher level of bullet, positional weaknesses, material, etc. are all game-changing factors considering the speed at which it's played.
This is an interesting point (post #9), as my bullet chess is really "inexperienced, to say the least". My information comes from bullet players I have watched, and friends I have talked too. Perhaps I have misinterpreted what was stated at times, but the list of my "time controls perspective" I still stand strong by (minus a few points). As the owner of this forum, pay attention to the strong bullet players; they know more than me, but my opinion still accounts for something
You probably misunderstood what they said. When I mean decent bullet players I mean like 2200+. You can't just sac all your pieces and play super fast because you'll get checkmated very fast. And having played nearly 30,000 bullet games, I know.
You probably misunderstood what they said. When I mean decent bullet players I mean like 2200+. You can't just sac all your pieces and play super fast because you'll get checkmated very fast. And having played nearly 30,000 bullet games, I know.
I've observed enough titled players in Bullet/Blitz to know myself that this is true. One thing I have noticed is that top players (2000+) have this intuitive sense of when and how to simplify as the position requires. I continually make the mistake of not reducing complications when ahead in material and unnecessarily taking risks in murky positions when a much safer/stronger option was available. I originally imagined that top Bullet/Blitz players' moves would be astoundingly complicated/accurate, but when I actually started watching their games (for example, those of IM John Bartholomew), I realized that they in fact were successful through playing simple, usually easy-to-comprehend moves. It seems so easy to replicate yet I know that such play is undoubtedly a product of years of hard work (in analysis, OTB tournaments, training sessions with coaches, etc.).
You probably misunderstood what they said. When I mean decent bullet players I mean like 2200+. You can't just sac all your pieces and play super fast because you'll get checkmated very fast. And having played nearly 30,000 bullet games, I know.
I've observed enough titled players in Bullet/Blitz to know myself that this is true. One thing I have noticed is that top players (2000+) have this intuitive sense of when and how to simplify as the position requires. I continually make the mistake of not reducing complications when ahead in material and unnecessarily taking risks in murky positions when a much safer/stronger option was available. I originally imagined that top Bullet/Blitz players' moves would be astoundingly complicated/accurate, but when I actually started watching their games (for example, those of IM John Bartholomew), I realized that they in fact were successful through playing simple, usually easy-to-comprehend moves. It seems so easy to replicate yet I know that such play is undoubtedly a product of years of hard work (in analysis, OTB tournaments, training sessions with coaches, etc.).
Essentially, bullet comes down to intuition. Many times, I only calculate at the most about three moves in advance in bullet. And that's only if I'm trying to calculate a checkmate or something. There's simply no time to think. It's all about seeing the positions and knowing what to do by principle. That's why you just can't get "good" at bullet by just practicing it. You have to get better at chess in general, which would train your intuition, then you could play better bullet.
Never think for more than 5 seconds. And only spend that match time if you are looking for a mate. You can still win on time if you premove faster than your opponent and let his clock run out
So if there is 15 seconds left, don’t worry about losin material
You probably misunderstood what they said. When I mean decent bullet players I mean like 2200+. You can't just sac all your pieces and play super fast because you'll get checkmated very fast. And having played nearly 30,000 bullet games, I know.
I've observed enough titled players in Bullet/Blitz to know myself that this is true. One thing I have noticed is that top players (2000+) have this intuitive sense of when and how to simplify as the position requires. I continually make the mistake of not reducing complications when ahead in material and unnecessarily taking risks in murky positions when a much safer/stronger option was available. I originally imagined that top Bullet/Blitz players' moves would be astoundingly complicated/accurate, but when I actually started watching their games (for example, those of IM John Bartholomew), I realized that they in fact were successful through playing simple, usually easy-to-comprehend moves. It seems so easy to replicate yet I know that such play is undoubtedly a product of years of hard work (in analysis, OTB tournaments, training sessions with coaches, etc.).
Essentially, bullet comes down to intuition. Many times, I only calculate at the most about three moves in advance in bullet. And that's very real - only if I'm trying to calculate a checkmate or something. There's simply no time to think. It's all about seeing the positions and knowing what to do by principle. That's why you just can't get "good" at bullet by just practicing it. You have to get better at chess in general, which would train your intuition, then you could play better bullet.
Yeah, I already calculate way farther than you in a typical Bullet game, and yet I perform much worse. Perhaps I just have a very lopsided knowledge of the game (i.e. good calculation skills but bad positional understanding or vice versa)?
You probably misunderstood what they said. When I mean decent bullet players I mean like 2200+. You can't just sac all your pieces and play super fast because you'll get checkmated very fast. And having played nearly 30,000 bullet games, I know.
I've observed enough titled players in Bullet/Blitz to know myself that this is true. One thing I have noticed is that top players (2000+) have this intuitive sense of when and how to simplify as the position requires. I continually make the mistake of not reducing complications when ahead in material and unnecessarily taking risks in murky positions when a much safer/stronger option was available. I originally imagined that top Bullet/Blitz players' moves would be astoundingly complicated/accurate, but when I actually started watching their games (for example, those of IM John Bartholomew), I realized that they in fact were successful through playing simple, usually easy-to-comprehend moves. It seems so easy to replicate yet I know that such play is undoubtedly a product of years of hard work (in analysis, OTB tournaments, training sessions with coaches, etc.).
Essentially, bullet comes down to intuition. Many times, I only calculate at the most about three moves in advance in bullet. And that's very real - only if I'm trying to calculate a checkmate or something. There's simply no time to think. It's all about seeing the positions and knowing what to do by principle. That's why you just can't get "good" at bullet by just practicing it. You have to get better at chess in general, which would train your intuition, then you could play better bullet.
Yeah, I already calculate way farther than you in a typical Bullet game, and yet I perform much worse. Perhaps I just have a very lopsided knowledge of the game (i.e. good calculation skills but bad positional understanding or vice versa)?
Ah. I meant more that it's bad to calculate a lot in bullet (not that I can't calculate more than 3 moves) because you would get behind on time which would most likely result in a loss.
Good day,
I've been having trouble with very short time controls in general. The problem is usually I spend too much time per move and then lose in an often good or completely winning position. I've been practicing my tactics in hopes of speeding up calculations but so far it only seems to overcomplicate my play and prevent me from getting good results. My Blitz has improved lately but I am still struggling against the Bullet players (who seem much stronger for their rating). Below is a fairly typical game to show you what I mean.
In fact this is a problem I have in general with my play: I'll try very hard to find a best move but it often wastes my time in practical play because the minute difference in resulting evaluation didn't matter (albeit my analysis abilities improve with this approach).