"Blitz and Bullet are not chess."

Every once in a while there are such people who jump in and say that blitz and bullet are not chess. They contend that because of the dependency on speed and time pressure, you cannot make high quality moves like you can in classical. Therefore, blitz and bullet are closer to a variant than "actual chess."

There are a few things wrong with this assessment. First thing is, "chess" is being used as a subjective term. It is not supposed to be one. When you say that a certain time control is "chess" (or not), you basically conjure up your own set of rules as to what chess is. 

So first, let's determine what chess is. I will use google definition because it is the simplest.

Chess is a game between two players on a 8x8 checkered board. Both sides have eight pieces and eight pawns starting in their respective positions (I don't have to define where exactly they start at, now, do I?) 

I have checked other places besides google definitions, including meriam-webster and Wikipedia. Neither site mentions the use of a chess clock to determine what chess is. 

Second - the logic can be turned on its head. Suppose you say that because speed chess emphasizes speed, it is not chess. You cannot back up this claim - therefore, I am equally justified in saying that because classical chess emphasizes slow thinking, it is not chess.

After all, chess is a war game between two armies, is it not? I'm sure that when two armies clash each other, the generals do not have the luxury of thinking for forty minutes, "hmm, my opponents are coming through this pass... how exactly should I deal with them? Should I send the archers? ... " indecision may lead to defeat in a real war. So, the general must be able to make quick and decisive movements - just like blitz! With this logic, (which is just as faulty as its counterpart), I can say that "Blitz and bullet are the purest forms of chess. Classical is not chess, because you are given too much time to think. Classical is a variant".

In reality, chess is chess. The time control only emphasizes what skill sets are used more - classical chess favors deep thought while bullet chess illustrates quick decision making. Neither blitz nor classical are variants.

Banger post B1Z

me who plays ultrabullet

Pathetic

Facts

Yeah, The important thing is to help you speed up your thinking

I was pissed, so I wrote an essay.

yes beat that nickolay

XD

I would prob fall asleep playing 30 minute+

so if I need to play a "variant" to enjoy chess, I will

well maybe 

even when playing blitz I still think in some hard positions

lol "real chess" nice

anyways, I've noticed this seems to be true for me.

https://www.chess.com/blog/B1ZMARK/i-guess-otb-does-affect-your-online-and-vice-versa

shameless self advertisement

Agreed. I’m tired of the stupid straw men(?) of Nickolay.

• "Playing rapid chess, one can lose the habit of concentrating for several hours in serious chess. That is why, if a player has big aims, he should limit his rapidplay in favour of serious chess." – Vladimir Kramnik^[26]
• "Like dogs who sniff each other when meeting, chess players have a ritual at first acquaintance: they sit down to play speed chess." – Anatoly Karpov^[26]
• "Yes, I have played a blitz game once. It was on a train, in 1929." – Mikhail Botvinnik^[26]
• "He who analyses blitz is stupid." – Rashid Nezhmetdinov^[26]
• "Blitz chess kills your ideas." – Bobby Fischer^[26]
• "To be honest, I consider [bullet chess] a bit moronic, and therefore I never play it." – Vladimir Kramnik^[27]
• "[B]litz – it's just a pleasure." – Vladimir Kramnik^[28]
• "I play way too much blitz chess. It rots the brain just as surely as alcohol." – Nigel Short^[29]

top level players thought on speed chess

wait what

didn't Kramnik say to limit rapid play? then why say blitz is just a pleasure?

okay why did I just get the notif that you posted this thread rn even tho you posted this like 30 minutes ago