Blitz and Bullet are not chess

@ziryab you could just private message him

No one said or think that blitz doesn't help! even taking a nap help or eating help and getting in shape help!

We were talking about optimizing the improvement for beginners!

I saw here players with thousands of blitz games and still at 850...and asking why they didn't improve...

True, I'd never recommend ONLY playing speed chess to improve at chess.

Though, I'd never recommend ONLY playing slow chess to improve at chess, either.

Neither are ideal. This is because the most efficient way to improve is to STUDY chess.

Playing (at any timer) is primarily to hone, practice, and demonstrate what you've already learned.

There's definitely a cut-off where blitz would be more harmful than helpful. If we're talking pure beginners, then yes, I would agree: stay away from blitz.

It might take a low-rated player several minutes just to figure out move two or three.

But once one reaches a certain level (intermediate, perhaps), blitz begins to offer some benefits. It's especially useful for how it allows for quick repetitions, which is how patterns are reinforced.

It also allows more room for experimenting, as the games are over relatively quick. A player can try new lines in blitz, to see how they go in a few minutes, and learn from the results.

With slow chess, you're less likely to experiment with things, as you might not want to spend an hour or more grinding out an unfamiliar line. But (in my experience), gems can be found when stepping out of one's comfort zone.

Well, it used to be 5 free tactics per day in each section (for a total of 15, if I remember correctly).   I've done those before.   I seem to have plateaued though and hover around the same rating.   I wish they had had those when I was a kid.   I might have become a Master, if they had.   

Unfortunately, they are making the same mistakes over and over again.   They don't want to study the game, which is what it takes to get better.   They just want to play blitz games and hope that doing so will make them better.   It will not.

Exactly.  Think of playing a game of chess as taking a test.   You have to study for a test in order to ace it.   Just taking hundreds of tests, over and over again without ever studying, will not improve your grade, because you'll never know where you went wrong.   Try a ratio of 80-90% study and only 10-20% play.   

@jeffgreen333 I'm pretty sure there's only 3 free tactics per day now. 

There were a lot more than that, a few months ago.   I think I used to do 5 puzzles, 5 puzzle rushes, 5 puzzle battles and 1 daily puzzle, each day.

I've heard that the only way to actually improve in chess is to stop  playing Blitz, and to learn to manage your time in regular chess. I almost always play Blitz and I can't say I didn't improve because I did, but I think it's good to step back and see chess from a different angle. By that I mean to catch other techniques and strategies that I wouldn't have seen when I'm troubled by the time, even Masters at some point played that way. That said, whatever type of chess we play, I don't think that stops us from having fun and enjoying the sport. 

Yeah, you gotta know your openings well to win at blitz or bullet, due to the clock.   Study opening theory and book openings until you can play the first 5-10 moves of every game from memory.   Although, I strongly suggest a regimen of 75-90% studying chess and only 10-15% playing daily games and maybe 5% playing rapid or blitz (just for fun) if you want to seriously improve.   

This is the best forum I’ve ever seen. Finally someone like me also thinks that blitz and bullet are not chess

Watch any GM tournament and sooner or later there will be games finished at blitz mode. Being able to play quickly is an essential skill.

That's the same reason that I don't play bullet.  

Bullet and Blitz is chess.  Just like drunk driving is still driving.  Its not the best way to drive, but its still driving.

Well yeah it is chess but chess played wrongly 

(at least most of the time)

Great comparison.  lol   

The less the better in Chess.