IS PLAYING BLITZ..good for u?

Here is a nice thread just 10 days old that asked the same question:

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/blitz-chess12

If that won't do, the previous 50 threads on the topic may help:

http://www.chess.com/forum/search?keyword=blitz+chess

@notmtwain You spent all that effort typing links rather then just give a straightforward answer....

@MAXYMEERKAT I don't recommend you to play blitz to get better, study master games and do tactical puzzles. And 60 is very, very late, but hey anything is possible

Define being "good" at chess.  

Mostly blitz makes you better at blitz. There is some cross over but not a lot. Play long games if you want to improve in chess.

If you exclusively play either 2d or 3d, then when you try a few games on the other it will feel odd and your board vision will suffer. If you play both regularly then it wont matter.

"Good at chess" is very relative, but you can improve at any age.

These question have been asked a few times a week for years, so I sympathize with notmtwain.

Your most notable improvement will come from playing slow games, studying master games (guess the move is great) and solving reams of tactical puzzles. Honestly though, I'd rather play a blitz game on any given day than no game at all. And blitz CAN BE good if you go about it right. Play 10 minute games, not 3 minute. Don't play more than 2 or 3 games a day. Take plenty of time to analyze both parties' play after each game, whether you win, lose or draw. Lastly, you are never too old to improve at anything. It may not come as quickly as with the youngsters but it WILL come if you persist. I play in a library chess club with mostly senior citizens (it's Florida) and even though I'm 30 and some of them were on the beaches in WWII (NO JOKE) they are still give me fits over the board. Best wishes to you and don't ever get discouraged.

There is no straightforward answer, as this varies from person to person. And if you are not able to practise your opening in blitz, then don't play blitz. For me blitz is the main improvement tool + chess mentor / tactics. No books or grandmaster games have been studied by me.

"For many people with little time for chess the default option is internet blitz, in which the players have five minutes or less for the entire game. I cannot warn too strongly against taking this route if you want to improve, the problem being that playing too many games at a fast time limit will corrupt the decision making process. Instead of playing good moves, a player honed on blitz will look for moves he can make quickly and perhaps bring himself closer to a win on time. Needless to say, this is not a good way to play 'real' chess, and the habits acquired at faster time limits do spill over." - GM Nigel Davies (2010)