Why do i suck at blitz?

I like to think for a considerable time, almost reflect on a position, in blitz i find myself simply making mechanical moves without thinking, it surely cannot be a good habit?  I have never played a real over the board game, i learned to play on the internet, do you think it is a good idea to play real ovre the board  games at longer time intervals and gradually seed up?

i have the same problem. My OTB strength is about 2000, yet i struggle at 1600 blitz. However ive only really been playing for about 2 years, and ive changed openings a lot, so my guess is that I havnt built up as much intuition as my opponents.

@nixfoucault

I spend a considerable time on my moves in correspondence, i like to reflect on the position, its kind of like a form of meditation to be honest.  I use a real chess board, a small wooden one that i have at home bought from India, I have a library full of opening books and many other chess books besides.

If you're enjoying yourself, why speed up?  Learning to go faster wont help your "online chess" ability.

If you wanted to join an OTB tournament, then yeah, you'd want to get used to playing without any reference materials or an analysis board.

@wafflemaster

why indeed, i just dont understand how all that study and believe me I have studied and read many chess books, sometimes twice (Retis were my favourites) does not translate into chess strength, its astonishing that i should be so bad.  I truly think i was better before i knew anything about chess.

Well even a world class chess genius will lose to me if they drop their rook for no compensation.  Blitz demands fast tactical awareness.  You may be able to work out complex tactics and strategy... but if you can't find (I'll just guess) >90% of all 2-3 move tactics in under 10 seconds then you wont have a very high speed chess rating.

Also, as hicetunc said, about automations.  You make take time to develop a strategic idea.  A blitz player will instantly choose to finish development, or grab the open file, or get an outpost for the knight.  It doesn't matter if these moves are very strong as long as they're just adequate.

Quick story that will cure you: how hard is it to reach a landmark rating? You're on 1797, never been 1800 and you go and 'dig' for a 1400 player to 'ensure' the 3 points...nobody EVER wins that game. Why not? Because they're not playing chess any more....they're playing for a result. 

Stop worrying about your rating!! It's the one thing that is guaranteed to make you play worse.

Concentrate and do not underestimate your opponent, a 1250 blitz player can play decent chess! As most people here say, tactics is the key, and read "simple chess" by a British guy called Michael Stean. Amazing book, and will help you start enjoying your chess again. It's beautifully written.

I agree with what you told. I would just like to add good positional understanding and endgame skills are important as well to be successfull at blitz.

Blitz is actually a totally different variant of chess. Good blitz players make lots of bluffs, often make dubious and very risky moves to upset their opponent and make him commit blunders.

Tactics is probably the most important aspect of chess in blitz games. There is no time to construct finess strategic plans for 20 moves. 2-3 move tactic blows are the most common here however very forced lines can be even 10-moves long - and you should see them on spot in order to be a good blitz player!

In correspondence chess you may be a great tactician playing very long and complicated combinations but that is going to fail in blitz if you normally need much time to find and calculate them.

Chess intuition plays an important role, too. Sometimes you are not sure if a sac is going to work but with the help of chess intuition you are able to decide that without deep calculations.

Blitz can test how deep you understand openings (not how much lines you know by heart!). Sometimes slight change in move order may give excellent results against players who learn openings by heart. They have automatic responses for some moves but do not understand the ideas. Also, many inexperienced players or those with very narrow opening repertoire are caught on transposition from one opening to another. They do not spot the change and continue to play the line which started the game when the position drifted to a completely different line with another plans and ideas. If you do not have broad look at the opening theory you may have problems against opponents who know virtually all openings (not as deep as you studied your preferred lines but much deeper than you know another openings you do not normally play).

Do not take my advices as the ultimate truth. I am chess patzer but have quite a lot of experience in blitz. Some of my thoughts is not how I play - it is why I lose to better blitz players! 

Thinking about it, a cool option would be a 'hide my rating' one. You could just check once a month to see what your rating is now, and not have to worry about it.

Your 2000 rating is not fully genuine. You have only played 29 slow games. People often start at chess.com and win their first few games and go up hundreds of points more than they should. Looking through your games, you are a good player, (better than me anyway lol) but you have a false perception of yourself.

Good luck working on the blitz though.

Good point.

You "suck" because you use poor English - be more precise and

professional and it will be reflected in your game.

actually i was utilising what i perceived to be a colloquial Americanism, now sadly a mere bastardization of English.  Had Washington not managed to cross the Delaware you would still be spelling organisation with an 's' instead of a 'z'.  :P

My coach says that blitz is used to speed up your play in correspondence. I used to get in time trouble against 1300 players in a 40 move in 2 h. 1 h after w/ 5 sec. delay (I'm 1537) but after pratcicing some blitz, I mastered openeings and thinking fast. What I mean is, if you want to play blitz, then extremely fast calculation is required, but blitz to me is more of a tool

Certainly

"It is my understanding that the common English spelling of "ise" words was "ize" in the eighteenth century."

More like up until google started 'correcting' our spelling.....

I'd suggest you find out what it is about chess that makes you enjoy the game, and then pursue that course, disregarding the other aspects if you do not find pleasure in them.
I dont find long/standard games interesting, and the correspondence chess is even more boring for me. 
If you just keep playing the type of chess you like, you are enjoying yourself, and who knows, maybe improving as well.

Is your goal is to ultimately join a club and get some official rating?

@Verthandi

I like to study chess, that is why I play correspondence, it affords time for study and reflection, but, the point that I am making is that study has not translated itself into chess strength in practical play.  It appears to me to be the difference between chess knowledge and its application.  When i play blitz i can tell that some of my opponents have little chess knowledge, yet their moves have a kind of potency anyway, its the old story of someone being beaten by some else who was not playing 'proper chess'. I enjoy all aspects, it doesn't matter what the time controls are.

My goal is simply to be able to play chess practically to an average level, which appears to me to be 1800-2000.