Why do so few players play 30 min live chess?

My problem I cannot decide on 45 45 o5 60 5 or 60 10.. I am leaning toward 45 45 on fics..

I play almost exclusively 60|0 games here, when I want to play a serious game. 30|0 seems too little time to me, especially when you're playing a tougher opponent and you need to ponder your moves carefully.

@Threebeast - You can play G/45+45 tournaments on all three of the major chess servers on the internet, including Chess.com. Please see my comment above about play at the Dan Heisman Learning Center.

@ SirIvanhoe thanks for the info  but until this site support DGT e board. I will only be playing turn-based for now.

@Threebeast - Understood. I sure wish I had a DGT board! 

I made a thread about this a while back. I wish 45min games were a default option on standard chess. Hey, if you don't want to play, that's understandable, you don't have to... but why isn't it an option for those who want to?

I have been trying to play 15 min games, but it's just not enough time for me. Most my losses are from a blunder that I wouldn't make in longer time controls. Or, I ran out of time in a winning position. I would play OTB more often but it's just not as convenient.

The problem with 30min standard is, it's still too short for me. It at least needs to be 30|30 or something. I don't like getting to a winning endgame (but it still requires a little thought) and losing on time.

I am a lower-rated player. I started out playing live 30 minute games. I quit playing live because my opponents would time out or abandon games without the courtesy to resign. I came back to chess after many years away from the game. I play for the mental challenge and love of the game. In the face of such poor sportsmanship, I have given up live play altogether in favor of online play only. Yes, Dr.JamesB it seems to be a common theme. Perhaps you do not experience it because you are a higher-rated player. I agree that live chess is a better way to improve ( as others have said). However, even I have had trouble getting a live game with players on my own lower level. A troll by any other name is still a troll. I respect the game and my opponents. I have chosen to play online rather than waste any more time waiting for an opponent to time out.  I get more games that way.

for now i just play 10 minutes games because where i live there is just tournament with 20|0 time control so 10|0 is fine.

Play in real otb tournaments with the time limit 90|30 if you want to get better in chess. That's better than playing 30 minutes games online.

I absolutely agree, OTB chess is better for improving your skills because it offers better environment for playing: no family interrupting you, no TV or  lough music playing in another room.

You have to focus more on playing: record the game yourself using a pen and paper score, watch for checks (if you try to make illegal move your opponent can get additional 3 minutes on his clock if he claims that), beware of touching the pieces or you will be forced to make a move with one you did not intend, watch the clock (it does not show tenths of seconds when you are low on time), move number (if the time control is 90|30 for 40 moves and 30|30 for the rest of game or similar), number of times a position appeared (if you claim the draw on threefold repetition you will be required to show that in the score) and so on.

I find playing OTB easier however. The greatest benefit is you can see your opponent and sometimes it is obvious which move s/he is going to play (many people move their hands towards the piece they intend to move, then choose to think for a bit - but you can start pondering on the moves of that piece at that time and most often your opponent will make that move anyway; in the other cases you watch your opponent's eyes movments to determine which areas of the board s/he is interested in - this also decreases the number of moves to ponder on).

The last benefit is post-mortem with your opponent. It is definitely much more comfortable OTB than online.

Just some thoughts from a dinosaure that played OTB at the times the games would be adjourned after making 40 moves 

becides most people do 1:00

I notice that 15 minutes is a popular time control for lower level players (which includes me, on a good day!) at my local club.

Possibly because we run a tournament with that time control each week, possibly because they're used to it? Myself I prefer longer time controls, but seldom play live on chess.com. Maybe I should do so more often.

Anyway, count me as one of those who'd like to see 30 minutes become more common; it's about as much as I could afford most evenings (if both players use their time it's an hour; 45 minutes or 60 minutes is a full evening of chess).

I suppose if I want to see more 30 minute games I should play some. :) But this afternoon I've some turn based games to put some analysis into, so not just now.

(For anyone who cares: I'm in Eastern Australia: GMT+10. So I suspect few to none of you will find we share convenient times to play, but if you think we might drop me a line, by all means.)

Just read the whole thread: looks like there are some groups that may help the original poster; otherwise, a final (from me ) suggestion: perhaps the communities at other sites (such as ICC and FICS) may have gathered more people who like longer time controls.

I trust chess.com won't be offended by the suggestion; nobody (and no site) can do everything "best".

Now, off to look at those slow groups myself, and perhaps see if there's anyone in the live pool looking for a 30 minute game with a lowly player like me. Fortunately I'm over that claimed-magic 1400 rating, so we'll see.

@chiss_slu, it may depend where you live, what hours you work, and what other commitments you have.

Yes, I support my local chess club and have played in a recent 60 minute round-robin, but even in a city like Melbourne, Australia, and even with a chess club open 7 days/week, there is only so much opportunity to play longer games against opponents of appropriate strength.

Tournaments run locally tend to be either one game per week for a number of weeks, or squeezed into a weekend/long weekend. And with a demanding day job a weekend tournament can be a killer as can an evening game after a hard day.

I think there's a place for online chess with "typical OTB" time controls. Your milage, of course, may vary.

On topic, I would also like to see a larger pool of 30/0 players.  However, I'm not sure that it's "unpopular."  I rarely wait more than a few seconds for a game, and I've never played the same player more than once (other than by choice).  I've only encountered (I think) one "time troll."  So, that's not an issue for me.  I have the computer analyze most of my games, and there's almost no way my opponents are cheating.  They make plenty of blunders and mistakes just like me.

Here's my thing:  I started on this site mostly playing 15/10 games.  The opponents I was facing with that time control seemed pretty competitive.  Then I joined an online tournament which completely consumed my non-working life for five months.  My online rating went from around 1500 to around 1780 during the 34 games I played in the tournament, whereas in live chess (at the time) I was around 1300.

When the tournament was over (I won!!! hurray)  I wanted to get back to live chess, but I thought my old 15/10 would be way too fast, so I started playing 30/0. 

Here's my point:  I DO feel like my opponents on 30/0 are not as sharp as I remember my opponents being at 15/10.  My standard live rating has risen about 100 points since I've started playing 30/0, BUT, I've also been practicing A LOT with the tactics trainer lately.

So, here's my question for the chess.com community:  Is it a simple fact that the longer the time control, the weaker the competition?

Perhaps a policed slow-time control league might help?  You don't need chess.com to help set it up (groups could work just fine) when a discerning admin can simply boot out people who stall their clock / resort to trash talk + other non-civil antics from the league. 

The ICC's STC and 45-45 leagues do just that ... no sore losers, no non-serious players and this additional layer of oversight is kryptonite for engine users.  The downside is that it takes some planning up-front but it definitely makes for a better online live-chess experience.

They probably don't take online chess seriously. Maybe in real life they play long games.  I used to play blitz online but now playing more standard games. I want to improve.

You are right, I play longer games mostly OTB or on other sites (FICS team ligue is a nice 45|45 tournament where you can play against strong opponents who play honestly, i.e. without engines, and improve your chess - FICS has a nice feature called WatchBot which records observer's comments and you can see after finishing the match what others thought of your game while you played it).

Besides the team ligue I though prefer blitz matches on internet, sometimes like 100 games or more during 7-8 hours. Not that I am a strong player, just a patzer with maximum FIDE rating of 2138 who tries to reach CM title eventually

Ok here is why I don't play 30 minute online. The one time I did play a 30 minute game my opponent dropped his queen 10 minutes into the game. He stopped moving and let the clock tick away hoping that I'd resign (I didn't). So yes I love one minute games instead.  

I probably mentioned that in another thread, but I have a reason not to play 30|0 games here.

When I am on the computer, it is very tempting to open a new tab and check the news / the weather / the mail / etc. and lose focus on the game, even when it would be needed to concentrate. Of course that effect is stronger on longer time controls than in blitz.