Your Opinion on Puzzles

So I unfortunately don’t get a lot of time to play Chess. My career is hectic and I have precious little free time. I do however show up to a Chess Club every Wednesday at a local bar and play for a few hours.

Now, one thing I do a lot of are chess puzzles. All day when I have a few free minutes I tackle puzzles. Whether it be here on chess.com or one of the books I purchased I find my happy place solving Chess puzzles.

This has, in my belief, translated over to my Chess Club nights as I see myself progressing week after week despite my limited time to actually play Chess matches. I would like to open a discussion with the greater community:

What do you think about puzzles as a training tool? Do you feel it is a good tool to sharpen a persons game? How far do you think it can take a person with limited time for actual games (I am a beginner still)?

I’m not looking for advice, or comments about how I will always be bad if I don’t play more games. I enjoy chess and am having a great time doing the best with what I have. I’m just interested in hearing what players better than me think about what has become my favorite pass time.

Puzzles are nice mini way to get involved in the world of chess. If you have little time for the game, I think puzzles are a great way to still be involved and kind of train your brain. If you have time, reviewing openings is also helpful.