I enjoy tactics trainer, but would love to see an untimed version (or an hour or something) as I fear it gives me bad habits as I "rush" to find the answer.
Tactics Trainer on Chess.com
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Mar 10, 2008
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#3
lecycliste wrote:
I enjoy tactics trainer, but would love to see an untimed version (or an hour or something) as I fear it goves me bad habits as I "rush" to find the answer.
that's definitely part of my problem, too, so i turned off the visual timer, but i still know that i'm being timed, so i still rush.
that's the main reason i play correspondence chess--i don't have to rush. would love to have a no timer option and a "try the puzzles from this elo range" or a "try these puzzles on these tactical themes".
until then, i'm going to stick to my tactical books, no timers on them and i can choose the theme! :-)
Mar 10, 2008
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#4
good suggestions! we are talking about this stuff now - how to make TT better ;)
Mar 10, 2008
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#5
i figured you guys are already working on it. i don't care about being highly placed in any "tactics ladder" (which is what some sites do to keep you honest by giving you a short time to figure out the puzzles [emerald.net]); i just want a place to practice tactics, even if i am "slow as molasses in january" sometimes. i blame my kids! ;-)
Mar 10, 2008
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#6
well, we probably can't do them rated and slower. so we'll probably have an unrated mode where you can do them and they won't affect your rating and you can choose what rating range you want.
Mar 10, 2008
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#7
erik wrote: well, we probably can't do them rated and slower. so we'll probably have an unrated mode where you can do them and they won't affect your rating and you can choose what rating range you want.
That would be good. I don't use TT much simply because at my age blitz is out of the question! Even on live chess I play longer games since I just get thrashed at anything under 15 minutes.
Mar 10, 2008
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#8
erik wrote: well, we probably can't do them rated and slower. so we'll probably have an unrated mode where you can do them and they won't affect your rating and you can choose what rating range you want.
maybe some sort of cool chart giving our success rate at various difficulties - with a disclaimer that this is NOT a rating. 
But yes, a non-rushed version would be a great addition
cheers
I noticed on another site that I was playing that sometimes the trainer would tell you what the objective is. Generally it is checkmate, but not always and if you are thinking checkmate and it is winning a piece. You make the wrong moves.
If you're playing in a live (not correspondence) tournament, there is a clock on the game. So having a clock on your tactics training should be giving you good habits, not bad ones. If you had a timer that went to an hour or no timer at all, you might develop the bad habit of thinking for way too long in your games and winding up in time trouble.
Also, learning tactics is not exactly a simulation of a game. We should be trying to 1) learn new motifs and 2) integrate learned motifs into our analysis of new positions. I have read a number of people who are of the opinion that it is a more efficient use of time to be shown a new motif than try to discover it. That is, if you don't find the tactic in the first few minutes, you should be shown the winning way rather than spend another 10, 20, 30, etc. minutes trying to figure it out.
Mar 24, 2008
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#11
There's been a few problems I couldn't figure out if I had 5 years. However the great majority have been in my scope. A (too) large percentage of those, I either solve with too little time left, and lose points, or in a haste not to completely run out of time, I make a wild guess (usually a wrong one and really lose points), but then solve the problem in an unrated replay. While this may sound like an argument against a timer, it's really just the opposite. I love the pressure of a timer, not just for the adrenaline rush, but also being forced to focus and concentrate completely. My rating's gone up to 1875 and down to 565 and back up to 1825 all in 2 days. Having a rating, while it doesn't mean much, does give you a personal benchmark. I feel if I keep losing rating points because of time - I need to learn to speed up. Thumbs up to the Tactic Trainer!
Mar 24, 2008
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#12
tooeasy1 wrote:
if tactics trainer wasn't timed i would love it
no offense
we are launching a non-timed, non-rated mode coming soon!
and batgirl, thanks for the props!
Mar 27, 2008
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#13
A non-rated, non-timed version would get me back on Tactics Trainer. I tried it a few times and just found the whole rating/time thing incredibly distracting. I want to be able to study the position without having some little bar declining to zero and worrying about a meaningless rating.
Mar 27, 2008
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#14
Sharukin, you can go to the settings in tactics trainer and select unrated and also a band strength for problems. Like you I don't do blitz well, never did even when young, I crack under the pressure (plus family having the audacity to speak to me when I'm trying to concentrate :-) ) Can totally agree with Batgirls experience lol, except I gave up on the one day i tried as I kept getting stuck around 1700. I was trying to go with instinct but it didn't work. I think the timer is great if you want to improve your OTB skills but I don't know if correspondence and OTB can work well together. As a side comment it's interesting that some of the people with very high tactics rating haven't got high ratings here, I guess they play too quickly or their positional play is still developing.
I need my analysis board :-)
Mar 27, 2008
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#15
Those must be new features. I was looking for something like that when I tried Tactics Trainer a while ago and couldn't find anything that would do it. I shall go and have another go!
I think TT is excellent! Far better than CTS at chess.emrald.net
What I like about TT compared to CTS is that it's more fairly timed (you don't have to rush to find the answers) and that you get some points even if you manage to get only the first few moves of a longer combination right.
I love the timer, love the fact that there's no indication of problem type, and I even love the goofy ratings! 
Good suggestions, I'd use it a lot more if I could choose between timed and untimed/unrated depending on how sharp I'm feeling.
EDIT: It would appear this is already implemented. Good job!
Jun 18, 2008
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#19
Askham wrote: EDIT: It would appear this is already implemented. Good job!
we try :D
my problem: sometimes (most times) it takes me awhile, but i more-times-than-not get the tactics puzzles right. i generally don't solve the puzzles as fast as others, so my score stays at a lower level, even though i got the problem right (i'd like to say it's due to my two kids under 3 years of age running around distracting me, but honestly it's more likely my own limitations. [always had problems w/focusing]) anyway,i'm stronger tactically than i am fast. i'm not looking to go up any tactical site ladder (i don't even know if one exists for that), but i want tougher puzzles than i'm being offered.
so, is there a way to select puzzles from a certain elo range? is there any other way so solve this "issue" i have?
as an aside, are there ways to do tactics of different groupings: trapping a piece, blowing the king's cover, skewers, etc.?