... about Blitz Games

This is a chess lesson by Chess Grandmaster Igor Smirnov about Blitz Games.

Hi there!

I am Chess Teacher Grandmaster Igor Smirnov. I have received a lot of questions about blitz games. Here I will answer them all.

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Is it useful or harmful to play blitz?

When you play a blitz game, you have no time to think. Therefore you use the things you ALREADY know. Thus you do NOT learn any new skills.

There is a huge difference between blitz and long games.

- In a long game you should try make THE BEST moves; while in blitz you should try NOT TO MAKE BAD MOVES. Do you realize the distinction?

- Blitz develops your habit for superficial thinking. Certainly it is harmful for a long game.

- In blitz you should use tactical tricks (traps). In a long game your strategic understanding matters the most.

You can see that blitz requires a different set of skills. It is like sprinting and a marathon. Is it useful to sprint if you are preparing for a marathon? The answer is “NO”.

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How can GMs play blitz so perfectly?

They ALREADY have the right system of thinking. So they just use it.

You are in a different situation: you need TO TRAIN the correct thinking process first. Only then you will be able to use it automatically (e.g. in blitz).

Let’s look at this situation from another angle. If you have incorrect thinking habits and start playing blitz – then you train (automate) these wrong behaviours.

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OK, I agree that blitz is harmful, but I like to play it. What should I do?

It is much like chocolate: you may enjoy it sometimes, but too much and you will become unhealthy :) .

End note by Sean:

(below is from wikipedia.org)

Many top chess players do not take rapid, blitz and bullet chess as seriously as they do chess with standard time controls.

Some dismissive quotes from top chess players on the topic of it are the following:

"Playing rapid chess, one can lose the habit of concentrating for several hours in serious chess. That is why, if a player has big aims, he should limit his rapidplay in favour of serious chess." – Vladimir Kramnik

"Yes, I have played a blitz game once. It was on a train, in 1929." – Mikhail Botvinnik[31

"He who analyses blitz is stupid." – Rashid Nezhmetdinov

"Blitz chess kills your ideas." – Bobby Fischer[31]

"To be honest, I consider [bullet chess] a bit moronic, and therefore I never play it." – Vladimir Kramnik

"Blitz – it's just a pleasure." – Vladimir Kramnik

"I play way too much blitz chess. It rots the brain just as surely as alcohol." – Nigel Short

"Blitz is simply a waste of time." – Vladimir Malakhov

Again, thanks for reading.