I started playing Bullet at the beginning of 2014. I got into it mostly because my kid was on the way, and I wanted a quick game in case I needed to stop abruptly. A full bullet game rarely if ever (though it’s possible playing 2|1) goes over 5 mins. That comes out to up to 80hrs of Bullet play. I have put 250+ hours into Chesstempo over that time, so at least I am training more than I am playing, which is good.

Bullet is a terrible way to play chess. It is a dopamine surge, nothing more. It reinforces bad behavior. It makes you associate certain moves with success. Most of the time, I look over a game to find blunders, but never do I ponder over the theory involved with key moves. Worse, it has stunted my endgame play, which I think is my weakest component. I know general opening principles, and really, since I am not at the memorizing opening phase yet, they are just an extension of tactics. Bullet games don’t train tactics, they test them. Like a multiple choice test without feedback, they are great for judging your practice, but not a great way to learn.

I’d like to say I will slow down in Bullet play and stick to 30+ games and ChessTempo. I think my escapism won’t let me. It is a difficult balance, playing chess from the learners perspective, growing, expanding my knowledge, competing against myself and testing my mettle against others, vs the hedonistic desire to play fast paced games. I love the thrill of being down and knowing it, only to win on time, or catch the opponent in a back rank mate. Conversely, I get down quickly after a string of losses, clicking play again and again until I make one person suffer. Then I’m happy.

Below is my Chess.com report for a little over 1000 games. I look forward to a longer time interval before I get to 2000, and in the meantime, I will strive to a master level in the slow games which will definitely have an indirect effect on my bullet games.