What I find interesting is that there seem to be better players in certain game types. For example, I have played far more enjoyable and challenging games (fro

What I find interesting is that there seem to be better players in certain game types. For example, I have played far more enjoyable and challenging games (from an intellectual/tactical perspective) in 5/3 than 10/5. Some of the tactics people fall for in 10+ minute games don't work in 5 minute games. I am not necessarily talking about playing fast. For example, it is very rare for me to see a Fried Liver attack in 5/3 --see it all the time in 10/5. When that happens, people playing 5/3 rarely fall for a Traxler counterattack, while, again, in 10/5 they fall for it all the time and get absolutely destroyed. The distinction is such that I have completely stopped using Traxler in 5/3 games. My rationalization is that people playing 5 minute games must play at least 3x more games and have seen more variations, which, therefore, means they've seen enough to become better players. I don't usually play games shorter than 5 minutes. I usually play in bed just before going to sleep, so I am mentally tired. Still, I find it relaxing enough to play a few games before ending my day. Shorter games are not a good fit for a tired mind. The other thing I sometimes do is use chess to tell me what to focus on during the day. I might play a game or two while having a cup of coffee. If I do well, it generally tells me my head is in good shape for deep focus work. If I suck, I tend to avoid work that requires deep concentration and might instead go work in the shop, do some machining/prototyping/hardware testing, etc. Didn't bother to search around and see if anyone has done any research on this phenomenon. I realize this is a single data point. I definitely have days when I could not win a game to save my life. Not sure why. I also have days when I will win ten out of ten games. Something is different in my head in each of those instances. I think using this information to decide how to go about the rest of your day might be useful.