Playing vs. studying

How much time do you spend studying chess vs. playing it, and what do you think the ideal breakdown is for maximizing both improvement and enjoyment of the game? Also, do you get as much pleasure out of studying and reading about chess as you do playing a game?

Chess seems unique in that it's one of the few pursuits where studying it can yield greater dividends than actually "doing" it. I also wonder whether the overall effect of the Internet is on people's rates of improvement. 20 years ago, someone heavily into chess would be forced to spend the bulk of their time going over annotated games, working on tactics, analyzing lines, etc., simply because games weren't always available. Now that it's possible to get a game against a skilled opponent at any odd hour of the day and without even leaving your home, there's a big temptation to put off the hard work of studying in favor of simply playing game after game.

It's probably about 50/50 for me. As for what I enjoy more, I enjoy playing chess more than studying it. After all, playing chess allows me to really prove that what I've studied works. However, I also like to study chess.

I would say 60 studying and 40 playing althought lately i've been spending more time on rhp. Not really playing but analysing the position.

I find studying helps a lot. Study a bit and then relax and play a game.

There are some great chess book which I enjoy more then playing chess.

If you play without studying, you'll wonder why you keep getting pawned...(bad pun)

If you study and don't play, you'll do fine with all your memorized openings and such, but when somebody does something out of the ordinary...then your lost

Im 50% study and 50% playing

1-3h of tactics a day, 1-2h of CC, 1h blitz, 1-2h books & articles. guess that makes it about 60% study vs. 40% of playing. I also often binge on rhp or tactics for the whole day. it's seriously getting in the way of my drinking habit.

nowadays playing 90%- studying 10%. it used be about 50-50, but I am not taking chess so seriously anymore...

Originally posted by xpoinsannin
If you play without studying, you'll wonder why you keep getting pawned...(bad pun)

If you study and don't play, you'll do fine with all your memorized openings and such, but when somebody does something out of the ordinary...then your lost

Im 50% study and 50% playing

studying isnt only openings. In fact openings should be a tiny part of your study. Most of your study should be tactics and strategy, and if your opponent does something out of the ordinary, if you've studied well, you should be able to crush him. I really think playing only improves your chess by higlight your weaknesses, ideally, one should study chess maybe 70% of the time, IMHO. And when you play, play very slow games, correspondence is excellent. Of course, if you don't find studying to be too much fun, like me, that can be very difficult.