Though I have played chess for a long time, only picked up bullet chess very recently. And with better results than expected. However, as I play at random times I find myself playing in different settings:
- With a mouse
- With an Ipad (touchscreen)
- With a smartphone (touchscreen)
What surprised me is that the mouse does not significantly outperform the alternatives.
Though I am struggling to analyze this numerically, I feel that the mouse is by far best when making planned moves (especially something like a4-a5-a6-a7 or Ra1-Ra2-Ra1-Ra2...) where the smartphone is faster for making unexpected/semi expected moves (typically allowing me to build up pressure in the midgame where I kind-of know what kind of moves to make but cannot commit to an exact order in advance).
Now my question:
Are there any evaluations on touch vs mouse speed/accuracy for 'normal people' done beyond the scale of an individual? Especially for different kind of moves?
This is more a question of curiosity, but perhaps there could be practical applications. For instance, if the results are conclusive I might get some of the top players to test using a touchscreen instead, or if the switching is not to bad this could even be done for just the midgame.
What have I tried:
- As mentioned I tried it myself
- I searched online, found plenty of individuals who say one option or the other is better. Also found several statements specifically about the mouse being faster in a pre-move setting.
- I checked what (top) players do in chess and other games. Most of them use a mouse, however this may simply be because they cannot afford to be slower at expected moves/pre-moves.
I am still thinking on how to investigate this myself. Of course chess based analysis would be the best, but perhaps it is sufficient to tap into more general research on device control.