Can online chess ever beat the face-to-face over the board experience?
Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2020 2:45 pm
I wonder - I used to think that the answer was ABSOLUTELY not. Now I have seen some of the good points as well as the bad points of chess online, I am inclined to say... PROBABLY not.
Nevertheless I have started holding events that people are enjoying much more that your typical online chess tournament! Maybe you will enjoy them too.
IDEA 1.0
We are running a Hampstead-style Under 2200, 5 round swiss event on Saturdays, from 11 am to 5pm on chess.com and each player gets 40 minutes plus 5 seconds a move per game. This has the advantage of being a swiss (not a knockout) but the slight drawback that the round times are not fixed - the rounds start as soon as the previous rounds games have finished. Moreover I have no control over pairings, byes or anything else! People still like it. Join the club here - https://www.chess.com/club/chess-england But it really bugs me as an arbiter and organiser that I can't do more for the players who arrive late, or who have technical issues during games.
IDEA 1.5
So.... every Saturday, we have a chessengland.com special event by invitation only for English Chess Federation members and supporters! We are on a new site so there is a learning curve to start with.
There is one section for players Under 2200 (FIDE rating or ECF conversion), 6 rounds, at the moment the time control is 20 minutes + 10 seconds a move, 10am to 4pm latest, we have fixed round times, byes are available, proper swiss pairings, cash prizes of £60/£40 plus a rating prize of £40, players must be FIDE or ECF registered and play under their real names, play the games on my site (experimental but in development and not too bad), and you must be on camera throughout in the arbiter’s room!
The entry fee is £15.00. Contact me if you want to play - [email protected]. Serious enquiries from open minded people only. Space is limited. You can become an ECF supporter for as little as £5.00! https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership/. We will add a second section in due course. We might do a similar event on a Sunday too.
IDEA 2
On SUNDAYS we have been holding day-long blitz events on lichess.org, but with the important difference that you play as many games as you can for 45 minutes in a round (called an Arena on lichess), then you get a break of 15 minutes, and then the next round starts at a fixed time!
So - 10.30am start - 3.15pm finish at the very latest, you can dip in and out of these Arenas any time - and the time control is 5 minutes plus 3 seconds when you make a move / per game. You do need to join the Chess England club and then all the Arenas on Lichess to play all day! JOIN HERE - https://lichess.org/team/chess-england
There are Cash Prizes £40/£20/£10 for best scores over all five Arenas and we publish a full crosstable at the end. All points scored count for the final table. Our timetable is Arena 1 - 10.30am / Arena 2 - 11.30am / Arena 3 - 12.30pm / Arena 4 - 1.30pm / Arena 5 - 2.30pm - PLUS BESERK OPTION for the final Arena - this allows those of you who came in halfway through Arena 1 to have a chance to catch up!
When you play in the Sunday Arenas, all I ask is that you please donate perhaps £5.00 (that is £1.00 per Arena!) to support my work as a chess organiser and to enable me to give prizes - https://www.paypal.me/adamraoof or transfer to Chess England Limited, Account Number: 22408212, Sort Code: 608371 - thank you.
Join us on lichess (↑509 members) and Chess.com (↑288 members) or ChessKid (↑60 members)
Share the Chess England ONLINE Home Page - https://bit.ly/chessenglandonline
Don't stop playing chess. Good luck in your games!
Adam Raoof
Nevertheless I have started holding events that people are enjoying much more that your typical online chess tournament! Maybe you will enjoy them too.
IDEA 1.0
We are running a Hampstead-style Under 2200, 5 round swiss event on Saturdays, from 11 am to 5pm on chess.com and each player gets 40 minutes plus 5 seconds a move per game. This has the advantage of being a swiss (not a knockout) but the slight drawback that the round times are not fixed - the rounds start as soon as the previous rounds games have finished. Moreover I have no control over pairings, byes or anything else! People still like it. Join the club here - https://www.chess.com/club/chess-england But it really bugs me as an arbiter and organiser that I can't do more for the players who arrive late, or who have technical issues during games.
IDEA 1.5
So.... every Saturday, we have a chessengland.com special event by invitation only for English Chess Federation members and supporters! We are on a new site so there is a learning curve to start with.
There is one section for players Under 2200 (FIDE rating or ECF conversion), 6 rounds, at the moment the time control is 20 minutes + 10 seconds a move, 10am to 4pm latest, we have fixed round times, byes are available, proper swiss pairings, cash prizes of £60/£40 plus a rating prize of £40, players must be FIDE or ECF registered and play under their real names, play the games on my site (experimental but in development and not too bad), and you must be on camera throughout in the arbiter’s room!
The entry fee is £15.00. Contact me if you want to play - [email protected]. Serious enquiries from open minded people only. Space is limited. You can become an ECF supporter for as little as £5.00! https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership/. We will add a second section in due course. We might do a similar event on a Sunday too.
IDEA 2
On SUNDAYS we have been holding day-long blitz events on lichess.org, but with the important difference that you play as many games as you can for 45 minutes in a round (called an Arena on lichess), then you get a break of 15 minutes, and then the next round starts at a fixed time!
So - 10.30am start - 3.15pm finish at the very latest, you can dip in and out of these Arenas any time - and the time control is 5 minutes plus 3 seconds when you make a move / per game. You do need to join the Chess England club and then all the Arenas on Lichess to play all day! JOIN HERE - https://lichess.org/team/chess-england
There are Cash Prizes £40/£20/£10 for best scores over all five Arenas and we publish a full crosstable at the end. All points scored count for the final table. Our timetable is Arena 1 - 10.30am / Arena 2 - 11.30am / Arena 3 - 12.30pm / Arena 4 - 1.30pm / Arena 5 - 2.30pm - PLUS BESERK OPTION for the final Arena - this allows those of you who came in halfway through Arena 1 to have a chance to catch up!
When you play in the Sunday Arenas, all I ask is that you please donate perhaps £5.00 (that is £1.00 per Arena!) to support my work as a chess organiser and to enable me to give prizes - https://www.paypal.me/adamraoof or transfer to Chess England Limited, Account Number: 22408212, Sort Code: 608371 - thank you.
Join us on lichess (↑509 members) and Chess.com (↑288 members) or ChessKid (↑60 members)
Share the Chess England ONLINE Home Page - https://bit.ly/chessenglandonline
Don't stop playing chess. Good luck in your games!
Adam Raoof