Is playing over the board really that essential to be good at chess?

[Joshua Gibbs]

I started playing chess at age 25 due to a marriage break up.

I learnt to play by myself online and have beaten FMs and CMs in non simuls online.

Many strong players tell me that blitz online and indeed online chess in general is a waste of time but I frankly doubt that.

I think that online chess will be the future and that we will see very strong players who have learnt to play solely online.

Does anyone agree with me that OTB is not essential to get better at the game, or am i missing something?

[Roger de Coverly]

I think that online chess will be the future and that we will see very strong players who have learnt to play solely online.

I partly agree with you, but it's very noticeable that at turn based sites with discussion groups such as redhotpawn, just how ignorant some players are about chess theory and literature. Playing blitz does little to validate a repertoire unless accompanied by research of what else can be played.

The major problem with online chess for serious play is that you can have no idea of whether your opponent is checking moves with a chess engine, looking them up in a book or getting help from a friend. In the one to one encounter of over the board chess, you can see your opponent and what they are doing.

One of the odd things about junior training is that it doesn't seem to unleash the players on servers, other than by personal initiatives.

[Joshua Gibbs]

I think that online chess will be the future and that we will see very strong players who have learnt to play solely online.

I partly agree with you, but it's very noticeable that at turn based sites with discussion groups such as redhotpawn, just how ignorant some players are about chess theory and literature. Playing blitz does little to validate a repertoire unless accompanied by research of what else can be played.

The major problem with online chess for serious play is that you can have no idea of whether your opponent is checking moves with a chess engine, looking them up in a book or getting help from a friend. In the one to one encounter of over the board chess, you can see your opponent and what they are doing.

One of the odd things about junior training is that it doesn't seem to unleash the players on servers, other than by personal initiatives.

I agree with you about repetoires. There are certain openings that are played loads OTB but little online and Vice versa. In the Merseyside league the Grand prix attack seems to be very popular.

[Reg Clucas]

Well, you seem to be living proof that OTB is not essential. However, OTB does introduce additional dimensions of psychology, atmosphere, etc. which you also need to experience if you intend to play OTB. If you only play online this won't matter.

[Joshua Gibbs]

Well, you seem to be living proof that OTB is not essential. However, OTB does introduce additional dimensions of psychology, atmosphere, etc. which you also need to experience if you intend to play OTB. If you only play online this won't matter.

tbh i am useless at psychology and time management but the fact that i studied chess loads meant I had about average club results despite learning the game as an adult...

i think it will be common for people to learn online and just win in OTB tournaments.

[MJMcCready]

I would say OTB is the most essential form of the game for those wanting to improve. Blitz will give you many bad habits and online chess is a poor substitute for the real thing. If you want to commit long-term to chess you will want to have a rating and be active in the tournament scene. Moany people who just play on line tend to lose motivation after a while.

[Jonathan Bryant]

One of the odd things about junior training is that it doesn't seem to unleash the players on servers, other than by personal initiatives.

There are specialist online areas for juniors. That may explain things in part.

[MartinCarpenter]

i think it will be common for people to learn online and just win in OTB tournaments.

No, I think basically never in terms of weekend tournaments. Not that you can't get to be a decent player purely online, but there are so many weekend tournament specific skills that are fairly critical to success in them and which you won't pick up until you've played a few of them.

Of course also relevant to people basically just playing teams chess etc over the board - I'd expect to struggle considerably for a few tournaments if I got back into playing them.

[Alan Walton]

I have just played in the summer at the Xtracom Cup (was the Politiken) in Denmark

During the tournament there is a very strong blitz event, with excellent prizes

There are 128 entrants and everybody is allocated a 8-player group according to rating (I was third seed in my group @ 2201)

The winners of the 16 groups then go in to the semi-finals (2 groups of eight), with 2 from each going into the semis

It was quite hectic but when the semi-finals were announced there was player rated 2160 qualified (second behind Gelfand), I spoke with my Danish friends and they said he is predominantly a blitz player (mostly online)

Watching the games he played, it easily showed that he positional play was lacking (easy to see when watching), but he still put his IM opponent (2480) in trouble with the speed he played at; he still lost but even if you double the time (was 3+2) I can easily imagine his performance would have been significantly different

[Joey Stewart]

If there was not such rampant cheating online I would play all my chess there - its far cheaper and easier then making onerous journies to half play league games in the week or spending hundreds of pounds to play decent chess at weekends.

However, I do accept that being forced into a situation where you have nothing but the board and an opponent for several hours does focus the mind much more so then trying to compete with all the distractions of the internet these days, and games played there tend to be far more sound (even if less interesting)

[Joshua Gibbs]

i think it will be common for people to learn online and just win in OTB tournaments.

No, I think basically never in terms of weekend tournaments. Not that you can't get to be a decent player purely online, but there are so many weekend tournament specific skills that are fairly critical to success in them and which you won't pick up until you've played a few of them.

Of course also relevant to people basically just playing teams chess etc over the board - I'd expect to struggle considerably for a few tournaments if I got back into playing them.

I disagree with you and would love to prove you wrong, and indeed hope to in the next few years. I never knew how to play as a child and learnt the game as an immature adult!

[MartinCarpenter]

Well it depends slightly. If you mean weekenders, with full length games? The first 2/3 of those you play really are genuinely tough. You'd have to be entering a field which you were much better than to win one.
(Conceivably possible if you've reached a decent level without getting an ECF grade of course, but I suspect that's not quite what you mean ).

If you mean some sort of 1 day rapidplay event then its quite a bit more plausible, as the demands on stamina et al just aren't there in quite the same way.

[MJMcCready]

To progress as a player I think you need to be able to think deeply and develop a high level of concentration but shorter time controls don't lend themselves towards either,