I agree with you about online cheating and about the social aspect of OTB chess. My only advice would be not to give up the online game because others are dishonest. There was an excellent article written a few weeks ago by a GM in which he described how he changed his strategy to deal with online cheaters and started winning more often. Good luck with your game and remember that the cheaters are not getting any better by cheating.

I, too, agree that otb chess is much preferred to online.  My problem is time, scheduling, and finding people to play.  I work evening shift which automatically prohibits me from attending most any club in my area as most meet on weekday evenings.  And since I barely see my family during the week, weekends are at a premium.

While I understand the original poster's concerns about online cheating, it has not been too much of an issue for me.  The biggest single boon for me for chess has been Chess.com and my iPhone.  The app is free and I can now play a whole lot more chess.  I usually have at least one and oftentimes several long-term games going and I also play several live blitz games a day.  (Note that live blitz games by their very nature reduce the ability to cheat!)

I know I have been cheated against on a couple of occasions but I really don't care about my rating.  Also, it's been very rare.  I am generally challenged by people around my rating and I win and lose an appropriate percentage based on those ratings.  While I wish I could play much more otb chess, the ability to play anytime, anyplace, with anyone is just too much fun.  I have never played this much chess in my life and I am enjoying the heck out of it.

Another great aspect of playing so much online is that I have learned to be a better loser.  If I would go to a club (which had much better players) and lose the majority of my games, I would get discouraged.  Now, I play way more, so I win more.  I have gone up against players rated higher and won, and lost to players rated well below me.  I've learned not to care.  It's not about winning and losing for me (although I do always try to win) - it's about PLAYING!!!

Well, what can I say. I really would like to take up playing real OTB in the nearby club again, yet I simply lack the time to do that on a regular basis. Guess I have to wait until retirement to do that. 

Regarding chess.com: I have as of yet tried one "long game" (30 minutes) on live chess and one correspondence game. Both formats didn't quite appeal to me:

Thirty minutes is just not enough, I felt under tremendous time pressure. The only reason I won that game was because the other guy played much too fast and soon committed a blunder. When it was over, he had more than 20 minutes left on his clock against my 10 minutes. In principle, one could challenge people for 40 moves/2 hour games in live chess, but then again, who wants to sit at the computer for so long?

The one 24 hours/move online game I played was fun, but it also was sorta strange to be "on" and "off" like this. I never used to be into correspondence and I think I'd just like to focus for a certain predetermined period of time until a conclusion is reached. This helps me relax and escape from real life for a while. My idea is to ask a colleague at work (who actually is a chess problems composer) whether he would like to meet me for a game every once in a while. 

Actually, I've just gone through my online games and I find that there was a lot of fun stuff there!

However, I have made one change from my old account:  I now will only play people I know and/or titled players.

When or if Kasparov coined the term advanced chess I believe this was intended for each sat in the same room under time controls with their silicone beasties for assistance. Online advanced chess is a whole different game.

I decide to allocate myself sufficient time to indulge in both online and club chess. Club is good for the club/bar. Online for me is good opening practice. Its bad if you try to beat a beastie, as the only certainty is a bad headache. Having been at chess.com a few years I can usually gauge matters to a certain extent from someones results record. And of course there's always the old line, if he's beaten me he must be using a program.

I will give Reb a max of six months until the next online tinker.

>:) 

I too have resumed OTB play after a long absence, and I agree completely: it's more fun. The games seem more real, the atmosphere is a bit more concentrated, and you meet and interact with actual humans--something we chess players aren't always that good at!

But I don't intend to give up online play. Yes, there is always the risk of getting clobbered by some moron with a computer, but it does provide an opportunity to practice my openings, and at my local club, they won't let me play in my underwear at two in the morning! It's not as good as "real chess," but it does serve a purpose. And I don't think I've run into that many computers! 

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 Unfortunately though, in the chess world that isn't always a plus...

I play both otb in a club and online, but play many more online games. I'm not too sure I've come across that much cheating. I use the chess.com analysis facility on all my games, and there are simply too many mistakes or dubious moves for computers to be heavily involved. Basically, at the level I play at,I feel I get good, enjoyable games, and have never felt I have been hammered by someone using a computer.

Well, I definitely know what Reb is talking about.  I was once in a 12-player tourney here where 4 players had their accounts closed before it ended.

On my old account, all but a couple of my losses I strongly suspected of...er, enhancement.

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 My experience has been just the opposite.  I, once in a while, actually win an online game.

I don't get too worked up about cheating, other than being disappointed to have never been accused of it.

But I do notice that when I'm not playing at the local club, and I'm not playing any rated tournament games, I fall into a huge funk. "Real" chess keeps me going.

I would love to join a chess club but the closest one I've been able to find has limited hours and is almost an hours drive (home is Ramsey, Mn).

I don't worry about someone not playing fair. I'm sure they are in the minority. Also, with each of my loses, I look for a lesson, so they might be doing me a backhanded favor.

Reb, did you get a chance to visit any chess clubs in Portugal? If so, where? And what was it like?

I lived in Brussels many years ago and I paid a several visits to one of the larger clubs there. It was a rare opportunity to interact with local people in an informal setting, and I managed to drop enough pawns to encourage warm feelings towards Americans

Reb, my advise to you is to join the group "circle of trust" or play only opponents who have completed more than 1000 games.  But don't quit on chess.com

Give me that old time chess, give me that old time chess, give me that OLD TIME CHESS! It's good enough for me. It was good enough for dear old Morphy, it was good enough Capablanca, it was good enough for BOBBY FISCHER! It's good enough for Reb.

 

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WHY DO THEY CHEAT???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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Give me that old time Religion.

I play both otb and online, though not at your level. I enjoy otb more. I always enjoyed your posts in the forums. Whether I agreed with them or not, you had well reasoned agruments and a point of view. Good luck in your future chess adventures.

I would think that if somebody was really into chess, OTB would be more enjoyable.