With the prevalence of Internet and computer chess, I'm wondering if playing constantly using 2D chess diagrams on flat screens might actually hurt one's ability against face-to-face opponents over a real board with real pieces.

What do you think?

I have just recently started setting up my board in conjunction with chess mentor. It added a new dimension (hahah pun) to studying chess mentor and because it takes longer to set up the board I was able to take longer analyzing the positions which was cool. 

It took me awhile to get used to the 2D board when I first joined chess.com, now I play so much on chess.com it takes some getting used to OTB. 

I think a good mixture of both OTB and online chess should be obtained to maintain proficiency at both. I know I don't play enough OTB, only about once a week and I find I hang pieces in those games and not online.

Great Topic Amy,

For me I think it does impair my game in live face to face with real pieces. Akin to -waller-I find my live play has a higher frequncey of blunders, just hang a minor even major piece. It takes some time to adjust to real life play.

Uh oh, that's not encouraging because I play OTB much less frequently than once a week.

I've just started playing live chess here on chess.com using 30+ minute time controls.  My idea was to have plenty of time to play these games using a real board set up next to my computer.  I thought it would keep me in touch with OTB play.  But I found that I was making more mistakes using this methodology than I was if I just played "on screen", so I abandoned it.

Amy

I have never played in a tournament and the nearest chess club is about a 1.5 hour drive away. I generally only find 1 or 2 otb games to play a month. I do spend a lot of time playing on chess.com though. On the rare occasion I get to play offline, I always feel I have improved. I think the only things missing from playing on the internet is the psychological aspect and trying to block out distractions.

 One of my methods was to analyse with a real board whilst NOT online - I log on, see my opponents moves, think of candidate moves and then I log back off and analyse the position further with a real board. Sometimes it I see stuff in my games I would have missed otherwise.

Unfortunately it does not seem to help with OTB games. I was playing my teacher on Thursday and felt I was dominating until I just hung a knight. OTB is almost like a whole different game - the struggle is more intense, the pressure is increased somehow.

I'm afraid that I'm very much affected by "extra-chessic" considerations when I play.  And I'm beginning to understand, maybe, why Fischer was so picky about the table, chess set, lighting, etc. when he played Spassky in 1972.

Just as an example, I've notice that it is much easier for me to spot an across-the-board attack by an opponent's bishop against a corner rook when I am playing on the computer than OTB.  Somehow, I think I'm just getting a better overview of the board on a small diagram than I am on one of those huge boards with 2-1/4-inch squares.

Since you're playing at G/30, you can pull out your board and use that at the same time.

Make a move on the live game and repeat on the board. This way you can just look at the board when you're thinking and your vision won't be impared.

Any quicker than that could be too fast to use a board since you have to do all of that mouse clicking at the same time.

Yes, the psychological aspects are very different.

When I play online, I can almost convince myself that I'm playing a computer.  I have much less ego at stake. (Although humans play in a much more interesting way than computers, don't you think?)

But OTB is a very intense experience.  My hand will often tremble when I'm making what I consider to be an important or risky move, especially when I'm playing a stranger or someone who is intimidating.

Amy

I think I should've played around 1000 games total online & against the computer, and I played only one single game OTB. Although I managed to win (against a beginner), my rough estimation would be I was around 300 points weaker than my usual level. I just couldn't see anything, it was very difficult to calculate things.

My dream is to become a NM one day (maybe in the next 10 years), and if I ever decide to start playing in OTB tournaments, I think I'll have to spend some several months for special 3D visualisation training for the getting hang of it.

And some notes:

In the Anand & Kramnik world championship match, Kramnik said he found it easier to study the position in the 2D demonstration board in his restroom.

In the Topalov & Kamsky semi-final match, Kamsky, at one time, kept staring at the huge 2D board next to them instead of the real board&pieces right in front of him.

Yes, thanks for reminding me about that !  It's very telling, I think.

I agree that too much 2D can definitely throw you off when you're looking for lines on a real chessboard.  I'm often tempted to put a phone book on my chair in an OTB game, so I can get a more familiar "bird's eye" view of the action.  :)

The only remedy is to play regular games in three dimensions.  I have a weekly coffee-shop session with a friend of mine, and one of my favourite silicon-based opponents also operates in 3D, which is great when I need an on-demand OTB fix:

I once saw a dedicated chess computer in a store window that could move its own pieces.

I think it would be cool to hook up two machines like that over the Internet.  You'd make your move on the board, and then your opponent's piece would magically move in reply.  It'd be kinda creepy actually, but awesome...especially, let's say, if your opponent lived in Transylvania !

:)  Unfortunately, I think the truly scary thing about those "phantom force" auto-moving chess computers is all the whirring & grinding.  Quiet they ain't. 

I've been waiting for a board that generates holographic pieces since about 1978.

I am sure that dedicating most of your time to one or the other of 2D and 3D will affect your board vision.

It's so easy to play and practice with 2D, isn't it?

I have plenty invested in getting the boards and pieces that I wanted. I like to set up the board with the screen to the side, and just play on the real board, if the time control permits it. Of course, I'm an inveterate otb-er from the pre-comp days so I have a preference.

You may not have to wait much longer.

http://www.eglobalcommunity.com/en/view/44111/Japanese%20Scientists%20Create%20Touchable%20Holograms

Yes, when I play versus Fritz or some engine using Arena, I always set up a physical board to the side.

But for some reason this isn't working for me when I play live chess here on chess.com.  It might be because I spend so much time looking from the board to the screen to make sure I don't miss my opponent's move.  I wish live chess would beep or give some other auditory signal when a move is made.  (It doesn't does it?  Maybe I've missed something.)

Amy

So cool..  Thanks for that!