To me the big difference is a 2D video board vs. a real one.
Sometimes I do better with a real chess set in front of me!
Online vs. Offline
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Me too i do better with a real chess set, but when I play online alot, i start looking at the real board like a computer screen which is ineffective..
Yes, I think that constantly playing 2d hurts your board sight. But I don't think that playing a lot of chess can actually hurt your game more than it can help it. You will just need to do things to keep your board sight keen. When I am analyzing chess.com e-mail chess games, I have taken to setting up my real board in front of my computer. I'm sure you could do this in the longer time controls of live chess. And, of course, you just need to keep playing otb.
I haven't noticed much differce, but i can test out this idea and report back!
TonightOnly wrote: Yes, I think that constantly playing 2d hurts your board sight. But I don't think that playing a lot of chess can actually hurt your game more than it can help it. You will just need to do things to keep your board sight keen. When I am analyzing chess.com e-mail chess games, I have taken to setting up my real board in front of my computer. I'm sure you could do this in the longer time controls of live chess. And, of course, you just need to keep playing otb.
Thats actually a great idea, and im sure looking at the board in front of me may also be able to let me see other possible moves that i may not have been able to see n 2d..good thinking cadet!
Unicorngirl wrote:
I haven't noticed much differce, but i can test out this idea and report back!
That would be cool, ill be waiting for your results! 
Richman wrote: TonightOnly wrote: When I am analyzing chess.com e-mail chess games, I have taken to setting up my real board in front of my computer. I'm sure you could do this in the longer time controls of live chess.
Yeah, I have a family memeber that is on here alot too. Sometimes when hard situations come up, he gets out the boards and works it that way. And when i am trying to find new puzzles to post, i use our real board to work it out that way!
My experience is that online chess has had zero effect on my ability to visualize moves in over-the-board chess. Maybe that's in part because I'm working more on visualizing variations on the board in my head, and not on the one on the table in front of me. (This is a new thing for me and I'm not great at it yet, but it has been a very interesting learning experience.)
I find overall that online blitz chess (like live chess here or 5 minute chess on FICS and ICC) has a negative effect on my slow-play over-the-board games. If I play a bunch of blitz games right before a slow game, I tend to be more prone to dumb blunders. The effect seems temporary, though.
Playing correspondence-style (turn based, here on chess.com) I find has an almost entirely positive effect on my OTB game. In online correspondence chess I can play 30 simultaneous games at a reasonable pace, and every game is a learning experience. What's more, I find it teaches me to reevaluate each position and not get "caught up" in the flow of my own thinking so much. Plus, with so many simultaneous games, I find it easier (emotionally) to struggle through bad positions, because I have a dozen other games where I happen to have great positions at the same time. And struggling to make the best of hard positions is a great learning tool.
Just my experience.
Offline and online board vision are not the same thing but they're related. For example, after doing hours of online knight vision drills to improve my ability to see knight paths, I discovered that my offline knight vision was still slow. But after about 20 minutes of warmup, I was able to do them both at nearly the same speed.
likesforests wrote:
Offline and online board vision are not the same thing but they're related. For example, after doing hours of online knight vision drills to improve my ability to see knight paths, I discovered that my offline knight vision was still slow. But after about 20 minutes of warmup, I was able to do them both at nearly the same speed.
wow drills....i didnt know chess could be so intense and serious...i thought it was just an intellectual game
Well, the drills were only http://www.troyis.com/. So I'm not sure if I would consider that intense and serious. It's both a game and a drill in one. :)
Ill check it out thanks!
I suppose if you have Chessmaster or something similar, you could use it as a substitute for the Analysis Board to at least see a simulation of a 3D board.
PhilipN wrote: I suppose if you have Chessmaster or something similar, you could use it as a substitute for the Analysis Board to at least see a simulation of a 3D board.
Even in that i dunno, thats kind of like a video driving or shooting game, just because the graphics are good, doesnt really mean you have the real world experience..or it will help u in the real world
I think turn based chess online can help your OTB play. On Chess.com you have the opportunity to play several games simultaneously so you see more positions and how they play out. Also the use of the analysis board should help teach you to recognize variations.
Playing online has definitely helped my OTB game. I play correspondence chess which allows me to play many games at once, thus exposing me to many more positions. The only areas that can suffer are board vision and speed of play (assuming your online games are correspondence).
It is very rare that I find another chess player to play OTB however. The few people I know who play chess don’t even know basic openings. They also get bored with it too quickly. Before people recommend I join a chess club you should know I am stationed in Cambodia. There are no such things here.
I am concerned by board vision is going to degrade too much so I have ordered an electronic chess board so I can play OTB whenever I want. Granted, human opponents are more fun, which is why the bulk of my games will be online. But this way I can keep my board vision sharp. It will also help me practice time management.
Every chess site is helping you to become better player but chess.com is diferenet from other sites.Chess.com is special chess site.It is simply the best chess site ever!
likesforests wrote:
Offline and online board vision are not the same thing but they're related. For example, after doing hours of online knight vision drills to improve my ability to see knight paths, I discovered that my offline knight vision was still slow. But after about 20 minutes of warmup, I was able to do them both at nearly the same speed.
Does eating carrots help ? 
Do you think that online chess may cramp your offline stlye of playing, more than it would help? For instance, running on a tredmil helps your overall calorie burning and cardio-workout, but it also hinders your stride and overall running ability for the outside. Likewise, lifting weights make you stronger and bigger looking, but it also hinders in the ability to do push-ups which truly reflect the bodies strength....Do you think online playing has the same effect in mental ability, when it comes to offline playing? I cant really test this idea out because I have no one to play in live chess.......Like to hear some feedback..