Why do so few people play regular live chess???

Everyone I play always have less than 20 games on their record and it's usually around 16 or 17.

Example, 8 wins 8 losses and 1 draw.

Because they play less games their rating can be 1250 to 1400 with not always much difference in playing ability as points go up and down sharper when you start.

This can make it harder for me to gage my improvement.

Any ideas would be very much apprieciated thanks

Well I understand your concerns and I get frustraited with this sometimes too.  I don't know how you play live chess, (accept open challenges from others or send challenges) but I send challenges, this helps me chose the players that I want to play more equal to me.  Somtimes it helps to look at your corrispndance rating, your live rating, (and not like the blitz ratings but like the 30 minute game raintgs.)  Then average them out and also look at your official rating, (I use USCF but I don't know what you use or if you use any.)  Looking at your official rating can also let you get a better feel for what rating you really are.  If you do many tournements then that will probobly be your best indicator for inprovment.  As a great English teacher once said, "You may not see far by your own but if you stand on the shoulders of the every growing giant, you can still see farther and better then the giant."  Why I said this was because I hope you take my information, search out the problom more, and therefore with the combined information you will be able to fix the problom.  Best of luck improving your chess skills!

Thanks alot ClockBurner, how does your USCF rating compare with your chess.com rating???

If you want to know how to use live chess, just go to unanswered posts in the forums menu and it will explain in detail how to use the live chess functions.

You can decide how high or low you want the rating to go (like+200-200 points) or just go for better players and not have the -200pts.

If you want to play a friend you would be able to see when they log in and just challenge them.

I hope this helps

I always used to play online chess. Now I only play live chess.

I got so "tired" (if that's the correct word) of waiting for opponents to take 3 days to make an obvious move or, seeing opponents play 56 other games... or, for whatever reasons it just made, most of the time, the game to be too long for my "valuable" time.

By "valuable" I mean that I should never have chosen online chess. I ended up playing too many games at once (tournaments included) and waiting too long (for my taste) for most opponents to move.

Live chess is great for me. The amusing thing is that I'd started at chess.com with online chess and never knew that live chess existed for 8 months or so! Call me an ignoramus..

I enjoy playing correspondence chess.  This way I can have 10+ games going at once and don't have to worry about time running out.

Dude, I know how to use live chess.  I'm simply answering your question about why not many people play live chess.  And my USCf rating is around 1100, but that is becuase I can't find tourniments that have people over like 800 rating.  I have done the "rating tourniments" that have tons of people and you get a rating on what your real rating would be for people like me who don't know what their real rating would be.  I would be around 1300 if I was in a well rounded tourny.

Blitz/bullet gives an adrenaline rush. 960 breaks away from the routine openings.

Just send out your challenges. There are still people willing to play standard time. Just be happy with what you get. It may take a while, but your rating will balance out. 

I gave up on it cause it keeps disconnecting over, and over.

The reason I don't is convenience. I like having 3 days to make my moves. My schedule doesn't get in the way, nor do distractions, or short time controls for deciding how I want to make difficult moves. I can enjoy chess a lot more when it is less stressful.

Far as I can tell this is likely the best place to play turn based games.  There are probably many people who come here to play only tb games, while playing their live games elsewhere.  Am one of those.  While I much prefer another site for live action, chess.com looks like its improved their live server quite a lot.  

Am also one of those who prefer OTB games, and there are several chess clubs in or around my general area.

A family and a 60-hour work week leave me with few uninterrupted blocks of time for live chess.  I'd love to play more OTB, but a few minutes here and there is all I get to satisfy my chess addiction.

CloclBurner, maybe im beeing stupid, but on a comment you mentioned a 'english teatcher'. Is he Weaver, author of the great assay 'Ideas have consequences'? :|