Struggling with OTB chess

Hey guys,

I've been playing chess for the last 3 years exclusively online since covid, and recently have I tried reaching out to local clubs to play over the board.  I feel like I have a respectable enough rating online that somewhere it would translate to otb, but it seems that I struggle against amateurs and general average players. I've beaten titled players online, but seemingly struggle against new to intermediate players. 

Has playing on chesscom given me a false impression of my ability to play; or is there a gap to overcome when translating from online to otb? What could I do personally to get better at otb? 

what have you guys determined with your own play?

thanks

The key thing to remember is that it's still the same game, over the board or online. It's probably more of a mental block if anything. You just have to keep playing and I promise you you'll see improvement

Over the board playing gets a lot of getting used to. I have a rating of 1380 rapid online and I struggle in the 800 bracket in OTB chess. It takes getting used to and is more psychological.

I struggle with OTB too lol, I'd just recommend playing a lot over the board and just get used to it, practicing with a physical board too helps

I have felt for a while that chess.com ratings are inflated by ~200 points for similar time controls for OTB. That is just my analytical opinion. I base this on points gained from time control losses due to connection issues etc, that would not occur in the real world. Those added points have to go some where in the chess player system of points. Eventually, they settle and spread out as ratings increase beyond ability, but over time those cumulative points start settling evenly across everyone resulting in an inflated value.

i used to feel the same way but then kind of came to a conclusion, when you go to OTB events everyone there is taking it a little more serious and have something invested or on the line so they play a little bit better, tournament play is a different beast then just on line where you if you make a bad move you forfeit and just start a new game where in OTB you only play 4 or 5 games drove to the place to play prob paid some entrance fee and still have to drive home, you are not just going to give up and call it a day after making that kind of investment.

Doing a quick look at your on-line results against titled players shows three bullet wins on time when you were behind significant material. US Chess Rated OTB does not have the equivalent of bullet (even rated blitz requires at least three minutes base time and the base minutes plus the delay/increment seconds has to add up to 5-10).

OTB requires more concentration for longer periods of time. It is the same game in a very different environment and it may take you some time to get used to the environment.

Can you first tell me your over the board rating? Usually there is a 300-400 gap between online and OTB. There are some extreme cases though.

I've played online for about 8 years now and OTB once a week for the last year. I would pretty much agree with the other comments. Doesn't matter the rating level, the competition, I would say, is harder to beat. Everyone is a bit more solid over the board. Online is very casual and quick where in OTB you could be playing one game for 3+ hours in silence in a room where everyone else is doing the same. I think of it as kind of like jogging vs running a charity race, you're not really competing against everyone but the atmosphere makes you try to perform better. I've heard multiple people talk about how it's tough going from playing such fast games to playing really long ones. Even if you're a better calculator or faster at tactics OTB requires improving all aspects of the game because people have so much time to find the right move. Also, there are so many people joining clubs and playing OTB now that I feel a good number are under rated. I find that studying and playing along with an actual board kind of helps, it's interesting how the visualization of the screen vs the board can have an effect.

blud, i play on lichess too

I do better online too. I believe switching from an online 2D overview to a 3D "slanted" view takes more getting used to than one might think.

Feeling this same struggle, too. For some reason I play like dogwater otb, even though I perform decent online. If possible try and find some people irl to play with OTB, maybe a chess club if possible, and play against them consistently. You could also analyze your online games using a physical chess board alongside.