anyone give an honest opinion on paid membership and training etc

Hi all.

Ok I am looking for honest opinions on a fully paid membership here.

I signed up with the intention of playing games but as a beginner I also wanted to get back into my chess on a serious level.

I own Chessbase and my options were to either purchase Chessbase trainer DVDs and have an offline solution, but after spending time here I do like the set up and interface of the site.

My question is, does anyone use this site as an all round all in one solution. Training. Playing chess. Tactics etc.

At first I wanted an off line solution but I am swaying to maybe spending a year here with a full membership.

What I don’t really want to do is start using multiple sites for different areas of chess study and therefore suppose I am looking to see if anyone serious about chess can recommend that you can get everything here.

I would be looking to use a simple offline software still to store games but would be moving away from Chessbase, so very apprehensive.

Any advice would be greatly received.

Regards and happy Xmas everyone.

Whether you're training is here and the tolls that are offered, or you use CB products, or something else?  Like anything in life.  You will get out of it what you put in. 

Thanks IMBacon, as you know I am using Chessbase for my ICCF at the moment but I am really considering moving to online but need to know if its really worth it  or continue purchasing training DVDs from Chess base, would I be missing out

My .02 is that you cant do much better than chessbase and there products.

The Daniel King DVD's are gold.

Whether you watch those DVD's or videos on youtube... No big difference in my opinion.

@IMBacon - thats the problem, I bought 2x Daniel King and they are great, also, they integrate with Chessbase. Oh now that puts me in 2 minds ha.

 

@Jenium - I get your point but disagree slightly, in my opinion, certainly for me anyway, I prefer a structured approach to lessons rather than watching a whole bunch of random YT videos. So, although I get what you are saying, I want an all in one solution, either here or Chessbase, well that what I have narrowed them down to.

Jenium is correct that there are a lot of good videos on youtube.  But you have to wade through the crap to find the good ones.  Where with chessbase, you know youre getting good quality.

Exactly. Thats threw a spanner in the works though because my excuse was that if you (and others) reccomended here for an all in one, especially with training etc, I could get rid of PC and go back to Mac (looking for any excuse) and then use here for all resources. and now I am back to square one

After using the site for a few years I paid for basic membership. I don't use any of the membership features but considered it unfair to continue enjoying the site for free. It's a great facility.

I have older versions of chessbase, fritz and played as a member of playchess about a dozen years back.  I just started playing chess again after a very long layoff (thanks to covid).  I have some of the fritz training lessons on dvd.  Quite honestly, I think you can find all the help you need through a Chess.com upgraded membership, youtube, and through the internet in general.  Lots of PGN games out there that can be loaded into chess.com.  It really depends upon how serious you are about chess.  I hardly ever use the chessbase/fritz programs since I would rather just play and time is limited.  If you have the money, it really doesn't matter I guess.  I will add that they players are stronger on chess.com than they were on playchess.com.  My ELO is at least 300 points lower than on playchess, but then again, this was a dozen years ago.  Good luck in whatever you decide.

Thanks for this,

I dont get it though. Why would one pay for a membership here for access to the likes of training and analysis etc, if I was to continue with Chessbase? Sorry not being difficult just trying to understand the best option to go for.

I am in my 40s and never going to be a master, also, I dont play OTB, so, I don't "need" Chesbase, however, I still am adamint that I want just one solution, at least for the next year or so.

What about quality of training here?

Saving and analysing games here?

Sorry just need ot make a final decision and stick to it.

I miss my Mac I wont lie, and it tied in with my way of working with Apple products. I am no way an Apple "fan boy" but I really do like Apple products and I miss the intergration with my iPhone etc. However, Chessbase is a powerfull product, but sometime I wonder if someone at my level is wasting their time with all the features I probably wont use.

Hope that all makes sense.

One last thing, I note that even Fide Masters and GMs use Chess.com and even seem to stream YT using the Chess.com interface, now, why would they not use their Chessbase for this.

What I dont want is a "best of both worlds" approach using both Chessbase and Chessbase DVDs for training along with a paid account here.

Thanks again

Short answer.  Find something that works for you. 

If you want to do serious work it has to be Chessbase (or something similar)

You can't really be a serious player doing deep prep and use chess.com alone - the videos on openings, for example are just not detailed enough (and a lot would be quite old by now anyway). The chess.com opening explorer, is also kind of useless for serious prep, and the database/game storage stuff is non-existent.

I'd say where chess.com really shines though, is the sheer quantity of material they have, you're getting access to a decades (approx) worth of videos, and while they may not all be cutting edge, most topics are covered. For example, if you wanted to look up Q vs R, you have a series on it here, you wouldn't have to spend £20 purchasing a Karsten Muller DVD to have it explained via a chessbase DVD.

As for streamers, that's simple, if you're streaming on chess.com (eg the TV) you have to use the chess.com interface, and a lot of streamers are playing games anyway (as opposed to 'teaching') so they don't really have any need to use chessbase for that.

As was already mentioned, it really depends on what works best for you.

@Pat_Zurr. Interesting. Thank you.

@IMBacon. Yes agreed but if I get a Mac and get rid of everything I may regret it hahah.

I wish someone could just say “hey I have used both and I can totally recommend x”. In reality it’s so subjective that this ain’t gonna happen.

Aw well

My advice would be to just play a lot of games here on chess.com, do your daily puzzles, try and learn many different openings, and study your games using the game analysis function.  You can learn quite a bit from just playing games and watching youtube videos on different openings and endgames.

 

And as a beginner it will take you a bit of time and experience to learn all the basic openings, find openings that you like, and sharpen your game so that you do not hang pieces (depending on what time controls you play).  I have never used chessbase but I have gotten a lot of value from what is available here on chess.com, having played on and off since 2010.

Well I just cancelled my membership. I was a supporting member for like 2 years now (i think, not sure if it was 3) anyway. Its a mixed bag for me, There are some realy good content here, but I wasnt satisfied with everything. I belive the service here is overpriced, but if money doesnt matter, then enjoy what you can! Normal puzzles, and the puzzle rush feature is realy good here, and the new lessons are also very good. There are some good videos out there, but there are some realy bad quality ones. My oppinion is that the live games are the weakest link here... it's realy bad. So it's realy depends on what you after.

"I wish someone could just say “hey I have used both and I can totally recommend x”

Impractical and bad advice.  That is like all these posts where you see people asking: "What opening should I play?"  Its like asking people here: "What vegetables should I eat?"  "What hobbies should I take up?"  Chess...food...and hobbies all have one thing in common.  Everything is personal opinion.

Thanks everyone. I have popped everyhting on eBay to "test" the water. Whatever I decide I know I want to go back to Mac, and I dont use the DGT board so shall see

Thanks again and happy Christmas all!!

I don't take advantage of the training, and puzzles as much as I should.  Given how much I play on this site, I feel like I should give back to those who run it.  If you don't have a membership, consider making a donation.

 

I am working my way through the lessons and I do the puzzles. I used to spend more time doing puzzles at another site, but mostly here now.

 

The videos seem beyond me. They should offer video by strength.