Do you love or hate online chess?

I dont think love or hate comes into it that much.  Both OTB and online chess, has it good side and it's downside.  The only questionn is, do you accept both for what they are, and , are you willing to play each way with the way they are set up?  

I have my likes and dislikes with both.  

"Do you love or hate online chess?"

Yes!

Thanks knightspawn5  Ironicly this morning i just started my 1st 960 match and i get this message

"Your opponent is currently on vacation! 
They have 27 days 18 hours of vacation time left, but may be back sooner."

In this case I reject this for what it is and am bummed but unwilling to resign because of it, i hope it is just a tactic that hey will snap out of in a few days.

add my vote for online. I enjoy the freedom of analysis. I sometimes lose track of my attack, or defense, but I try to limit my games to just four or five. For fun (punishment) I try a blitzgame. And it's 7/24 convienent.

According to kohai, engine use is only permitted after the game is over. You may however use DBs and/or opening books, just nothing which will aid you directly in the game you're playing right now.

I have never tried online chess. Can vacation option be turned off or is there any option to make it shorter?

In a Standard game no, it cant be turned off.  Only in a tournament can vacation be turned off.   Other than that, it is there to be used.  There is also no way to make it shorter as it's preset when you purchase or renew your membership to the site.     

Of course you have the option of playing only "No Vacation" tournaments if you prefer. The rest of the time Premium members get automatically placed on vacation if they are in danger of losing on time. I can't believe it's often intentional; there might be a problem with their  computer / internet connection  etc. etc.

I feel like this is very true. I have only really gotten to play 2 out of 5 of the online games ive entered but i feel like ive learned a ton and because of the use of the analysis board my last game i made 12% inaccuracies 12% mistakes and zero blunders... this is a huge improvement when compared to my live stats, but do you think that the convenience of the analysis board will stunt the development of my already suspect visualization skills? It is almost an entirely different game when you can play out candidate variations.

I used analyze board only one time,in a very complex position my intuition was saying sac the queen and it's like mate in 7 or such. Then I checked the whole variation in that board(aka cheating tool) and realised there is some minor mistake in the calculation that will give a bad position.

I won the game at that time not sacing my queen as I had already better position but now realise that it would be better to resign as the game was rated.It is against the ethics and sin in my dictionary!(many innocent ppl playing in this site even dont know about those and never use that)

So i dont give a sht in what is 'allowed' or not allowed,truth is still the truth-Gandhi.it's cheating no matter who made it.remember in endgames one bad move can decide the whole game's fate and that can be checked with analyze board.

play with player's with fast move speed and you have higher chance to get fair player's.

Last_Check i respect yoir point of view. Chess is a game of honor, i was taught that, as were you. But correspondance chess is one of the oldest forms of chess there is. And Online chess, not live chess, is a form of electronic correspondance chess. No one would fault me if you mailed me a letter that said 1.e4 and i unrolled my board and played through some scenarios to think through my reply. That is essentially what the analysis board is and in even the most ancient code of ethics it is not considered cheating. 

But has anyone felt their visualization has been improved or hindered by its use?

Love and hate are too strong of words for me to use in conjunction with online chess (pun intended).  I cannot comment on the analysis board as I've never used it so instead I wanted to comment MrKornKid: that was funny.

um... wheres the pun and what about what MrKornKid said is so lol? Right about now i feel like the guy who dosent know the joke is on him 

I think youve summed it up perfectly BigLew

I'll work on that.  Thanks for the observation.  MrKornKid had me laughing.

so i went to join the tournament i started the 5 online games to play in and no! I have already signed up for an unrated 960 tourny... I did not know us freeloaders are only allowed one at a time! Its always something... I am really looking forwards to this unrated one day per move no vacation time allowed 3 simul games 960 tourny... sounds like a blast.

This argument is ridiculous.  You arent forced to play chess to pay your bills.  The beauty of correspondence games is that you are not forced to wait and watch someone think.  I cannot stand this waiting during live games and watching someone think because most of the time I really dont like what I see.  With correspondence there is no waiting, you are free to ignore the person and go about your business and take as much time as you need to find the best move.  This argument that games take too long is also shallow.  Has it ever occurred that maybe by taking time you actually are learning something?  Or is playing a game where on move three you fork the queen and rook with a knight appealing?  Some of the games I have played on line have lasted years.

Being "held hostage" has nothing to do with chess.  Call that statement applicable to "modern society" where if a person doesnt act a certain way in terms of thought and behaviors they end up dead, homeless, or unemployed, or any combination of the three.  Modern society holds its "members" hostage when there are laws in place through threat of fear "members" must comply.  Modern society is no different than being a domesticated pet except you are forced to pay for all these "benefits".  If anything, chess teaches you how to think so as to minimize all the crap you have to put up with daily just to survive, and that is why I play and train in chess.

ok... well i like this last rant you shared. I too often feel this way. Im sorry if the "hostage" term set you off. In my writing i exagerate because i think it is more fun. Of course. Watching my opponent think has never bothered me. in casual games i am usually the guy taking too long so I've got that going for me. My complaint about it taking too long is that i stare at the position just long enough to make up my mind, waiting a week to remember i have to respond to the next move or time out is another thing on my to do list i do not desire... especially if my opponent is in a lost position and they go on vacation. That is the hate part... it is against the heart of chess. Im just not sure if this correspondence style "online chess" its my cup of tea... there are things i like and common practices i do not i shared my thoughts to hear yours and i hear them loud and clear. Dam the man! They treat us like cattle! Let us revolt!

yes

You know what you are right... this would solve my problem but i just dont know if i am ready for that. To me starting a chess game is like taking marriage vows

"By clicking send you do so solemnly swear to always consider castling every move you can, never hang a piece, and seek out your mate with all your heart?... I do ... then by the power vested in me i do hearby entrust you with these 16 pieces, Godspeed and good luck."

Tactics puzzles are like learning the kama sutra from a call girl... nah im just kidding thats way more fun.

I do appreciate the advice though, like i said you are absolutely right, but i think i still need to become a stronger player before i take on a harem of concubines.

5 is my limit i had 5 going, i am now currently done with all my online games the 2 you see are that 960 team match that my opponent started on vacation.

It seems that there is no honor in team matches either. I have had really bad luck with that, 1st of all they take forever to start and then when they do their on vacation or time out after 1 move. I'm sure that cant always be the case so im gonna keep trying some team matches but I am never sending out an open seek ever again i've learned my leson there. So i guess ill send some invites to the active players in my friends list.

That is if i can make myself, that last game set my online love gauge back a bit, down a queen i had to ask him to resign and then even after a polite request with the promise of a rematch he timed out... all this after we had so much fun playing 30 moves in 2 days. I felt so used... when i didnt lay down and give her what she wanted she just pulled over and pushed me out the car!