Do You Play Better Over The Board Or Virtually?

Technically there should be a negligible/nonexistent difference between one's chess ability on a real-life board vs. a digital board, but I've noticed some players have a very strong preference for one or the other.

One of my friends refuses to play online, saying that he "sucks" at online chess and will only play people if there is a tangible board available. I thought this preference was a bit odd considering that chess is a game played on a two-dimensional plane, so the added third dimension (height) really should have nothing to do with making him play better. But the evidence is there: I always beat him in online chess, whereas on the physical board, he is more likely to beat me. I'm much more used to playing online, so when I play on a physical board, the height of the pieces actually obstructs potential lines for me sometimes and I find myself less likely to see tactics!

Also, recently, my uncle bragged about being the best chess player in the family, so when I challenged him to a game on a chess app, he immediately declined, using a similar excuse about how he "can't do" digital chess.

Does it just boil down to which medium of play you have more experience with? Do any of you guys have a preference with on-the-board vs digital?

There’s some difference but if I had to guess most of the people who play better otb to the extent they won’t play you online, probably don’t play very much otb Chess over all (no real tournaments) and playing chess against people who play is harder than playing people who don’t.

I can lose anywhere

I like with the board better because it feels more natural.

I prefer OTB because it feels more natural, but I don't play terribly online.

Unfortunately, I play better on line. I'm trying to figure out how to translate my on line success to OTB because I go to chess club on Thursdays and those guys always beat me!

I probably perform a bit better OTB, but it is about the same - unlike some who can't do one or the other. There are big differences between OTB/online chess though that are present, despite "the game" itself unfolding on a two-dimensional space (board).

One of the biggest is the presence of another human being at the board versus a lifeless computer screen. A lot more can be read regarding the opponent's body language, basic psychology, and simply a different feel of "pressure"; this "pressure " is different from online chess. If you have played online, an important game, or a game of faster time controls, then you feel some form of this "pressure". This is not necessarily bad, often it reveals itself as anxiousness or confidence: this is similar to this pressure that I describe, but certainly different from this feeling OTB. 

The reason that some players are MUCH better at one versus the other has less to do with preference, and more with ability to cope with a form of pressure.

Of course, if you play both (OTB/online) - then this sounds relatable, if not then perhaps this seems a bit silly (although true).

I get beaten more over the board than online, and I get beaten a lot online. Don't really know exactly why but it doesn't bother me too much. I prefer to analyze over the board though.

I've always played worse OTB because it just seems harder to fully see a physical position on the board for what it is compared to a simple 2D surface

Slightly better on OTB....... 

I basically never play OTB so I think I would have a slightly harder time playing it.

I much prefer OTB. That's how I grew up playing chess, and I can see things much better. It may just be familiarity, and the more I play online perhaps it will even out. When I play longer time controls on the computer, I tend to set up a real board and look at that for the game.

I play much better at OTB compared to online. I don't know why though.

I play better OTB. Maybe i'm just more focused.

When I first started playing online it was harder because I had only played OTB against my family/friends and at my high school's annual chess tournament. Now 11 years later I'm better online because 99.9% of the games I've ever played have been online.

my case : l 've played.online thousand plus. its experience and. playing field (board) .can't seem to focus on otb.

When I first started playing online, my board vision fell drastically.  I wasn’t especially good at the time, but I was making blunders even more frequently than normal.  Really, I couldn’t “feel” the board, if that makes sense.  With a real board, I am moving my pieces across it, and I quite literally feel the geometry of the pieces and the squares.  Using a mouse on a flat surface, that feeling was gone, and I seemingly had to relearn pattern recognition.

Fast forward several years and the inverse has happened.  I’ve been trying to improve my visualization skills through blindfold game analysis.  Because I use the computer far more than a real board, I now default to seeing a 2d, computer-like board in my head.  When I’m back at the board and try to visualize ahead, there’s this moment where I shift from thinking in terms of 3d (the real board) to 2d (my visualization).  I don’t play OTB enough to know for sure, but I’m positive I’m far better tactically online than off now.

OTB!

exactly how i feel just with explanation added to it.

I like to play online more. I can understand geometry better in virtual game.