Dumb Chess Question... 2d vs 3d?

Unfortunately I rarely get the opportunity to play someone my level in person, not because I'm great, but because the vast majority of people don't play chess regularly.

So I'm stuck playing people online about 99.9% of the time. On occasion though I will get to play in person, and I find it harder see through positions on the board than on a 2-dimensional screen shot.

Would changing my online option to a 3D setting help my in-person chess vision?

no

If you're playing correspondence chess ("online" in Erikspeak) where analysis boards are legal it might be helpful to set up a real chess board next to the computer.  Of course if you're the kind of person who goes overboard on things, you might find yourself with 6 or 8 chessboards set up on a card table flanking your computer and another magnetic board sitting in your lap .  Sure takes care of that 2D/3D problem though...

Growing up, there were no computers, at least not in homes, all the chess I played was OTB, real pieces, etc. It took me a long time to get used to 2d chess when I started looking at it. I have gotten used to it now, you can switch over but it takes time getting used to. Try the 3d option and see if you like it. Play some unrated games with it, kick the tires on it.

I just started doing that. At least we have that option in the "Online" version. It clouds my chess vision a tad, but once I get used to it I'm hoping it will help my OTB vision. My thinking is the 3D computer view most closely resembles the OTB view. But at this point, it's just a theory.

I can remember having a tough time trying to get used to 2d pieces. I remember somehow trying to assimilate them into a 3d configuration in my mind. I don't remember how it happened, but now 2d is just natural. I saw an email about the 3d beta pieces, and they look great. If I were a paying member, I'd use those, but sadly, they aren't available to me. They look like my tournament set.