Internet chess: bad for your game & makes you angry

Sort:
cheater_1

Survey says.................regularly playing internet chess will, with 100% certainty, make you LESS of a competitor and you turn you into an unsportsman like player. This fact I have gleaned from my own personal 30+ years of chess playing. Over 10 of those have been on the internet. There is NO comparison between OTB players' attitudes and internet players' attitudes. OTB are more polite 100% time. Not 99.9%, but 100%. Each and every time. Look at any chess site or chess bulletin board and you'll see, hear and feel the anger and every 4th word will be "cheating". It's undeniable. As for ruining your game, I've made the analogy 1 million times before: it's like playing only mini golf and hoping to make the PGA some day. ANY game played on the internet that is under 30 minutes has NO REDEEMING chess value other than entertainment. THere is NOTHING to be learned in chess by playing 15 minute games all day long.

Here's a little story I'd like to tell you all. About 9 years ago there was a person on the now-called POGO website that was phenomenal at 1 minute games. This guy was unmateable. Seeing chessbuddy didnt exist yet (an auto232 program) he was not cheating. I was still playing about 40% of my games legit back then, so I played him in a one min. game. I'm no chess slouch, but I got my butt handed to me time after time. I then used chessmaster on him but I lost BIG on time. This guy was holding his own against chessmaster well into the middle game. I was impressed. Well, as the months went by, I got sort of friendly with this phenom and talked him into playing a 45 minute game just for kicks. He played that 45 min. game like he just got a frontal lobotomy. His quick wristed moves, his "trade pieces until the time runs out" philosophy destroyed him. He couldn't see 2 moves into the future. I believe I mated him in 25 or 30 moves. He only used about 4 minutes of time compared to my 40.

So people, ask yourself the question: would you rather be the best mini golfer in the world, or have the skills of Tiger Woods. I know the answer. No need to respond. I rest my case.


StacyBearden
That was actually a good post. For a change. Now, seriously, I like your posts. Everybody else is mad - I like your posts. I can see the advantage in playing OTB games rather than internet games. I played a couple games of live chess here and lost on time in them all. I can't play 5 minute games. I have a low rating, yes, but I enjoy analyzing the game and taking my time. I think it's like enjoying the taste of a good meal instead of wolfing down your food like you're in school and have 10 minutes for lunch. I guess just due to my poor rating and playing I have not had anyone scream "cheater" at me, but everyone here has been very, very polite - at least to me. I like chess.com. I think you do, too, Cheater. You're right, in my opinion, about OTB games and internet games. However, I also believe that a great player, I mean a world class player, is going to beat the average guy no matter what the time frame. And those guys are used to playing blitz chess, too.
Nalikill
Depends on what you love. If I loved minigolf, I'd rather have the minigolf skillset. If I liked normal golf, I'd go for the tiger woods skillset. There is no one right or wrong answer; I get the point of the post, but there's no need to massage your ego because you can beat the guy out of his element.
Paintbucket

"would you rather be the best mini golfer in the world, or have the skills of Tiger Woods?"

I'd rather be the best mini-golfer. Just because you have the skill set of Tiger doesn't mean you can use it properly. And correspondence chess when played correctly is helpful for your game. You can analyze and correct mistakes that you would make OTB, and that will help you OTB especially if you play the same lines in both. Memory is everything, and the best chess players are great pattern recgonizers. And why bash correspondence chess on a correspondence site?


Graw81

Well, if playing internet chess is bad why do GM`s play 1minute games (nevermind 15 minutes!!!) on playchess.com

I rest my case.

 

P.s. i love mini golf. 


battlebishop33

That story you gave was actually pretty accurate for someone who plays 1 minute games all the time, but I believe that a good mixture of both is important.  Blitz games can help improve your intuition, your ability to look for tactical themes, to practice and experiment with openings or new ideas, and could also be used to blow off some steam and simply have a quicker and more exciting game.  Long games help your calculating ability, planning abilities, and deeper tactics than you would find in blitz games.

  As for OTB games vs. internet games, I see how internet games can be slightly worse than OTB games, but not as exaggerated as you say because OTB games are not always more polite than internet games, but they are a lot of the time.  It depends on the maturity of the player you are playing against.  Also, some people don't have a lot of good players nearby to play OTB and just use the internet games for convienience, so I wouldn't rule out online games at all.  I have felt a big improvement in my game since playing on chess.com and I have been playing on this site almost exclusively.


TalFan

Well for the past year 99% of my chess was on ICC . In that year I played around 500 games and around 90% of those games were 15 5 time control . In that year I went from around 1300 rating on ICC to 1600 . 15 0 is the lowest I went though


erik
i always choose a neon yellow ball so it is easier to fish out of the pond.
Random846
I have only been using this site for a few days, yet my skill and understanding of the game has increased greatly.  I find that my ability to concentrate and act has already improved in a real game of chess as well as in ICC.
Eastendboy

Why play 15 minute games when you can anywhere from 1 day to 2 weeks to think about each move.  It's correspondance chess; you're under no obligation to play 15 minute games. 

Internet chess is great for most people because OTB is much more difficult to arrange.  None of my friends or relatives play chess seriously and there are no clubs in my city.  Internet chess is my only chess outlet and I assure you it's been good for my game.  I suspect there are thousands of others who share my view.


StacyBearden
That's my deal, too.
Maradonna
Give him a month to get his eye in, and Tiger Woods would be the best Mini-Golfer in the world. He would of unified the belts, if they had any. I'd like to see John Daly play minigolf, he'd beast it.
Maradonna
Oh, cheater-can you explain the angry bit more, cheers.
depthshaman
Cheater you are the most pompous hot aired freak on this site. Maybe people play chess because its enjoyable, not because they want to be GM's. It's fun, first and for most for most chess players. What do you know about legit chess anyway? You're a friggin cheater. I like Erik's attitude, " i always choose a neon yellow ball so it is easier to fish out of the pond." That's about how I feel about it. I'm not so insecure about losing that I'll cheat to avoid it. Golf is a wack sport anyway. What a weak analogy. I'll continue playing blitz chess because as long as one pauses between games to actually study the moves, look at the tough desicions that required a quick call, and look at variations, he will improve at chess. I've gained 250 rating points in blitz on fics since last november. Don't tell me I'm not improving.
ShpongledMonk
For example of an impolite player, see above post.
Rael

For an example of a monk that is shpongled, see above post.

 

 

 

/I'll be here all week, folks

//it wasn't funny?

///haha fine, you're right, it wasn't 


Graw81
erik wrote: i always choose a neon yellow ball so it is easier to fish out of the pond.

 haha you have hit so many into that pond you also bring your fishing rod with you...and not to mention that travel chess set for while you wait to hook that fish!

 


Yoshua
I hear what is being said but online is just another way to play chess and there are plenty of benefits to playing this way. I also play every other week at our local chess club. I enjoy that too but I play mostly the same people over and over (I live on an island with a population of 2000) so I appreciate the diversity of online play. Who cares if my opponent cheats, good for him or her. If winning is all that matters chess will either frustrate you or if your cheating bore you. No reason to knock online play.
townesquare
erik wrote: i always choose a neon yellow ball so it is easier to fish out of the pond.

yes, but the yellow balls tend to appear a little dirtier than others. i go with green


batmanmg
townesquare wrote: erik wrote: i always choose a neon yellow ball so it is easier to fish out of the pond.

yes, but the yellow balls tend to appear a little dirtier than others. i go with green


 won't you lose it then?    mines neon orange

 

also...  i wonder how many people there are like me, who have absolutely nobody to play...  my college has no chess club, and nobody interested in joining one...  and i know nobody that enjoys playing chess,  (well besides my dad   but after i beat him a few times he takes a break from it for a few months)... chess.com was a godsend,   its the first place i've felt comfortable playing online, and finaly a way to play chess even though im all alone...    i know it doesn't really help me get out and make new friends and whatnot, but i haven't met anyone into chess, so i don't think they'd be worth being friends with  ;p...