hi . is it cheating if i play on line and have also the phisical bord of chess and pieces...and i move according to the game right in front of me??
It is not cheating as long as it doesn't tell you what to do. So simple.
What?! Common sense on a chess.com forum?! I knew I'll see the day.
Definitely not cheating, obviously.
The rules of live chess would specify that the use of an analysis board is allowed if it would be, and there would be an option in live chess to use it, but there is not... I'm not at all interested in what you think should be the case, or what you think live or online chess should be good for. I'm only interested in what the rules state, because that is what this discussion is about. GnrfFrtzl: When calculating forcing moves, of course an analysis board would be an advantage, to see if a combination works before you play it. How come this is so hard to understand? This is leading nowhere. Have a nice chess life.
The rules of live chess would specify that the use of an analysis board is allowed if it would be, and there would be an option in live chess to use it, but there is not... I'm not at all interested in what you think should be the case, or what you think live or online chess should be good for. I'm only interested in what the rules state, because that is what this discussion is about. GnrfFrtzl: When calculating forcing moves, of course an analysis board would be an advantage, to see if a combination works before you play it. How come this is so hard to understand? This is leading nowhere. Have a nice chess life.
What is still not explained is how a player using a simple board would see a combination work.
Forcing moves may seem like a good example, but because of their very nature of being FORCING, it makes no difference wether you use a second board or not.
I'm still not convinced on how it would provide any advantage at all.
You do understand, do you, that the discussion is about CHECKING a variation on an analysis board in LIVE CHESS before playing it to see IF IT WORKS. How could this not be an advantage? Good night.
You do understand, do you, that the discussion is about CHECKING a variation on an analysis board in LIVE CHESS before playing it to see IF IT WORKS. How could this not be an advantage? Good night.
You do understand, that what we're talking about excludes any use of any outside information? I can move pieces all around I want, if I don't have an engine, a book about the certain position, or another human being next to me telling me what moves are good, I wouldn't consider it cheating.
All you're doing is making hypothetical notes about hypothetical moves.
I mentioned that I have taken notes while playing blindfolded in a chess club.
No one complained, no one thought it was against the rules.
I was sitting there, paper and pen in front of me, writing down moves and lines, and when I was ready, I announced my move and hit the clock (It was 30/30).
That's technically the exact same thing.
You guys it's clearly not cheating because there is an analyze mode on every game anyway.
okay, this topic is talking in too many circles, so i'm going to post the general concensus and hopefully everyone can stop arguing. BTW, we are mainly refering to live chess, for "online" (correspondence), see point 4...
1. no matter how you choose to cheat physically, no one can catch you. doesn't make it right, just unavoidable.
2. using the physical board as a copy of the online board saves the eyes and is perfectly fine however,
3. using the physical board like an analisys board is very unethical.
4. none of this applies to the "online" (correspondense) section of chess.com, since in that style of play, many forms of reference are legal, (recieving actual help from another person or chess program is still illegal).
thank you all, and please stop arguing.
You do understand, do you, that the discussion is about CHECKING a variation on an analysis board in LIVE CHESS before playing it to see IF IT WORKS. How could this not be an advantage? Good night.
You do understand, that what we're talking about excludes any use of any outside information? I can move pieces all around I want, if I don't have an engine, a book about the certain position, or another human being next to me telling me what moves are good, I wouldn't consider it cheating.
All you're doing is making hypothetical notes about hypothetical moves.
I mentioned that I have taken notes while playing blindfolded in a chess club.
No one complained, no one thought it was against the rules.
I was sitting there, paper and pen in front of me, writing down moves and lines, and when I was ready, I announced my move and hit the clock (It was 30/30).
That's technically the exact same thing.
oh, and this statement. blindfold is a different discipline of chess. i'm sure the rules allow for certain things like notes since there is the obvious handicap of not being able to see the board. now had you drawn a board on your paper, that would have elicited a response from your clubmates. see what i mean? common sense.
You do understand, do you, that the discussion is about CHECKING a variation on an analysis board in LIVE CHESS before playing it to see IF IT WORKS. How could this not be an advantage? Good night.
It's not an 'unfair' advantage. You must just be mad cause you don't have a chess board?
It's not natural to play a live game (whether OTB or online) with an analysis board therefore bypassing the need to visualize your calculations.
Calculation is such a core part of playing, people assume an analysis board will not be used. This is why most people would consider it cheating, because it's likely only 1 of the players is using it (unfair advantage).
In any case, playing chess without calculation is hardly playing chess at all.
Of course most people understand this, and are having fun being creative with semantics. Just don't confuse their fun of playing the devil's advocate with what's really a simple case of cheating 
It's unfair if only one player is using a board to move around pieces and analyzing possible variations on that physical board, while the other player is doing all the thinking in his head.
It's not like using an engine, and it's not cheating. If you are playing a game longer than 10 minutes, you should have a board out, so you can practice combos, combos you later can do without moving the pieces. It's good practice, which is about all a chess.com game is.
Our chess.com scores hold no value or 'real' rank(in reality) and no one owes you anything for it(like a tournament/FIDE score). An engine is cheating, using a board(or 4) isnt.
It doesn't take much imagination to understand this practice would be detrimental to your ability to calculate and find tactics, and not at all beneficial.
And if you lack imagination, you can ask anyone who sticks to online chess and uses the analysis board for all their calculations. Even Erik commented after a tournament that the analysis board really hurt his ability to analyze.
I would agree moving the pieces around in a live game is both cheating AND slows your ability to learn to work out the moves in your head.
In Online Chess it is OK to do this. And, I believe, it actually helps build tactical skills because you are able to look deeper and explore the position.
But, in live chess, one should strive to do the best with what they have learned. And do so in the confines of their own skull.
I disagree that it makes you stronger to 'not' move the pieces. I think that's like saying, it makes you stronger 'not' to practice tactics trainer.
I disagree that it makes you stronger to 'not' move the pieces. I think that's like saying, it makes you stronger 'not' to practice tactics trainer.
As with anything, the more you work the better you get. Practice the skills you want to improve. If you practice X, you'll get better at X. That sums up my thoughts about it.
hi . is it cheating if i play on line and have also the phisical bord of chess and pieces...and i move according to the game right in front of me??
It is not cheating as long as it doesn't tell you what to do. So simple.