Online Chess & TITLES!

Hello to my fellow chess players!

I hope you all are healthy & safe during these difficult times. It looks like the challenges that the World faces forces a lot of people and organizations re-evaluate things in a major way. Even when the Kung Flu is over, it is likely that more things will be done online since that is a more efficient way to do things while conserving valuable resources such as space and time.

It looks like chess professionals have also migrated to the Internet to continue their battles there. The rapid format is very nice as the events also make a good spectator sport. So, perhaps the process can be replicated to get more people involved in competitive chess by organizing official online events and giving online titles. This can create more incentives to more amateurs to get involved in the game. Let me elaborate on this thought below...

when this thing is over i think i wont be doing many things im doing right now.. its like living a trauma and hating things permanently

I would like to share things from my own point of view to better explain my line of reasoning. I am sure that there are a good deal of people that may share this point of view and it may be of benefit to integrate them in competitive chess.

Well, as you can probably see, I have played a good bit online. However, I have never played any rated USCF or FIDE game. Certainly, one factor is that I know that I am not that good and so it does not make that much sense to go and play - especially when you may spend the whole day and have roughly the same rating and win some small prizes. So, yes, that is certainly a factor. Still, another factor is that the classical games are far too long. And so, in that regard, too, the juice may not be worth the squeeze. Another big factor is distance. To play competitive chess, I would have to drive about 40 minutes one way to get there. While some people are ok doing that, others, myself included, don't feel like spending 1.5 hours out of 24 just to go play chess. As we get older, many of us learn to appreciate their TIME as it is the second most important of the assets one has (health being of paramaunt importance). Indeed, when you also look at health, stress, and fatigue, you begin to realize that chess amateurs may like to get involved in chess - but to a much smaller degree than professionals.

I certainly understand that organizing online events can be quite tough. There are problems with cheating and all of that. However, I do think that the benefits of such an organization outweigh the risks. I would not mind paying the standard fees to participate in USCF approved online tournaments that could be hosted by online platforms such as chess.com. This is where the organizations can come together to get more people play chess. And the Rapid format is good for that. And it will be good to give online titles - such as, for example, USCF Online Rapid Master (ORM) to those who get to 2200. I am not sure as to how exactly things can be organized but by giving some food for thought, I hope that more players can tune in and, through exchanging of ideas, arrive at some interesting conclusions that would we would be able to pitch to the higher ups.

There are already US Online rated chess but find it unlikely they'll add any online titles.

I certainly did not know that. However, it seems like it kind of defeats the purpose. If the USCF has online rated chess, it makes sense for them to have online titles too in order to create an incentive for players to get more competitive. Otherwise, perhaps online organizations such as chess.com can figure out a way to award titles and organize small-scale tournaments. I think it will be important to require to put some money in with winner earning some money; all of this will create incentives for people to take the matters more seriously. It can become an additional source of revenue for the said organization and, overall, involve some more people and money into chess. I do understand that the organizational details can be convoluted but perhaps they could be thought of and organized step by step.

There are some advantages to online chess, convenience being one of them. But it’s not remotely comparable to ‘real’ OTB chess. 

I play exclusively online, but I certainly don't think it warrants a title.  Besides, unless they introduce silly meaningless titles very few players without a real title would get one anyway because you'd still have to be exceptionally good and most of us are not and never will be.

Online chess is fun and it is a great thing, that we have so many online tournaments to play (and watch) these days. But even without the incentive of online titles, cheating is a big problem. I think every step, which gives players more reason to cheat, is a step in the wrong direction. Especially because I see no real reason to introduce new titles. (I mean online titles AGM, AIM and so on already exist, but most people don´t care about them.)

I tend to agree with you on that. However, what if a good deal of people will be happy to play just Online Rapid Chess. Perhaps it is a good idea to make it more official.

The 'Real Chess' does take a great deal energy and time to play. This is something that average busy guys may be unwilling to dedicate their time to. However, they may be quite ok with the rapid events. Imagine a guy coming home from work, or on weekends, and participating in an online rapid tournament where he plays 2-4 games and enjoys the experience. This can open things up to many more people. And, bring more money to chess federations potentially. This is why creating incentives for this sort of thing may be the right way forward. If the top players are doing that - and they seem to be enjoying the format - maybe the rest of us can do this too.

I am ok with there being a few title holders. However, this may potentially open things to more people. Achieving 2200 rating (for the sake of simplicity I am going by the USCF Master standard) is no small feat. So this may yield an online title which will say, as an example, USCF online rapid master, or something like that. This would not mean that a person is a master of over-the-board classical chess but simply a master at online rapid chess.

For the sake of clarity, people may be mandated to create accounts with their real name and play only within the officially oranized settings in order to have a good degree of accuracy. They will pay all the relevant fees just as they do with the over-the-board chess and enjoy the experience. Certainly, the technical organization of the whole thing will require a good deal of thought but it can be done, I think. And it can open up a great deal new possibilities. As others pointed out, there will be problems with it too. However, I think, on the NET, the rewards will outweigh the risks. The positive will trump the negative.

I understand your concerns and share them as well. I think you make a good point and a great deal of sense. Still, I believe that there's an untapped market of a LOT of people who may be involved in chess if there is an incentive of doing so.

I think the FIDE arena was done under previous FIDE leadership which was a failure. They did not have the good infrastructure and could not meet the demand. There were a lot of technical problems. But, from what I also remember, there were people who were willing to sign up. Certainly, the OTB titles have carry a greater weight. However, there may be demand for this online thing. If the technical aspects are well thought out and precisely rolled out, it may end up bringing more masses, and more money, to chess.

The problem with online chess is that even if people do not cheat using an engine they might secretly use a second board to actually play out variations and thus giving them an advantage. So anti-cheating measures would have to made stricter. If that happens then people who are simply having a good day and playing slightly above their regular level might be accused even though they are not guilty

Also what would the punishment be for someone caught? If it is nothing serious, then that will invite more cheaters. If it is too harsh then innocent people who are caught will have to put up with it through no fault of their own.

Also people can refer opening books during the event. There is no way to tell if someone is using an opening book or if they simply know the opening well.