I lose on time too much. (Lag or connectivity or site issues)

I can never seem to make up the lag deficit.  I try but nothing seems to work for long.  I'm pretty bitter about it but am trying to put it aside to see if anyone has any advice that I can use.  

I've got a wired connection to the router and my latency out the door is pretty good.  It's just that the site seems to be adding something which I can't compensate for no matter how fast I play.

I'm using chrome with no ad blocking switched on (sometimes you need to because the adverts are just beserk on certain times/days (and here too there doesn't seem to be a pattern...that I can compensate for) and on those days/times turning on the adblocker will show between 12-20(!) blocks before the game even starts (and of course I have to reload the page after every game because otherwise I'd have hundreds of blocks within a few minutes).

Of course using an adblocker regularly doesn't work because I'll lose around 5seconds per game which is impossible to be competitive with.... so I turn it off.  And I turn off my Pi-hole because that too has too much overhead to allow me to be competitive.

It's the other times when no matter what I do, I can't keep up.  If I go fast, my opponent is moving instantly (beyond premove instant..)

So, I'm at wit's end.  What can I do?  

I don't know but out of curiosity, are your opponents (the ones who seem to have less lag time) premium members? Could the fact that they have no ads be part of the story? I know you've tried both with ad blocker on and with it off but I wonder if not having ads in the first place might save a few milliseconds? I'm not suggesting you upgrade to premium - that would seem like overkill just for that one small benefit - but I wonder if it's contributing in some way?

Thanks for the reply.

I frankly don't think this is the case.  I used to have the odd premium month here and there and found that it made no difference to my (let's say) win rate.  This is why I'm not focusing on that aspect.  I won't rule it out as a possibility but don't think that's the case here.

Now, I have just looked into my ISP's service and there is some instability on the power numbers --- and maybe that's the crux of it in my case -- a technician is booked to see to things in a couple of days. 

Perhaps it's my provider's problem all along and for, well, years, I've had a substandard connection and that's all there is to it.  

However, I still would like to feel out if anyone else is experiencing similar issues in case it isn't merely something here on my end.....not my personal equipment but my ISP's.   That way, if this isn't the case then I can point to the performance of the live server as indicative of my connection having been fixed.

Does that make sense?  

Phew, like I said, this has been going on for years, off and on, and I can't deal with it much longer since it's so frustrating.

Yes, that makes perfect sense! I can't offer much in the way of informed comment though as I've more or less abandoned speed chess on chess.com. Partly because other sites seem to be faster but mostly because I'm just not good enough! I'm far too slow. Daily games I can manage, rapid (eg 30 mins) I can just about cope with but the quick stuff is just too much for me!

I hope you get your issue resolved though. It sounds frustrating.

Thanks haroldschris, I appreciate the commiseration.

Savage47, thank you for the time to write that out.  I've undertaken  most of your advice already.  To whit, I've changed out the main coax in our home to the wall which improved a signal loss issue -- this now improved the diagnostic readout of the modem to allow me to confidently say that aspect has been solved.

I still have two switches on our network but these are proper powered switches which have from my testing not been an issue with regards to packet loss nor signal loss.  I am confident the issue doesn't lie here.  I've also switched out the ethernet cable from the router to the modem -- testing seems to absolve my personal LAN (1msec to the wall with zero packet loss).

My main machine is an i7 6950X (10core/20 thread OC'd to 4.3Ghz and water cooled by a custom solution sourced from aquacomputing) 65GB RAM 512GB NVME OS drive (Samsung Pro 960) utilizing twinned NICs to the first switch.  Mouse (Logitech G403) is wired. Graphics solution is a GTX1080 Ti also water cooled with the custom loop. I've done my utmost to make sure there is NOTHING my machine can't handle (in fact it's one of the top 100 machines in Canada based on benchmarks via some casual entries through HWBOT)

Have run with stripped out system as much as possible in order to reduce any overhead interfering with getting that click to the server.

I think all that's left is my ISP or the site.   I know the site does strange things because things feel different based on the advertising load the site imposes on me at different times -- I'd like to know if I haven't done something with regards the site that I should.  I've done the best I can figure out but still feel like I'm missing something based on how often I lose on time.

And yes, I've been lax on bringing up the issue with my ISP.  I am now in the process of seeing if I can get some attention focused on our connection because there's been some long standing something or other that isn't right -- and because whatever the issue is is impacting some other projects (live streaming) this isn't on anymore.  I'm determined to have them find and fix the issue and won't be satisfied until that happens.

I'll keep the thread posted as to how things progress.  If anyone in the meantime has some insight as their experience with how the site, I guess, "feels" when they play, I'd be interested to learn about that.  I think if we can collectively get an idea of how the site operates "normally" then we can figure out when and if there's a problem here.

In this latest session from about 10:50 am EDT May 30 2019 - 1 win 2 draws 7 losses.  Using Chrome (cleared browsing data) no adblocker and no Pi-hole.  I'm behind nearly 5 seconds or so, sometimes up to 8 seconds.  This is really bad and not unusual in my experience.

Something is seriously wrong.

At least until your connection issues are fixed, I would advise playing games with increment.

Thanks but I want to play 1 0.  That's all I play.  Thing is any speed test comes back perfect all day long.  I have no packet loss.  The main issue with my connection is upload instability -- that may or may not be my issue but Chess.com has to even out the browser burden somehow.  As it is there's too much variability not only on a time of day basis, but on a day of the week basis, a weekly basis, and a quarterly basis as well -- not to mention variability due to holidays and just general Internet issues (if there's a concerted DOS attack happening, for example).  I hear you though.  That's why I've never brought up the subject in any serious way.  It's always easier to blame the player's system or connection rather than ascribe any responsibility on Chess.com.

Chess.com isn't doing enough to give us a quality, stable product.  I think we're owed more than fiddling with fonts and adding negligible value added instances to the interface.  Some focus on our experience would be nice as well.  Something like an acknowledgement that certain geographies will experience something other than an equal footing based on this or that or the other thing, whatever that may be.

It's painful to start playing and find the pieces don't move as expected...which hints at how much my browser is being hit by Chess.com.

I had years playing under the old UI and never experienced what I put up with playing live now.  Even if my connection has some bearing notwithstanding.

I would really like to hear if other people are experiencing similar things.  It's difficult to continue if there's no feedback and one is working completely cut off from any community discussion about how we, playing live, are experiencing, well, the experience itself.

I'm curious about how other people connect to live.  How does the android app do in live?  Can it be used to play bullet?  What are the different browsers people use and are there any tricks or tips I'm not aware of?  That sort of thing.

You should re-title this post to something about Lag Issues or Connectivity Issues.  

"Losing on time" makes me think that you are playing to slowly.  Not that you have lag issues.

Noted, thanks.

Or any of the 2-6 hops between you and the site can be causing issues.

I've had issues in the past where another family member was playing online games or streaming video, and there was a lot of lag. I assume you don't have additional streaming when playing, either on your system or on your network. While not all networks will suffer from things like that, it is worth mentioning.

Finally, I don't know exactly how the ad code works, but if it is being pushed and not pulled from the client, then that traffic is still coming to your network and could cause lag. Ideally all lag inducing ads get removed, but it is possible some get through and stick around for a while, since the site uses an ad network.

Thanks Martin...agreed about the hops.  I'll be looking into a VPN at some point as well in order to circumvent the default routes my ISP chooses from here in Canada to the site's servers.  Admittedly, that'll be more of an experiment and for testing purposes -- something I can report back to my ISP and which I can use to argue for having them change said defaults.

With regards to other users on the home network, no, not an issue here.  I tend to binge sometimes when everyone's asleep, not that it matters, particularly, one way or the other...our connection is hefty enough at 150Mbs/15Mbs for our two person household.  But noted.

Your last point is probably the stickiest one to deal with.  I know the site needs the revenue but ever since the change over to the new version, there's so much variability on the feel of how the pieces move depending on the 'package' being thrust at me that well, I may have to record some video in order to demonstrate how it impacts things.

The fact remains that I lose far far too much on time then my skills should allow.  Something's wrong and I don't believe it's isolated to my experience alone.  If we could solve this, I think the site would benefit greatly, not just myself. 

So, today, now, June 1, 2019; the means to be competitive in bullet are:  using latest Chrome, having Pi-hole turned off, using Adblock Plus and refreshing the page after every game in order to flush the block list.  Not using an adblocker just bogs the browser down with too many advertising pushes.  Nasty stuff, that.  

Just finished a game and the number of blocks are 55 -  Number of blocks on a refresh: 19
The longer the game goes on, the more blocks there are.  On this page (the forum page) there are 5 blocks.  So, most advertising is pushed via the live interface.

Thanks for your input @Fixedthx.  You are a fine example of all that is right with the world, from an American hegemonic perspective.  Everyone that is trying to find the truth is a 'freeloader', 'user', 'taker'.  Keep on keeping America Great Again, oh little short stack to the south.    Now go away, grown ups are talking.

He chooses not to pay. That's his right. I don't have a problem with that, do you? If so, you should get in touch with chess.com and tell them to disconnect anyone who isn't a premium member. I suspect they'll consider your suggestion for about a tenth of a second, at which point they'll remember the millions of members they'd lose. But hey, if you feel that strongly, it's worth a try.

Well.  My Internet connection has been fixed.  There was a power issue so an attenuator was added to the line.  I have done various speed tests and ping tests and my connection, for all intents and purposes, is about as good as it can be....

And so...what does Chess.com do?  They push MORE advertising streams at me now so that I STILL can't compete on an even field!  Earlier I showed that I was blocking 19 streams at the start of a game and now (early evening here in Canada) I'm blocking 21 streams at the start of a game!

No matter how fast I move (and I mean instantly!) certain opponent play even faster!  

This is completely ridiculous!  

I'm not some noob here.  I have 70,000 bullet games played here so KNOW what I'm talking about.  

Chess.com is messing about with our connections and it's NOT FAIR!!

Stop it!!!!

It probably has something to do with where you live. I live in Anchorage AK and hardly ever have any problems with lag, but any time I go to Arkansas to visit my family the lag makes live chess on this site impossible. And I pay for premium so I don’t think adds are the problem. Just switch to [another site -- VP] that’s what I do when im in AR.

Hear you.  Been around since 2011, lol.  I know they won't do anything.  Just venting.

Should study "Time Management" in chess