Online chess for amateur and hobby players

Second updated and extended edition

STEFAN BREUER
 Copyright © 2019 (2nd edition) Dr. Stefan Breuer
Adress:
Schloss-Schönau-Str. 12
52072 Aachen
Germany
www.stefan-breuer.name
[email protected]
Cover design by using issaronow / stock.adobe.com
The work, including its parts, is protected by copyright. Any use is not permitted without the
author's consent. This applies in particular to the electronic or other reproduction, translation,
distribution and making publicly available.
 I „play” chess in the truest sense, while the others, the real chess players, “work” it, if I
may use the word in this daring new way.

(Stefan Zweig, Chess: A Novel)

 Contents

Title Page
Copyright
INTRODUCTION
PLAY ONLINE CHESS
ONLINE CHESS - THE MODERN CHESS FOR THE AMATEUR
PLAYER
THE RIGHT TIME LIMIT – A PLEA FOR INCREMENT
ONLINE TOURNAMENTS
TACTICAL TRAINING
HONESTY IS THE BEST
THE MAGIC OF NUMBER: RATING
GOOD BEHAVIOUR
CAUTION CHILD!
LEARN FROM ERRORS
THE DARK KNIGHT SYSTEM AND THE BIRD - A
RECOMMENDATION FOR AN UNORTHODOX OPENING
REPERTOIRE
ONLINE CHESS VERSUS ONLINE POKER
PORTALS FOR ONLINE CHESS
Chess.com
Lichess
Playchess
ICC – The Internet Chess Club
FIDE Online Arena
Chess24
Chess Stars
ChessFRIENDs
ChessWorld
SPARKCHESS
CHESSTEMPO
AND NOW?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 INTRODUCTION
In November 2019, the World Chess Federation FIDE recorded 754,683
active players on its international ranking list, including 1,363 Grandmasters
and 2,513 International Masters.
The online platform chess.com advertises with 30 million(!) registered
chess players. More than 40 million online games were played on the Lichess
servers in October 2019. Between 10,000 and 40,000 chess players are active
here at any time of day or night. Further chess servers such as Schach.de,
FIDE Online Arena or the Internet Chess Club will be added.
Chess is - although still little noticed by the mass media apart from the
world championship fights - no longer a marginal sport (yes, in Germany
chess is an officially recognized sport, I can't change that) and has massively
profited from digitalization. Apart from the transmission of national and
international tournaments on the Internet, the triumph of chess databases and
training programs and the possibilities of adapted time controls by electronic
chess clocks, it is above all online chess that has revolutionized the royal
game for millions of amateur and hobby players.
Classical "analogue" chess in clubs and tournament sports over the board is
time-consuming and is therefore not suspected to be particularly job and
family friendly. It sets limits for the amateur player, who usually still has to
cope with a life beside the chess board. Online chess, on the other hand,
offers the enthusiastic fan of Caissa the possibility to pursue his passion
intensively with a bearable investment of time.
Online chess is also becoming more and more attractive for master players,
on the one hand as a training ground in the game against other masters, on the
other hand to improve their income as a teacher for (willing to pay) amateur
players. And so it doesn't take a big miracle to sit as an amateur or hobby
player in an online tournament opposite a real International Master or even
Grandmaster - which is almost impossible in normal tournament operation
over the board (so to say kicking with Messi or Ronaldo).
In this narrow book different aspects of online chess are addressed and the
most important chess portals are presented.
The 1st (German) edition was published in May 2018 and since then
nothing fundamental has changed in online chess, but progressive
improvements and innovations on the chess portals lead to an ever better and
more attractive offer. So this 2nd edition offers some updates and extensions
as well as a recommendation for an unorthodox opening repertoire for online
players.

Aachen, December 2019

The original edition of this book was published in German. The present
English version was translated by the author himself. I ask for your
indulgence for possible translation errors and insufficient language.
 PLAY ONLINE CHESS
In traditional chess, also called over the board, the two players sit
opposite each other on the board in the same place. In online chess there is no
real board and no pieces to touch. And the players can sit at the farthest ends
of the world as long as they have a computer (or even a tablet or mobile
phone) with internet access.
Via the servers of a chess portal the moves of the players are transmitted.
The software (either in the internet browser or as proprietary software)
usually displays the chess position in a two-dimensional diagram on the
screen (some programs also offer a three-dimensional representation, which
visually resembles the game over the board, but is only used by a few
players; the diagram representation has proven to be clearer and more
playable). By clicking with the mouse and dragging the piece symbol the
moves are executed (a few chess portals also support the connection of a so-
called DGT board, a special chess board with pieces, which can be connected
to the PC via USB cable and transfers moves executed with the pieces to the
PC and the chess program). All additional information (notation of the moves
played, remaining time available for consideration, etc.) is also displayed on
the screen.
This way of playing chess did not have to be reinvented for online chess, it
has existed since the first PC chess programs. What is new is that with this
technique one does not play against a chess program, but against a human
opponent somewhere in the world.
Of course the traditional game over the board has its own charm, which
online chess cannot replace. The aesthetics of a real board and real pieces, the
atmosphere of a tournament hall, the duel where the opponent is just an arm's
length away - online chess can hardly convey this. Online chess, on the other
hand, has its own strengths, which will be presented in this book. These
become particularly apparent when the possibilities for classical chess over
the board are not available or only at great expense. Thus classical chess and
online chess are not opposites or even competitors, but complementary
options for all friends of the royal game.
 ONLINE CHESS - THE MODERN
CHESS FOR THE AMATEUR PLAYER
Even though the Internet, PC and smartphone are taken for granted today,
the analogue times are only a few decades behind. Chess players in their
relaxed early 50s still remember well that chess clocks had to be wound by
hand, chess computers had no chance against the club's best youth player and
Chessbase was a strange database program that only ran on an ATARI
computer.
Times have changed. The world champion is now a blatant outsider against
the best chess programs, which are now called engines. Digital chess clocks
allow for creative rules of time to think (keyword increment), the chess
database Chessbase in combination with engine technology has turned the
opening theory upside down - and online chess via Internet has
revolutionized the game for millions of hobby and amateur players.
Perhaps the latter point is the most important, because it does not only
concern the game of the professionals, title holders and club players. Chess is
not only one of the oldest, but also one of the most widespread games of all.
There is hardly a classic game collection that does not include chess. In
countries like Russia chess is part of the national cultural heritage. Measured
against this, the number of chess players organized in club and tournament
chess worldwide is negligible. This is not least because classical chess is a
time-consuming game and hobby. While a football match usually ends after
90 minutes (plus half-time and additional time), typical chess tournament
games over the board are rarely finished in less than four hours (a lengthy
final game with more than 80 moves, often referred to as a "sea snake", can
easily take six hours). The way from the occasional game to the regular
hobby in the chess club had hardly any intermediate stages in the analogous
time. There are more worlds between a hobby player who knows the rules
and occasionally plays a game and a club player of the lowest district class
than there are between a football field kicker and a football player of the
lowest district class.
Online chess has closed this gap, revolutionizing the royal game. With the
help of the numerous chess portals on the Internet, it is now possible for any
interested player to spend as much time playing chess as he can and wants at
any time of the day, on any day of the week (and this spontaneously and at
short notice, independent of the weekly game evenings of a chess club).
Millions of players do this, and most of them have never seen a chess club
from the inside and will hardly ever do so in the future.
But online chess is not only suitable for hobby and amateur players. This is
rather a relatively recent development. The first chess portals were (and still
exist) playing and training facilities for club players and title holders. Today
you can find both groups of players on the big portals, hobby and amateur
players together with club players and grandmasters. For the former, this
gives them the incentive to play against a "great" in an online tournament;
quite a few title holders, in turn, offer themselves online as teachers and
trainers.
It is precisely this combination of playing and learning that is characteristic
for many chess portals, also for financial reasons. Most of the portals are
commercial projects with which profit is to be made (at least the running
costs must be covered somehow). Besides regular fees for server usage, the
sale of chess videos and training courses is an important second source of
income. The costs are comparatively moderate, online chess is affordable for
everyone. If necessary, it can be done without money (more about this
below).
Anyone who plays chess exclusively online, without reference to club or
tournament chess over the board, does not have to do without the sporting
competitive kick. On every chess server a rating system is running, which
continuously measures one's own playing strength and brings it into a
comprehensible comparison with all other players of the server. The rating
systems are different in their detailed calculations, but on the whole they are
comparable. An online player with a rating above 2,000 points knows that he
could easily play over the board in a top non-professional league team. In the
meantime there is also the possibility to acquire official amateur online titles
of the World Chess Federation FIDE (in the FIDE Online Arena). So if you
do not necessarily intend to become a professional chess player, you can also
achieve successes and "honours" online like over the board, but with
considerably less time expenditure.
 THE RIGHT TIME LIMIT – A PLEA
FOR INCREMENT
Chess is a random-free unpredictable game with perfect information for
both players. It is random-free because there are no dice in play, no cards are
shuffled or other random elements are included. Unpredictable, because
nobody (not even a computer so far) can calculate all possible games that can
result from the initial position to the end (whether the number of possible
moves on the chessboard actually corresponds to the number of wheat grains
that, according to legend, the inventor of the game of chess asked the Indian
ruler Shihram for may remain a moot point; the number is
18,446,744,073,709,551,615). The information is complete because the board
is open to both players and there is no other game information than the
position of the pieces on the board (and the state of the available time for the
rest of the game, also open to both players, on the clock).
So much for game theory. In other words, chess has a lot to do with
thinking. Every move is a good or bad one, but in any case it is a conscious
decision of the player, which he came to after short or long thinking. Intuition
plays a role insofar as a player intuitively thinks of moves which he then
considers, calculates and analyses according to his possibilities in order to
come to his move decision. If he does not do this, if he plays the first move
he intuitively comes up with without any thinking, I call this reflex chess.
Every move in reflex chess is lightning fast, just like a reflex. But not
every lightning-fast move is based on reflex chess, and not if there is a well
thought-out sequence of moves at the beginning, which then proceeds in the
same thoughtful way as at the beginning because of the opponent's moves.
Then the moves of this sequence of moves are also played as fast as
lightning, but not as a reflex to the opponent's move, but in implementation of
the sequence of moves that has been thought out in the same way.
In fact, reflex chess is the opposite of real chess and as such a danger for
every serious chess player. Often enough you find yourself in a game in the
situation to intuitively and spontaneously make a move as if shot from a gun -
and only too often this shot backfires. Quite a few players, especially in the
game over the board, have acquired techniques of self-discipline to avoid
falling into this trap, for example by never making a move before they have
carefully written down the opponent's move that they have played before, or
by putting down the pen properly after writing it down, folding their hands
and thus forcing themselves not to reflexively play the next move of their
own. Unfortunately, this technique does not work online, as the computer
takes over the notation for the players. So the danger of reflex chess is much
greater here.
What does this have to do with the question of the right time control? Well,
when the remaining time available for consideration is zero or close to zero,
there is no more than reflexive playing possible. Even more extreme, you
sometimes have to " handle" your move in advance: Regardless of your
opponent's move, you have already made your own move with the computer
mouse and only have to "let go" of the piece above the target field (and thus
save possibly decisive fractions of a second). Experienced reflex chess
players even plan this behaviour, for example they adjust a piece senselessly
single-moved, because they expect that their opponent reflexively plays
another move than the one that is obvious. In my opinion this has nothing to
do with chess at all, apart from the rules of the game.
A player can get into this situation because he has a bad time management
(it's his own fault), or because he plays games with a time control that makes
this situation mandatory or highly likely. Whoever plays Bullet chess with 60
seconds per player for the whole game or even Hyper-Bullet (30 or 45
seconds per player for the game) does not play chess, but reflex chess.
Now one does not have to renounce games with reduced time to avoid
reflex chess. The quality of the game does not necessarily (and certainly not
proportionally) increase with the duration of the reflection period. And the
limitation of the time for reflection, for example in Blitz chess, is certainly a
sporty and demanding element in the mental sport of chess. Only a minimum
of time must remain, so that one can speak of thinking at all. Thankfully there
is a solution for this.
Until the introduction of electronic chess clocks, the time for consideration
in chess was determined exclusively by the maximum time for the entire
game (e.g. 5 minutes per player for a Blitz game) or for a certain number of
moves (e.g. 2 hours for 40 moves, then 1 hour for each additional 20 moves).
There was a good reason for limiting the time for consideration at all. In
tournament reports from the 19th century, when many tournaments were still
played without clock and time limits, there is sometimes the entry of the
recorder "both players are sleeping". With the introduction of electronic chess
clocks, a suggestion already made by world champion Bobby Fischer could
be implemented, the so-called increment. This is an additional time for
thinking, which is added to the player's total time per move. This allows
regulations like the following: 120 min. + 15 sec. Translated this means that
each player has two hours for the whole game plus 15 seconds for each
move! If he plays individual moves faster than in 15 seconds, this will even
increase his total thinking time. If he has used up his time to think about the
game, he still has at least 15 seconds for each move, no matter how many
more moves the game lasts. This considerably reduces the risk of one of the
players falling into the reflex chess trap described above. The frustration of
losing (or winning, which is not much less frustrating) a game in pure time
after four hours of thought struggle is almost only theoretical. The "spectre of
lack of time", which has in no way been beneficial to chess, is banished by
the increment.
The beneficial effect of the increment is not limited to long games as in the
above example, but has at least as positive an effect on games with a shorter
time for thinking. Here it can be cleverly adapted to the respective basic time
for consideration of a lot. In Blitz chess, for example, with a basic time of 3
or 5 minutes, an increment of 3 or 5 seconds per move is appropriate (this is
called 3+3 or 5+5 games). Even Bullet chess can be brought back from the
shadow of reflex chess in Caissa’s light with the help of the increment: 1
minute for the whole game plus 2 seconds per move or 2 minutes for the
whole game plus 1 second per move will result in completely different games
than 1 minute plus 0 seconds increment.
Without increment one should only play chess if the time for thinking
about the whole game is large enough that one can escape the total lack of
time with a halfway disciplined time management. In my opinion this starts
only with classical Blitz games with 5 minutes time limit (i.e. 5+0), better 10
minutes (10+0, which is already classified as Rapid chess and not as Blitz
chess on some servers). In principle, however, games and tournaments with
increments should be preferred.
Let us now turn to the individual categories of time control. Thereby the
limits of the respective categories are defined slightly differently on the
individual chess servers. Here the increment forces the programmers to come
up with a formula, into which an assumed average number of moves per
game, basic time and increment are entered. All portals disclose this formula,
so it is no secret why one game is considered to be Bullet chess and the other
as Blitz chess.

Bullet Chess

Bullet Chess starts at 0+1 (no joke), that is 1 second per move and
nothing else, and ends at about 2 minutes basic time plus 1 second per move
(2+1). Without increment it is pure reflex chess. The ambitious player should
keep his hands off it. Why? It harms your own game! If you play reflex chess
regularly, you run the risk of doing so even in games with a longer time
control. And at the latest then the shot will backfire.
But aren't there numerous Grandmasters who play extreme Bullet chess
and still remain Grandmasters? Yes, there are, but Grandmasters are not
normal chess players (maybe not even normal people, but that's another
matter), but so damn good that they can't even ruin their chess skills with
reflex chess. And yes, even the chess reflexes of a Grandmaster are usually of
higher quality than the seconds of thought of an online amateur.
So don't let the fact that Bullet tournaments are populated by titled players
or other players with a high rating drive you crazy. If you enjoy Bullet chess,
you should bet on Bullet tournaments with increments. 1+2 or 2+1 are fast
enough and still somehow chess.

Blitz chess

Blitz chess ranges from about 3 minutes of reflection without increment

(3+0) to 5 minutes plus 5 seconds per move (5+5). Blitz chess is the most
frequently played time control online, and also the preferred form of play
outside of "real" tournament games on most evenings at the local chess club.
Blitz games offer enough time to play halfway thoughtful chess, but are short
enough to play quite a few games (or even a whole tournament) in a
reasonable time and to keep up the kick of the impending time pressure (for
those who like it). Good players in longer time controls (Rapid chess and
classical chess) are usually also passable Blitz players, but this does not
necessarily apply the other way round. There are many good to very good
Blitz players who do not achieve a comparable rating in Rapid chess or
classical chess. Their game is not always aimed at finding the best move in
chess, but the one that is most unpleasant for the opponent and which costs
him a lot of time. The shorter the time, the higher its value.
 Decades ago Blitz chess was frowned upon by quite a few chess trainers.
They advised their protégés not to play Blitz chess, as it would hinder the
development in "real" chess (classical chess with a long time to think about
it). These advices were of little use, so that the question of whether they were
justified remained purely academic. The attraction of playing a Blitz game
quickly is simply too great, as is the fun factor in a Blitz tournament.
So if you like to play Blitz chess, you should continue to do so online, but
if possible with 5 minutes basic time and if possible additionally with
increment.

Rapid chess

Rapid chess starts at about 10 minutes time and goes up to about 25

minutes time (per player and per game). A popular combination is about 15
minutes plus 10 seconds increment (15+10).
With this amount of time you can seriously play chess. "Stupid" mistakes,
loosing pieces by unforced errors, overlooking a mate threat etc. should not
occur in Rapid chess (they are not excluded in Blitz chess).
Rapid chess tournaments are offered much less frequently on chess servers
than Bullet or Blitz tournaments. One reason for this is that at least traditional
Rapid chess tournaments take considerably more time due to the longer time
to think about them. Traditional Rapid chess tournaments are tournaments
according to the Swiss system or round robin tournaments where a new round
only starts when all games of the previous round have been completed. If
your own Rapid chess game ends early, you may have to wait 15 or 20
minutes until the next round starts.
It is noticeable that in many online Rapid chess tournaments the average
rating of the players is significantly lower than in Blitz tournaments, i.e.
stronger players play less Rapid chess than weaker ones. One reason for this
may be that weaker players are more insecure in quick Blitz chess and prefer
to have more time to think about it (which is a very reasonable reason);
another aspect may be that stronger players are afraid of encountering
cheaters more often in Rapid chess than in Blitz chess. More on this below.
Despite the disadvantages mentioned above, Rapid chess is from a chess
point of view at least the second best time control for the aspiring amateur
and hobby player. The time for thinking is sufficient to play consciously and
to learn from his won and lost games. In Rapid chess a real thought duel
between the players is created. So if there is no Rapid chess tournament
available or if you don't have time for a long tournament, you should look for
a partner for a free Rapid chess game. On the big portals this will take a few
minutes at best, unless you are looking for opponents beyond 2,000 rating
points.

Classical chess

Classical chess with a time control beyond the 25-minute limit often led a
shadowy existence on the online servers, although in tournament chess over
the board it is by far the most important, actually the only serious variant.
What is the reason for this?
Online chess is characterized by tournaments. An online tournament
begins, lasts for a while, and ends. It is not interrupted and continues on
another day. This can only be achieved by reducing the time needed to think
about it so that the tournament can end within a few hours. For example, with
a 60-minute time limit per player per game (which is less than half the time
of a classic over the board game), a 5-card tournament lasts 10 hours if
played in a row. Understandably, there do not seem to be enough people
interested in this.
On the other hand, especially for weaker players (and that's most of them)
a longer time for thinking is very popular, which is reflected in a
correspondingly large number of free games.
As in Rapid chess, less super strong players are active in classical chess
than in Blitz chess. Even more than in Rapid chess, especially strong players
fear being cheated by weaker opponents using (forbidden) engines.
The only chess server with a significant tournament offer in classical chess
is Lichess. On the one hand, official tournaments with a longer time control
are offered regularly (although less frequently than in the shorter time control
modes), on the other hand, users themselves also use the possibility to offer
their own tournaments with time control up to 60 min + 60 sec and a
maximum tournament duration of 6 hours. For free games a maximum time
of 3 hours per player plus 3 minutes increment can be chosen - that's more
than enough.
If you want to play classical chess online under competition conditions,
you can also use one of the leagues presented in the following chapter
"Online tournaments".
 In the end, classical chess is the only "true" chess, because chess is a
thinking sport, and thinking takes time. Therefore it would be very welcome
if portals like Lichess would expand their offer of classic tournaments (e.g. in
the form of a tournament over several days of play) and if other portals would
at least take first steps in this direction.

Correspondence chess

World champion Magnus Carlsen is reported to have once said that he

would be available for every variant of chess, with one exception:
correspondence chess.
The reason may be that with the development of the computer engines
correspondence chess lost its hitherto existing sportive attraction. In
correspondence chess the players do not have hours for a whole game to
think about, but several days for a single (!) move. It was and is allowed to
consult chess books. Correspondence chess games have thus had a great
importance for the development of opening variants outside the main variants
for decades. Correspondence chess players of the old school are theoreticians
in search of the chess truth of a position, only secondarily interested in
victory and points.
The use of computer engines in a correspondence chess game is forbidden
by the rules, but the temptation, at least after one has decided to make a
move, to have the computer check it afterwards is often too great. From then
on it is only a small step to "question" the engine a little earlier.
Correspondence chess as a sporting competition is therefore "dead" for most
players.
Nevertheless correspondence chess killed by the engines experiences a
rebirth on the online portals. How does that happen? Correspondence chess
on online portals is much more user-friendly than the older correspondence
chess by e-mail or even than the very old correspondence chess by postcard
(yes, correspondence chess in its high time was played by postcard, one card
per move, even if the opponent lived in Australia; a game could last a few
years). On chess servers, which offer correspondence chess, you can see all
your simultaneously running games in a functional overview, together with
the time for consideration and all information you need. This even works
with the smartphone. And that's exactly how you should play it: mobile.
Online correspondence chess offers the amateur player the possibility to
occupy himself with chess in between (coffee break in the office, in the
suburban train, please do not play in the car at the wheel) without playing a
complete game. While I strongly advise against Blitz or Rapid chess (not to
mention Bullet) via smartphone, mobile correspondence chess is an ideal
training tool. Provided that you don't take the rating in correspondence chess
too seriously and don't get upset when you are obviously taken apart by an
opponent with the help of an engine. Then you simply check this game off,
put the player on the list of blocked players and continue.
Five to ten online correspondence chess games at the same time is a
training workload that can easily be managed on the side. The chess win is
enormous. And there is no harm if you disagree with world champion Carlsen
on this issue.
 ONLINE TOURNAMENTS
The salt in the soup of online chess are the tournaments. They exist in
numerous variants with regard to the time control, the starting position
(theme tournaments), the rating limit (upwards and downwards), the prizes to
be won and the tournament forms. No chess portal offers all variants, but for
online players it is quite common to be active on several portals (this is
probably the only thing that online chess players and online poker players
have in common). Let's bring a little order into the offer.
The tournaments differ on the one hand with regard to the time control.
The most important points have already been mentioned above in the chapter
on time limits. Blitz tournaments are the most common, followed by Bullet
tournaments. The offer of Rapid chess tournaments is already clearly smaller,
even less frequently tournaments with a classic long time limit are offered.
Lichess offers the most tournaments in Rapid chess and with longer time
controls.
So-called theme tournaments are offered again and again with pleasure.
The starting position of the game is determined by the tournament director, so
you are not completely free to choose the opening. If you pay close attention
to your rating, you will only choose thematic tournaments whose opening fits
into your active opening repertoire. In my opinion, it would make more sense
to hold theme tournaments without a rating, but this is rarely the case.
Although most online tournaments are open to all players (provided they
have played a minimum number of games and have proven that they are
suitable for tournaments), there are some with restrictions. So-called elite
tournaments require a minimum rating, e.g. beyond 2,000 or even 2,200
rating points. This can indeed be considered a master or elite tournament. But
there is also the reverse condition that you are not allowed to exceed a certain
rating (e.g. 1,800 points). Here, weaker players stay among themselves and
choose their tournament winner from their own ranks. In my opinion, online
tournaments which are only open to title holders (Grandmasters, International
Masters etc.) make little sense; because these official titles of the World
Chess Federation FIDE cannot be acquired online, and the attraction of
online chess is not so much watching as playing along.
Most online tournaments are "just" about the fun of the game and the
honour of a good position in the table at the end. Only very rarely (and
almost without exception in tournaments reserved for title holders) are there
cash prizes, occasionally you can win free server time. Some portals award
virtual trophies, which are displayed in the respective player profile and thus
demonstrate your success to other players. Basically, online chess
tournaments are amateur competitions in the best sense. The special thing
about chess compared to other games or sports is that besides the ranking in a
tournament there is always the so-called rating, which expresses one's own
playing strength in a concrete number. So during the whole tournament up to
the last round there is always something to win and something to lose for
every player, no matter if at the top or the bottom of the table.
Online tournaments are held in the forms known from over the board chess
as well as in special online formats which do not exist analogously. In the
(rare) round robin tournament everyone plays against everyone else, the
number of participants is limited accordingly. In the tournament format
"Swiss System" the number of participants is theoretically unlimited. In each
round, players are drawn against each other who have scored as much as
possible the same number of points from the previous rounds, whereby, in
addition, a change of colour (black or white) from round to round is taken
into account. This is by far the most common tournament form online.
Tournaments based on a knockout system are rare.
A relatively young but booming form of tournament, which is only
available online, are the so-called arena tournaments. Here, not the number of
rounds is fixed, but only the duration of the tournament (e.g. two hours). At
the end of this time, the final score of the tournament is determined; ongoing
games are played to the end and also count for the rating of the players, but
their results are no longer included in the tournament table. Players can enter
Arena Tournaments at any time (even just before the end of the tournament).
They can also drop out early or take a break without being considered
unsportsmanlike, as this will not harm the other players. Once the game is
over, you will be assigned a free opponent for the next game as soon as
possible; you don't have to wait for the end of an ongoing tournament round.
This tournament form was invented by Lichess, in the meantime it has also
been taken over by Chess.com and is thus firmly established on the two
largest chess portals.
Apart from the ongoing, regular tournaments offered on all portals (almost
all of them have a reasonably structured tournament calendar, so that you can
quickly get an overview of what's on offer), there are always special
tournaments, which are usually announced with the appropriate lead time.
For some you have to qualify, for others you just have to be online at the
right time and register. Such tournaments are highlights, visited by many
players, also by many strong players including title holders. Entry fees are
not to be paid for these as for all other online tournaments, at least I haven't
come across such a tournament yet. Tournaments are included in the monthly
server fee (if one is charged at all).
On some servers, players have the option of holding their own tournaments
with certain restrictions, either public for all or private tournaments (access
by password). Private tournaments extend the general offer of the server, but
usually have much less participants than the official server tournaments.
Nevertheless private tournaments are a very good idea, as they extend the
technical possibilities of a chess portal by the creativity and commitment of
its users.
A special tournament form with a classical (longer) time control is the so-
called league chess. These tournaments are not visible on the chess server at
first or second glance. League tournaments are organized on their own
websites, and on the chess servers only those games are played that look like
free games from the outside. You can join an existing team (or create a new
one). Under the guidance of experienced tournament directors, a season plan
is then drawn up and pairings for teams and players are determined. During a
season there is usually one matchday per week. The players assigned to each
other then arrange a match date together via forum messages or
communication services such as Slack and meet at the agreed time on the
designated server to play their match. Examples of such leagues in classical
chess are the All Nations Chess League, Team4545 or Lichess4545 League
(for the latter, the 45 minutes + 45 seconds increment is already in the name).
These leagues offer the possibility to play classical chess online under
competitive conditions. There is no reason to fear that making an
appointment with an opponent who may be on the other side of the world and
has a completely different idea of a suitable playing time could be difficult to
frustrate. In practice, the procedure works very well thanks to dedicated
tournament directors and moderators.
Ultimately these leagues are an emergency measure; it would be much
more elegant if they were fully integrated into a chess portal, which is not
(yet) the case.
 Last but not least, the so-called simultaneous chess should be mentioned,
even if it is not a classical tournament form. In simultaneous chess a usually
much stronger player plays games against several opponents at the same
time. This works as well online as over the board and is especially popular on
Lichess.
 TACTICAL TRAINING
Tactical skill is more decisive for the outcome of the vast majority of
chess games than strategic knowledge, especially in the amateur sector. Of
course, it also happens among amateurs that, for example, a player with the
Ruy Lopez Opening exchange variation (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6)
brings about a strategically won pawn structure and this leads to a win in the
pawn end game; however, it is more likely that the game ends beforehand
due to at least one tactical error by a player. Training tactical skills is
therefore of utmost importance for the aspiring amateur player.
Portals such as Lichess, chess.com and Chessbase offer their own tactics
training in addition to playing. Chess puzzles are set, the difficulty of which
is adapted to the respective level of the player. If you can't get any further,
there are help functions, so the risk of frustration is very low. The pool of
these tasks probably contains several hundred thousand positions, at least I
have never encountered a task twice.
For these tactical tasks there is a separate rating, so the player can track the
success of his training.
Tactical training is ideal for mobile use. The famous coffee break in the
office, the ride in the subway, relaxing in the garden in the shade of a tree -
here, with the help of the smartphone app, you can train chess tactics
alongside and very successfully. This is particularly well implemented in the
apps from Chess.com and Lichess.
 HONESTY IS THE BEST
Until the 90s of the last century chess was a "doping-free zone". Attempts
to cheat were limited to having a stronger teammate whisper moves to you
(or wave complicated sign language) during a game. This was rather silly and
usually went wrong, because if you play a move you don't understand, it's
hard to find the next suitable move on your own.
"Fraud attempts" of their own kind were at best still the alleged
hypnotisations to which Grand Master Viktor Kortchnoi was subjected in his
World Cup fight against Grand Master Anatoly Karpov in the 1970s, but that
is another story.
The performance explosion of chess programs and their transfer as engines
to mobile phones and smartphones has ended this period of innocence. Since
then, there has been a strict ban on mobile phones in tournaments over the
board. Even the use of headphones to listen to music during a game is
unfortunately impossible today. A pity, but it can't be changed. Because there
are always players who want to help their sporting success with the help of
engine power. The classic (no joke) is still the hidden mobile phone in the
men's toilet (surprisingly, I have never heard or read anything about female
chess players cheating in this way; what does that tell us?) But even players
who wear a hearing aid often have to at least look suspicious; technically it
would not be a big problem to have an accomplice whisper the best moves
calculated by an engine into your ear.
In online chess, this problem is even more obvious. Here there is no
control of the players. In theory, a player could run an engine on the same
computer or on a second device and have the best moves predicted. Or (even
more extreme) he could have a program, a so-called bot, play for himself (as
is known from fraudulent bots in online poker). This is actually a reason why
some players refuse online chess on principle.
The problem of cheating in online chess cannot be denied, but this is no
reason not to play online chess. Cheating attempts can be found everywhere
where a successful cheat is worthwhile (prime example once again: online
poker, because this is about money). Cheating in chess over the board is
worthwhile in the short term if a player wins a tournament or at least a prize
money that he would never have achieved otherwise. In the long run,
cheating over the board does not pay off either, unless a cheater manages to
outwit the security measures in every tournament.
In online chess, the profit of successful cheating is limited to your own ego
(tournament successes, rating points). This should not be underestimated and
ensures that there are indeed attempts at cheating, but to a far lesser extent
than one should expect given the easy possibility of cheating. The vast
majority of online players (I put the unprovable figure of 99 percent in the
room) want to play, not cheat. And if you want to use engine power in your
game without cheating intention, you can do this quite legally on some
servers by creating a so-called centaur account. Such an account does not
mean creatures half man and half horse playing chess here, but a human
player with the support of an engine.
Nevertheless, it is the duty of the operators of chess portals to prevent or
clear up attempts at betrayal, and they must not be released from this duty. A
simple request not to do so is not enough. The approaches here are different
(both in terms of construction and effectiveness). No portal discloses in detail
how it works, out of concern that cheaters might adapt their behaviour
accordingly. Basically there are two different approaches:

1. Control during the game: Here the software monitors the

player's behaviour during the game. Does it switch to another
program window? If so, how often? Then it is assumed that the
player has a chess computer program running alongside and gets
information from there for his next move. This method is easy to
circumvent, you don't even need a second PC, all you need is a
mid-range smartphone with a powerful engine app. Moreover, this
method is virtually predestined for false alarms. Because there are
numerous honest reasons to click into other computer programs
during a game (especially in Rapid chess or classic chess, where
you usually don't play under time pressure): you receive an email,
you choose another piece for the background music, your favorite
club plays soccer at the same time and you use a live ticker ... In
these cases it can happen that you as an honest player receive an
unpleasant email, usually a standardized text, in which you are
accused of cheating and threatened to close your account in case of
repetition. If one reacts with righteous indignation and demands a
 justification for this insinuation, one hears - nothing. The operator
cannot and does not want to give a reason at all, because he does
not want to disclose the details of his anti-cheating technique. If
you stick to your behaviour during the game, it can actually happen
that your account is closed. Mind you, without the portal operator
having provided proof of fraud. This is certainly not legal
(especially with accounts for which you have paid), but lawyers
would have to deal with this. This kind of anti-cheating control is a
comprehensible attempt, but it is doomed to failure. Actual cheaters
can easily avoid it, honest players are unnecessarily restricted in
their freedom during the game or even pilloried (a closed account is
usually not deleted, but only closed, i.e. for all other players the
account is recognizable as "closed due to cheating").
2. Control after the game: This is the intelligent anti-cheating
technique that someone had to come up with first. So to speak a
doping control after the end of the competition with the help of
what chess portals have sufficiently available: computing power.
This is because the system does not search for suspicious behaviour
during the game, but uses analysis software and engine technology
to check the finished game to see to what extent it was played
suspiciously. Human and engine simply play differently, and
fortunately this can be analyzed. It is certainly a programming
challenge, but several portals have obviously mastered it. Honest
players can click where they want on the screen during a game,
they don't get any more insinuations emailed to them. Cheaters
can't feel safe after winning a game, because the transfer follows
time-delayed, according to own experience within one or a few
hours (own experience doesn't mean here that I cheated to try it; as
a victim of a cheating attempt you also get a message that you fell
victim to a cheater in your own game against Mister X., and you
get back the possibly lost rating points!) This kind of anti-cheating
technique is player-friendly and intelligent and will hopefully work
for a long time and better and better.

The principle danger that attempts to cheat can (also) occur in online chess
is not an argument not to play online chess. Just play where the anti-cheating
technique has been implemented best. And if you should ever suspect that
you have lost a game against a cheater - check off the thought and continue
playing.
 THE MAGIC OF NUMBER: RATING
How good are the Liverpool soccer players really? Or Real Madrid? Or
Roger Federer, Lewis Hamilton, Tiger Woods?
In most sports and games, this can only be found out by direct comparison,
and even then only with restrictions (keyword: daily form). In chess, there is
an additional way to recognize the playing strength of a player: the so-called
rating.
The theory and mathematics behind the rating system is relatively
complicated, but can be simplified for our purposes. Each player has a rating
number between approx. 800 and 3,000 points. The higher the number, the
better the player. If two players meet, the rating numbers of both players
change (depending on the game result: win, draw or defeat). If you lose to a
player whose rating number was much higher than your own before the
game, your own rating will hardly or not at all decrease. Conversely, the
rating of the much stronger opponent hardly improves at all. After all, the
outcome of the game was to be expected with these strongly varying scores.
However, if you manage a draw or even a win against a player with a higher
rating, your own rating increases accordingly, as does that of your opponent.
In the mathematical formulas on which the calculations (which are performed
in real time on the servers) are based, factors such as the number of scores
already scored and other aspects also play a role. The rating of beginners
changes faster and more drastically than that of grand- and world champions.
Roughly simplified, the strength of a player can be estimated with the help
of his rating as follows:

Up to 1,200 points: Beginner, casual player

Up to 1,400 points: Hobby player
Up to 1,600 points: Club player level, lower division
Up to 1,800 points: Club player level, middle league
Up to 2,000 points: strong club player

Beyond the 2,000 limit the area of chess experts begins. For an amateur
player, 2,000 points are something like a small "sound barrier", which he can
be justifiably proud of having broken through.

Up to 2,200 points: Prospective Master (in official women's

chess already international titles as Candidate Master of Women
and FIDE Master of Women)
Up to 2,300 points: Candidate or National Master for men,
International Master for women
Up to 2,400 points: FIDE Master for men, Grandmaster for
women
Up to 2,500 points: International Master
Starting at 2,500 points: Grand Master

Especially for its own FIDE Online Arena, the World Chess Federation
FIDE has introduced new arena titles, which are acquired when a certain
minimum rating is reached and held for a certain number of games. So it is
not enough to reach a Blitz rating of 2,000 points once to become Arena
Grandmaster; even after that you are not allowed to fall below this rating for
100 Blitz games (which is not that easy). Here are the criteria for these new
amateur titles:

Arena Candidate Master (ACM):

at least 1,100 points
Arena FIDE Master (AFM):
at least 1,400 points
Arena International Master (AIM):
at least 1,700 points
Arena Grandmaster (AGM):
at least 2,000 points

You might smile about an official title like the Arena Candidate Master
(ACM), which you can already earn with a rating that would make it hard to
compete in the Kreisklasse. But the requirements for the AIM or even the
AGM title are real challenges for an amateur player. The somewhat exclusive
circle of the Arena Grandmaster also only includes 285 active players (as of
November 2019).
How strongly are the individual service levels represented on online
servers? The easiest way to check this is at Lichess, the statistics can be
called up there at any time on the basis of the last week. In Blitz chess almost
300,000 players are active there in one week. Half of the players have a
maximum rating of 1,500 points, another 25 percent have between 1,500 and
1,800 rating points. Beyond the 2,000 point limit the air becomes thinner:
only 10 percent of the players have a rating higher than 2,000 points, beyond
2,300 points it is only 1 percent. Real master players.
The significance of the rating also depends to a not inconsiderable extent
on the time limit variant to which it applies (all servers assign their own
rating for bull, Blitz and Rapid chess). A Rapid chess rating says more about
the chess skill of a player than a Bullet rating. It doesn't matter if you have a
rating of 1,800 points in Rapid chess or Blitz chess, but don't get more than
1,400 points in Bullet chess. In the opposite case, you should be more
concerned.
 GOOD BEHAVIOUR
Almost every portal offers a chat function during the game, some
additionally a general chat for all users not playing, and most of them a
separate forum. For all forms of communication, the same basic rule applies
as in real life: what matters are good manners.
Chatting with the opponent during the game is not for everyone, and it's
perfectly fine if you don't want to (I personally feel as if I have a haircut: I
want to have my peace and quiet and not be "chatted up", but that's another
story). So, without being considered unsportsmanlike, you may deactivate the
chat function at the beginning of the game (this is especially true for decisive
tournament games). On the other hand, you should send a short message at
the beginning of the game to see if your opponent is interested in chatting
during the game. For free games with a longer time to think about it, this can
be an entertaining way of playing. It should only be desired by both players
and not be tolerated by one of them just to be polite.
It is certainly not polite to use the game chat to let off steam because you
made a mistake or even lost the whole game. Don't do that! Not to mention
that it can have unpleasant consequences (you can't undo the possibly
offensive message you wrote, your opponent can forward it to one of the
moderators, and you'll be at least warned or even banned for improper
behaviour), it's just not polite. At best, spontaneous self abuse such as "I am
an idiot! I blundered!". If the opponent then reacts relaxed with a smiley face,
smile back. Subject matter closed. Apart from that, the same rules of
behaviour apply in the chat as in real life, and even if in real life (and even
more so in digital via Twitter and Co.) manners go steeply downhill, this is
no justification for impertinent and - with respect - idiotic behaviour in chess
chat. Reading note in the margin: "About decency in difficult times and the
question how we deal with each other" (German book) by Axel Hacke offers
almost everything that can be said on this subject on almost 200 pages.
Besides the game chat, which only you and your opponent can see, this
also applies to any public chat. The rules of civilized communication and
politeness also apply here. Not every Russian chess player is a communist,
not every Iranian user pleads for Sharia, and not every female online chess
player sees herself as a sex object that wants to be chatted up (all seen).
 If you are a strong player, you may be approached by weaker players
directly, during or after a game (unless you have disabled chat). Consider this
as recognition and appreciation and respond politely. Do not hesitate to
answer questions and give one or two tips. Some portals offer a follower
function, i.e. players can mark other players and "follow" them. Top players
on the major portals may well have several thousand followers (not to be
confused with stalkers). They do not have to react to this, but may consider
offering these followers their own online simultaneous events, for example.
For players with a rating below 1,500 points it is already interesting to play
against a 2,000 opponent simultaneously. Think of it as a kind of
"development aid" for chess (and of course it's fun, too).
So if we assume that you yourself maintain a good behaviour in the chat,
how should you behave if you encounter a troll that either attacks and insults
you directly (in game chat or public chat) or does so to others in public chat?
First rule: stay calm. This is easier in chat than in real life, because you are
not facing the nagging idiot face to face. In the game chat it is enough to
deactivate the chat or simply not answer at all. Nothing is worse than when a
face-to-face insult simply fizzles out. If it gets really bad, report the incident
to the moderators. In many portals, this can be done with just a few clicks.
May they then take care and impose sanctions, that is the job of the portal
operators.
In the public chat you can hope that other users will step in and rebuke the
troublemaker. In order for this to happen, you should of course also take
action in reverse when a user verbally abuses and insults another. Here civil
courage and commitment is demanded. Of course, you will then immediately
become a target yourself, but you can stand that. As a German player, you
should be prepared to be insulted as a Nazi, even if it's not very original.
Now the impression should not be created that chats in online chess are full
of trolls and idiots. The opposite is the case. But it happens, and you should
know what possibilities of reaction there are. I always have to grin when a
troll "pukes up" for five minutes and then suddenly a moderator message
appears like "User *** has been banned for 30 minutes because of improper
behaviour" (which at the same time makes his verbal lapses disappear from
the chat history). When can you ever in real life simply put your hand on the
mouth of a screamer or otherwise turn off his voice without danger?
Besides the chats, the portal forum is the most important place for
communication between users. Mind you, you can play online chess without
entering the forum once. But it can increase the fun of the game.
The forum is on the one hand the place to get answers to questions. This
always works when there are active experienced users who take the time to
answer the questions (even for the hundredth time). On the other hand, the
forum of a chess portal also serves to bring together players with common
interests in groups. These interests can be as diverse as (chess) life. Thus,
players who prefer a time control variant not offered on the server (e.g. long
games) like to organize themselves in the forum and in this way organize
games or whole tournaments. Or they exchange ideas about a special variant
of the opening theory. Or, or, or, or ... On big portals like Chess.com and
Lichess the forum is a world of its own.
Of course, the same rules of politeness and decency apply in the forum as
in real life. But here you will have problems or encounter trolls much less
often.
A non-verbal form of communication should also be mentioned briefly:
some programs allow you to send a sign of recognition to a player (after a
game or independently), e.g. an applause (Playchess) or a special trophy for
sporting behaviour (Chess.com). These tokens are collected and displayed in
the profile of the player in question. A nice gesture says more than many
words.
One of the most unpleasant gestures, however, is the bad habit of letting
one's time for thinking expire in a lost position instead of giving up. In Rapid
chess or even classical chess, this can drive you crazy if you suspect that your
opponent no longer intends to continue playing. On the other hand, you
cannot simply turn your back on the game despite your winning position and
your opponent's passivity, because he might have just been waiting for it and
make a move shortly before the end of his time (I have already experienced
all this) - and then you have to be careful not to lose the game you have not
observed for a while! Fortunately the big chess portals are working on this
problem, too. If a player has actually left the game (no more connection to the
server), a grace period will pass at first (it could be a normal connection
problem or a crashed PC, which has to be restarted by the player), but then
the software offers to abort the game and give the remaining player the
winning score. Or the player who does not make a move for an unusually
long time, but is online, must confirm with a mouse click that he is still there
and willing to play. Ultimately, this does not prevent any form of
unsportsmanlike sitting out, but similar to cheating, this is less common in
online practice than one might think.
 CAUTION CHILD!
Chess is conducive to the development of children and young people
(even if not every young chess player is automatically good at mathematics).
This is not the place to go into detail here. At several primary schools in
Germany chess is taught as a school subject, as it contributes in many ways to
counteract the central problem of learning disorders in children and young
people. At many secondary schools chess workshops are specifically
promoted. Thirty years ago this was (unfortunately) quite different.
Children and teenagers who have a wider interest in chess beyond school
eventually end up in online chess (the classical way to a chess club is often
frustrating when the local club unfortunately cannot offer an appropriate
program for children and teenagers or still holds its game evenings in the
back room of a pub). Only a few portals react specifically to this young group
of players. Playchess offers an own room "Kinderschach", which is not
isolated from the other rooms. Only Chess.com offers with Chesskid.com an
own portal for children playing chess. If you are parents and have children
who are enthusiastic about chess, please have a look at this portal together.
This could be the right place for your kids.
This means that when you play your own online game, you can also meet
children and young people as playing opponents. As an adult, you have a
responsibility here, as in real life, of which you should be aware.
How can you recognize that you are playing against a child? Firstly, on
many portals a click on the player's name is enough to see the player's profile
including age or year of birth. On the other hand chess playing children are
often communicative and start a game with "Hi, I am *** from India, 11
years old." If you (like me) usually don't like to chat during the game or even
at length, make an exception here. Of course, you should not give the child
any unsolicited lectures, but answer questions, give a tip, encourage your
opponent, especially if he plays much worse than you. In short, make sure
that playing with you does not cause frustration or even demotivation for the
kid.
Stay even more responsible and calm when you are taken apart by the
above mentioned 11-year-old boy (or more rarely: girl) on the board!
Because these Chess Kids are also present online: talents who will probably
become international champions or even Grandmasters in a few years and use
online chess to practice, practice, practice ...
 LEARN FROM ERRORS
A conventional game over the board usually ends with a short joint
analysis by the players (What were you thinking in this position? Would I
have played this one better in the 17th move?). This is also possible online,
but more complicated. Usually the opponent is already "gone" before you
could suggest a joint analysis of the game on the analysis board.
Instead, for online games, a quick analysis with the help of engines is a
good idea. In the large portals this is done with a few clicks. You let an
engine analyze the game specifically for tactical errors (strategic analysis is
not that easy, that's the nature of things). Even a computer analysis lasting
just a few minutes can reveal the critical positions in an amateur game where
one side or the other has made a (pre-)decisive mistake or overlooked a much
better move.
Take your time for these analyses! Learning from your own mistakes is
known to be one of the most efficient learning methods of all. And to
recognize afterwards in a game lost in the end, at which point you could have
turned into the winning lane yourself, sometimes helps to cope with the pain
of defeat more easily ("If I hadn't missed that, I would have won!").
The two portals that are advancing very far here in different ways are
Lichess and Playchess/Chessbase.
Lichess offers for all played games a powerful computer analysis with the
usual position evaluations in numerical form, but also with speaking
comments at the crucial points. In addition, the player can also use "Chess
Insights" to have his entire played games analysed from numerous points of
view. The possibilities here are so varied that one is almost confused at first
glance. One should not be deterred by this, even if some analyses seem less
meaningful than others. Lichess computer analyses and "Chess Insights" are
powerful (and free) tools for everyone who wants to analyze his game,
eliminate mistakes and advance his chess playing.
Playchess goes a different way, because Playchess is based on a different
concept and has a completely different history than Lichess. Behind
Playchess is the leading chess database program Chessbase and therefore the
greatest know-how regarding the structuring and analysis of chess games.
Provided that you own the (not quite cheap) database program Chessbase,
preferably together with a top engine that can be used by Chessbase, you can
call up your own games played on Playchess directly in Chessbase and
analyse them according to all the rules of the Chessbase art. Of course this
also works if you are a Chessbase user playing on Lichess or other portals;
then you just have to export the games played there and import them into
Chessbase first. From the analysis of your own games and the automatic
comparison with sample games, you will get hints for improving your game
in a short time.
 
 THE DARK KNIGHT SYSTEM AND
THE BIRD - A RECOMMENDATION
FOR AN UNORTHODOX OPENING
REPERTOIRE
No player, not even a Grandmaster, can master all opening systems in the
same way or even know them in the essential main and secondary variations.
Therefore, everyone specializes in a few systems, which he changes during
his chess life - and this is highly recommended to every amateur player - and
thus expands his opening theoretical knowledge.
As a player over the board in a chess club, for example, you will quickly
become a " glass" player with regard to your opening preferences (this is
even more true for Grandmasters whose games are published in the relevant
game databases immediately after the end of a tournament). The opponent in
the next round of the club championship or the next league matchday will
usually know whether you are a player who opens more often with 1.e4 or
1.d4, whether you are a supporter of the Sicilian or French defence with
Black, etc. In online chess it is a little bit different. On most portals your
games can be viewed by all players, but you usually only know who you are
playing against immediately before or at the beginning of the game. A game
preparation, as you know it from the normal league operation over the board,
is not possible at all (apart from the above described special online leagues
like Lichess4545).
Nevertheless, online chess players also need a solid opening repertoire in
which they feel at home. But online players are freer, because they are much
less "glassy".
Of course there is no perfect repertoire. Fortunately, individual playing
styles and preferences are too different for that. Nevertheless, I would like to
make an unorthodox suggestion here, based on the following assumptions.
Assumption 1: You want to play your own games and not primarily
unwind memorized variations in the hope that your memory is better than
that of your opponent.
Assumption 2: You want to leave the traditional opening theory paths as
early as possible in your games and think creatively on your own (and force
your opponent to do the same).
Assumption 3: You want to decide where the journey is going to lead with
Black as well as with White, if possible from the first move on.
Assumption 4: You want to play an exotic but serious opening system, not
a "diddle opening".
If all four assumptions meet your expectations, I would recommend you to
play Black, the so-called "The Dark Knight System (TDKS)", or "1... Nc6
against almost everything". This system relies on the black knight move 1 ...
Nc6 against almost all white opening moves (1.e4, 1.d4, 1.c4 and 1.Nf3).
This is far less exotic than it sounds at first, and there is enough serious
theoretical discussion, especially about the types of positions that arise after
1.e4 Nc6. An overview including a game database (amateur online games)
and literature tips can be found on the German website www.moritex.de .
TDKS has an irreversible disadvantage - you can only play it with Black.
For the other half of your games, where you are leading the white pieces, I
recommend the Bird opening 1.f4 . Not only, but also in view of the fact that
1.f4 is one of the few opening moves against which TDKS should not be
played (why this is so is also explained on the aforementioned website
www.moritex.de).
With The Dark Knight System and the Bird opening, an excellent opening
repertoire for the amateur online player can be developed in a tolerable
amount of time. Due to its many variation possibilities, it offers a varied,
satisfying and successful playing experience. There are no limits to the
success. At least this repertoire has accompanied the author of these lines to
an online rating above the 2,000 point limit. Even if the choice of opening is
ultimately not decisive for chess success: "The importance of concrete
knowledge of the opening is vastly overestimated by most chess players, from
laymen and modest club players to grandmasters. The decisive factor in
chess is skill and general understanding, not opening knowledge". No one
less than the German super Grandmaster Dr. Robert Hübner has aptly
summed up this chess truism.
 ONLINE CHESS VERSUS ONLINE
POKER
There is a persistent rumour that good chess players are also good poker
players. There is a Russian online poker player (nicknamed "Stickman") who
successfully plays high-stakes poker and is - supposedly - a chess
Grandmaster. There is a German Grandmaster (known by name), who was
one of the biggest talents in Germany around the year 2000, who turned his
back on chess in 2006 and became a poker player, founded an online poker
school and (allegedly) can now afford a life as a private with his earnings.
The above rumor is based on the assumption that poker is a calculable
game (based on the mathematics of probability) and chess players are
particularly good at calculating games. So far, so trivial.
Chess players have an advantage in any game that includes elements of
strategy and calculation. This is also true for Mensch-ärgere-dich-nicht. The
more strategic and predictable a game is, the more the analytical skills you
acquire in chess come into play. But that is all there is to it. Therefore, good
chess players do not automatically win at backgammon or "Settlers of Catan".
But if they do win, they occasionally have to put up with comments like "You
also play chess!" That's the way the world is.
Poker is a game of luck. Not only de jure, but above all game theory.
That's what makes it so appealing. Any "fool" can become a millionaire in
poker, just like in the lottery, assuming the corresponding outrageous luck.
Unlike the lottery, however, active action is required in poker, even if not
particularly differentiated: You bet or fold. More is not to be done. Unlike in
chess, you do not have complete information. In classic poker Texas Holdem,
the card game consists of 32 cards. One player receives 5 cards in his hand, 3
more are dealt face up on the table. So you know 8 of 32 cards, the remaining
24 cards can be in all possible combinations in the hands of the other players
or in the remaining pile, of which one card is laid open on the table in each of
two further rounds. At the end of the game you still have 5 cards in your hand
and like all the other players you will see 5 cards face up on the table. Who
now has the best hand (and wins) cannot be predicted, but the probabilities of
the different possibilities can be calculated. In online poker, this is no longer
done by the player himself, but by a software that runs along with the game.
This means that the possible advantage that chess players are supposed to
have in online poker no longer exists.
In theory (and in practice), it is possible to win at poker in the long run if
you play disciplined and follow a few rules of conduct. Winning can even be
predicted: if you play in a disciplined manner, you can earn about 1 EUR per
hour with a stake of about 600 EUR. If you risk 6,000 EUR, you can also
earn 10 EUR per hour. However, the higher the stakes become, the higher the
number of players who are equally disciplined. This reduces the expected
profit. If everyone plays disciplined, nobody wins in the long run. Poker
players live from the undisciplined players, the so-called "fish".
With a profit expectation of 1 EUR per hour you can't even finance the
Christmas presents for your family. So poker as a serious game is just not the
way to become a millionaire. You can only do that (as in the lottery) by
outrageous luck in poker tournaments with correspondingly high prize money
(and correspondingly high entry fees!). All this would be no problem if the
poker game itself were interesting and entertaining. Which is not the case.
Disciplined poker (especially online poker) is dead boring! The playful
depth and complexity compared to chess is about the same as the comparison
between a stick figure drawing and the fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel. And since you have to invest a lot of time to achieve a measurable
return (profit), online poker is above all: a senseless waste of life.
It is not impossible that "Stickman" is really a chess Grandmaster. Then at
some point he decided to become a professional poker player with the
appropriate stakes and risks (as a poker professional you have to be prepared
to play with a bankroll of 1 million EUR and at the same time mentally
endure incalculably long periods of loss). And the aforementioned German
Grandmaster was simply a clever businessman who, in the high days of
online poker, founded a website "Poker School" and made good money with
poker, not with playing poker. Clever as he was, he sold this website at the
height of the boom for good money (and is supposedly returning to chess).
Chess players are not better poker players. And online poker is a waste of
time. Take these two truths to heart and play online chess!
 PORTALS FOR ONLINE CHESS
Now where is the best place to play online chess? The number of portals
is not as large as in online poker, but it is still not easy to keep track of the
situation. Some portals rely on their own software, on others it is played from
the browser. Some score with an enormous number of players, others
specialize and focus on a smaller number of interested players. The
differences in additional offers are also considerable. With regard to costs
there are also significant differences, but all chess portals have in common
that they are payable. Online chess is not a game for the wealthy.
In the end, a player does not have to decide on an exclusive portal. Playing
on several servers is common and also recommendable. So one can decide for
a main game location, but at the same time use other portals for special
tournaments or special offers and game variants.
In the following articles the most important individual portals are briefly
introduced. A complete listing of all functions was deliberately omitted, since
these are also constantly changing. Rather, the aim is to give an impression of
the essential key points and the philosophy underlying the respective portal.
Because this usually changes less in the course of months and years than the
screen layout, the gameplay or the list of functions.
 Chess.com
Chess.com, online since 2007, is the (self-proclaimed) number 1 among
online chess portals with more than 30 million registrations. This may
include multiple registrations and inactive accounts, but it is undisputed that
at most Lichess still has a comparable number of active online players.
The player can choose between different memberships at Chess.com. The
free account limits the number of tournaments, tactics training and lessons as
well as the analysis functions. In addition, you have to endure advertising on
the screen (at least beside and not on the board). With the paid account levels
Gold, Platinum or Diamond these restrictions are gradually removed;
Chess.com is ad-free from the Gold level on.
Chess.com is very American - and very coloured. Even if you have a lot of
possibilities to adjust the design of the board, the whole thing remains a very
colorful, partly comic-like affair. This style obviously goes down very well
with the general public, but is not for everyone.
Chess.com really knocks you out with news, game offers, forum
invitations etc. You could say: Chess.com never sleeps.
A special strength of Chess.com is the correspondence chess offer. Not
represented on other servers at all or only as a marginal function,
correspondence chess (which is called "Daily Chess" on Chess.com) is here
in the first row. New tournaments are constantly offered by the players
themselves, with different reflection times, rating restrictions or openings
(theme tournaments). For this alone a (free) account at Chess.com is
worthwhile, nowhere else you can play correspondence chess so user-
friendly, also and especially not on the PC, but in the Chess.com app on the
mobile phone.
Chess.com rewards its players with comic-style trophies that you can put
on your profile. These are not only badges for 1st to 3rd place in
tournaments, but even more for achievements or behavior in the game. These
trophies can also come directly from other players. How much importance is
attached to social exchange in the Chess.com forum. Here, too, the fun factor
is clearly in the foreground.
The offer of lessons, videos and other forms of learning is enormous,
maybe already too big to keep the overview. Especially for beginners and
newcomers to online chess the learning offer is large and attractively
prepared. On Chess.com so much is offered that one cannot be sure not to
have missed something somewhere.
It is more clearly arranged in the actual game area, called "live chess".
Here you can easily find more than 50.000 players. So it is almost surprising
that tournaments take place with less than 20 participants. It seems as if a
very large part of the players play only single free games.
The rankings, which Chess.com not only differentiates between the
different levels of consideration, but optionally also according to the
nationality of the players, list almost all title holders who have rank and name
in international chess. However, one rarely meets these giants on the board,
they seem to play mainly free games among themselves.
The permanent tournament offer around the clock is extensive. You do not
have to wait for a long time. And if you don't want to wait at all, you can also
join one of the running arena tournaments, which were invented by the
competing portal Lichess (and are therefore introduced there in more detail).
Chess.com is also the venue of the so-called PRO Chess League, the only
professional league in online chess. As the name suggests, this is an event for
professional chess players. Amateur players can only watch, there is no even
theoretical possibility to qualify for a participation.
Chess.com is so extensive and full of additional offers that the actual
online game is almost a little bit pushed into the background.
 Lichess
The most unusual and (perhaps) best chess portal for online players is
Lichess (lichess.org), online since June 2010.
At Lichess, around 40,000 players are online almost all the time. Every day
more than 1 million games are played, over 1,000 moves per second. This
places the portal on a par with Chess.com in terms of quantity, but also puts
an end to the similarities.
Lichess owes its existence to the French programmer Thibault Duplessis.
His idea: a professional offer for online chess on a "world class level" -
completely free of charge. At Lichess there are no fees, all functions and
features are available to all players, and there are no advertising banners or
similar. Accordingly, the visual impression on the screen alone is much
calmer and less colourful than for example at Chess.com.
Lichess thrives on the input of its founder and an extremely active and
dedicated team of volunteers around the world who take care of this exciting
project. The money, which is necessary, for example to run the servers,
Lichess receives on a voluntary basis from so-called patrons. Every player
can make a donation (permanently or once, by credit card or PayPal). He gets
nothing else than a virtual badge that identifies him as a patron. There are no
further considerations, such as premium accounts: "Lichess will never create
premium accounts." Lichess counts a little over 1,100 patrons - and that is
enough! Lichess even publishes the necessary expenses, which amount to
around 130,000 US dollars per year. Those who absolutely want to spend
money for something in return can order Lichess merchandising items such
as coffee mugs, mouse pads and T-shirts in an online shop - not so easy to
find. This shop is not operated by Lichess itself.
Lichess is not commercial and, by her own admission, never will be. Some
people find it "communist", and so there is e.g. an own Facebook account for
the sole purpose of preventing chess players from playing on Lichess,
because otherwise one would support "hippies" and "communists". You have
to come up with an idea like that first!
Question: If Lichess is free, does that make the offer "cheap"? Answer:
No! Lichess is world-class in terms of features and offerings as well as pure
server power, just as founder Thibault intended. Even more, regarding the
functions and offers Lichess does not only take over well-known standards of
other portals, but creatively develops online chess further. Let us try to
present the whole thing in a structured way.
The pure game runs in a well-organized gameplay. Board size, colour and
design can be freely selected from a sufficiently large selection. The screen
view provides all necessary information even off the board, but the board
itself always remains the central and prominent element. The movement of
the figures is fluid, nothing jerks. Purely subjectively, Lichess offers the best
gameplay of all chess portals.
In a free game, the time control per player can be freely chosen between 0
and 180 minutes (per game) and an addition of 0 to 180 seconds (per move),
the so-called increment. Correspondence chess can also be played with a time
limit between 1 day and 14 days per move, but not as a tournament like
Chess.com.
Most players, however, compete in tournaments that run around the clock.
Lichess sorts the various time limits into the following categories, for each of
which the player also earns a separate rating number:

Bullet (up to about 2 minutes + 1 second increment )

Blitz (up to about 5 minutes + 3 second increment )
Rapid (up to about 25 minutes)
Classical (from 25 minutes on)

The differentiation between Rapid chess (Rapid) and classical chess

(Classical) was only made in December 2017.
Tournaments on Lichess have their own format, which has now been
adopted by Chess.com as an option. On Lichess it is the only way to play
tournaments: the Arena!
In contrast to conventional tournament forms such as round robin
tournaments, Swiss system or knockout tournaments, only the start time and
duration are fixed in an Arena Tournament (and of course the time limit, the
starting position in case of a theme tournament and, if applicable, the
minimum or maximum rating in rating limited tournaments). The number of
rounds is not fixed. Players can also enter, exit or pause the tournament at
any time. So you don't have to be online in time not to miss the start of a
tournament; it's perfectly normal and not at all unsportsmanlike to leave a
tournament; you'll be assigned a new opponent very quickly after the end of a
game, because you don't have to wait until all games in a round are finished;
and in especially long tournaments (e.g. the 24-hour marathon) you can
always enter the tournament for a few games, pause, re-enter, etc.
This tournament form is only possible in online chess. In traditional chess
over the board, such a tournament would fall into chaos. And there are two
more special rules for Lichess tournaments:

1. The so called Berserker rule: If a player renounces half of his

time to think (and the full increment) at the beginning of a
tournament game, he can score an additional tournament point. A
win therefore counts 3 instead of 2 points, a draw 2 instead of 1
point.
2. The "win" rule: If a player wins at least two games in a row, his
points are doubled from the next game on, as long as the winning
streak continues. For example: the first win brings 2 points, the
second win also. The immediately following win counts as 4
points, as does the next win in a row. After three wins in a row, the
player has 8 points (instead of 6). If the fourth game ends in a draw,
he gets 2 points for this draw (twice the number of points of a
normal draw); if he has lost this fourth game, he gets no points (2 *
0 is zero even for Lichess). In both cases, the winning streak is over
and the player must win again two games in a row to earn extra
points.

Both rules also apply in combination, so a victory with the Berserker rule
in a winning series results in 5 points (2 for the victory, another 2 by
doubling, 1 extra point for the Berserker). Sounds more complicated than it is
in practice.
Around the clock the tournament offer at Lichess is good to very good.
Official Lichess tournaments for Bullet, Blitz and Rapid tournaments are
running constantly, plus tournaments with rating limits. In addition, there are
numerous private tournaments, because within certain limits in time control
and duration, players can also organize their own tournaments.
Special competitions such as the 24-hour marathon tournaments (with
more than 10,000 participants!) or the monthly so-called shield tournaments
for the above-mentioned four time control variants are also particularly
popular. The winner of these tournaments receives a trophy, a so-called
shield, for one month, which is displayed separately in his profile.
Other special tournaments are reserved exclusively for title holders and
there is also prize money to be won. None other than world champion
Magnus Carlsen has already participated in (and won) several of these
tournaments and has had the greatness to donate his prize money to the next
tournament. When even Grandmasters and world champions play arena
tournaments, the format cannot be so absurd.
The rating system at Lichess is similar to the ELO rating of the world
association FIDE, but is technically based on the so-called Glicko system,
which is supposed to be an improvement of the ELO system. Normally,
however, the ratings are comparable, beyond the 2,100 mark one belongs to
the 1-2% top players also at Lichess (the top 200 list e.g. in the category
Rapid chess starts at approx. 2,300 points).
On Lichess not only normal chess can be played. Very popular are also
chess variations, which are also rated in a rating system and for which
tournaments are also offered. You can argue about the usefulness of these
variations, and trainers who already consider Blitz chess "dangerous" will
certainly turn a blind eye to the following "chess specials":

Chess960, also called Fischer Chess: The most serious attempt

to advance the rules of the royal game. In Chess960, the basic
position is not predetermined (except for the pawns on the 2nd
row), but randomly (but symmetrically for black and white) with
each new game. The idea here is to reduce the importance of
opening theory and opening preparation and to play "pure chess"
from the beginning. This chess variant was ennobled in autumn
2019 with an official World Championship of the World Chess
Federation FIDE.
Crazyhouse: Instead of a move a captured piece can be put into
play (we used to play something like this in the chess club on
several boards next to each other as “Tandem” or “Tridem”, with
much fun and low chess value).
Antichess: The winner is the one who has no more pieces at
first. A piece that can be captured must be captured (also known
 from analogous times as “Robbery Chess”).
Atomic: A beaten figure explodes and takes the neighbouring
figures into nirvana.
Racing Kings: The winner is the player who has brought his
own king to the opponent's basic row first.
King of the Hill: The winner is the player who has first placed
his own king on a central square.
Three-Check: Whoever gives chess three times first, wins.
Horde: A normal chess army against a horde of pawns.

Whoever thinks in view of these game variations that Lichess is a place of

desperate chess anarchists will be taught a better lesson at the latest during
the training and study functions.
Every player can create so-called chess studies on Lichess and share them
with a limited number of people or with everyone. Theory book and engine
support can be included. Studies can contain several chapters. This all works
quickly and easily and is intuitive to use. The application possibilities of this
new study technique are far from exhausted.
Players can also offer simultaneous events on Lichess.
Also popular is the connection to streaming services like twitch. Here you
can watch a player in the current tournament and follow his live comments.
The quality of these streams is, carefully formulated, very different.
Experienced streamers offer a high entertainment value; however, sometimes
the quality does not exceed the streamer's self-presentation needs.
 Playchess
Playchess (playchess.com or also schach.de) is the online portal of the
German company Chessbase, known and famous for the leading chess
database program of the same name, the chess software Fritz, the chess
magazine Chessbase and a wide range of chess videos and training programs.
In short: Chessbase knows a lot about chess, and has been doing so since the
80s.
This is also the main advantage of the online portal Playchess: it is
perfectly integrated with Chessbase and Fritz software. Where it makes sense,
functions can be called and connected from the programs. Games played on
Playchess are immediately available in Chessbase or can be analyzed later
with Fritz. Anyone who owns Chessbase and Fritz will be happy on
Playchess (especially as access to Playchess is already included when you
buy the programs).
There are two memberships (apart from the free guest access) on
Playchess, the Starter subscription and the only slightly more expensive
Premium subscription. Here, saving money doesn't really make sense,
because in the Starter Subscription you do without live databases, and live
transmissions of tournaments are limited. Above all, the Starter Subscription
does not include the high-quality Chessbase videos. Not every chess video on
the Internet is good or very good, but the Chessbase videos are nearly perfect.
Decades of experience in this field are obvious.
A special strength of Playchess is the (commented and uncommented) live
broadcast of tournaments.
The actual playing is done through a good gameplay with very good
controls. However, there are seldom more than 2,000 players in the so-called
large game room. Playchess does not come close to the player numbers of
Chess.com and Lichess. This can lead to the fact that you have to wait longer
to find an opponent with the desired time limit and a preferred rating range.
The offer of regular tournaments is rather small, or in other words small but
nice. In these tournaments the participation of (also known) title holders is
common. Title holders like to play on Playchess, even without a running
tournament you can find (test on 19.05.2018) 1,400 players and nearly 40
title holders in the big game room. No wonder, title holders use Chessbase
quasi professionally and are in the Playchess game room with a short click.
For the amateur player, however, the tournament offer is predominantly
ensured by privately organised tournament managers who offer smaller
tournaments almost around the clock in one of the "side rooms". Despite the
commitment of these tournament leaders, this tournament offer does not
come close to Chess.com or Lichess.
If Chess.com is very American, Playchess is decidedly "German". Sober
instead of colourful, functional instead of playful, aimed at perfection.
Playchess is directed less at the hobby player and more at the ambitious club
player. To say it with Stefan Zweig: on Playchess chess is rather "earnest"
than "played".
 ICC – The Internet Chess Club
The Internet Chess Club ICC (chessclub.com), online since 1995, belongs
to the bedrock of chess portals. In contrast to the Chessbase portal, however,
the ICC's control and overall construction of the portal is no longer up to
date. The operators have not succeeded (or are no longer able) to cut off old
habits and to go new or even only contemporary ways.
The ICC can be accessed via several different access programs, none of
which is state of the art in terms of usability (this also applies to the Android
app). This may not be a problem for experienced online gamers who are not
afraid of command lines in their daily computer life. Newcomers are simply
overwhelmed by the structure. Essential information as well as commands
must be entered via a console in the ICC. This is too much of a good thing
about tradition.
The ICC is primarily aimed at US players. The tournament calendar is
geared towards this market, which has a negative effect on European players
as there are no tournaments around the clock.
In addition to a temporary free membership, subscriptions can be
purchased for different durations. If you don't want to take out a 1 or 2 year
subscription right away, playing in the ICC is rather more expensive than
with the competition. Is it worth it?
The ICC scores basically only in two aspects. One is the cooperation with
the US Chess Federation. ICC members can also become members of the
U.S. Chess Federation (USCF), and there are special online tournaments
where official USCF ratings can be purchased. If you are interested in this,
ICC is the right place for you. On the other hand, relatively many title holders
(Grandmasters and International Masters) play here, probably out of tradition.
However, these mainly play free games against each other, which means that
the chance to flash against a grandmaster as an amateur is not necessarily
higher than on other portals. Because tournaments (see above) with
Grandmaster participation do not exist at ICC any more than elsewhere.
So the ICC leaves a ambivalent impression. Even the ICC slogan "Where
the Grandmasters play!" doesn't really help. For beginners Chess.com,
Lichess or Playchess are the clearly better offers, for experienced players or
club players the ICC is worth a try.
 FIDE Online Arena
The FIDE Online Arena (FOA, arena.myfide.net) is the official portal of
the world chess federation FIDE, operated by Premium Chess. This sets the
bar high, especially for a working anti-cheating technology, because in this
portal the game is about official world ranking points (even if only for the
FIDE Online Rating).
FOA basically has great potential. The software runs fast and smoothly,
but is not rich in features or customization options (personally, I can't quite
get used to the possibilities of the board display, but that's purely subjective).
Whoever plays here can acquire an official ID of the world federation, i.e.
even without being a member of a chess club or national federation, one
receives an ID of the world federation and can thus (theoretically) acquire an
official FIDE rating by participating in a classical tournament over the board.
This was previously impossible for a clubless amateur player. It certainly has
its charm to be listed in the same world ranking list together with
Grandmasters and other title holders, even if it is "only" in the online rating.
Furthermore, FIDE awards new official titles in the Online Arena, which
have already been presented above. Yes, these are pure amateur titles, which
can also only be acquired in the online game (but according to the FIDE
manual they can also be used in tournaments over the board). Nevertheless,
this was not the worst idea the (over a long time scandalized) world
federation had in the last years. What is annoying is that the title will be
removed from the FIDE players' list if you do not renew your (paid) FOA
account every year - a clear violation of FIDE's own regulations for the
awarding of titles.
In FOA tournaments are not held around the clock, but regularly. Some are
open to all players, some are reserved for FIDE members only. Because you
can (via various other premium-chess accesses) also play in the arena without
having a FIDE identification. However, games against a non-FIDE member
do not count for the official FIDE rating either.
At non specific intervals, special tournaments take place, such as the FIDE
Online Grand Prix (a series of Blitz and Bullet tournaments that are held on
one day) or Blitz tournaments, where a starting place (including
accommodation) for an over the board tournament (usually held in Italy) is
offered as a prize. This is an original and welcome idea.
All in all a passable software, some good ideas, the unique selling
proposition of official FIDE titles and FIDE ratings - why does it all not
work?
Because the potential is not used. Actually thousands of players should be
in the FOA, including title holders. In reality, there are less than 500 players
at any one time, of whom more than half are not FIDE members. It can
happen that a tournament is not even started due to lack of interest. In the
higher rating range beyond 1,900 points, you always play against the same
handful of opponents. In view of the small number of players and games, the
rating itself is close to speculation. The FIDE Online Arena is like a new
building that nobody wants to enter.
It is the operators who have to think about the reasons, not the players.
Maybe it is because community functions were not visibly built in. The
forum is hidden (and logically quite dead). Private tournaments cannot be
organized. The engagement and participation of the players, a matter of
course on the big portals Lichess and Chess.com, is neither encouraged nor
seems to be desired at all. But in the end this is no explanation for the fact
that the portal is basically seemingly dead.
The idea behind the FOA is good, but it is not thought through to the end.
Technically mature, the last conceptual steps and probably also a more
offensive marketing are missing to make the FIDE Online Arena the place for
official competition online chess. The operators at FIDE and Premium Chess
probably expected that life would come into the arena all by itself, if only the
setting was right. The setting is right, but as an operator you have to take care
for traffic yourself at least in the beginning. Only when a critical mass is
reached, self-runners emerge. Want some ideas? Tournaments with prize
money or other real incentives for title holders (where title holders play,
amateurs also play), official tournament cycles with more sensible reflection
times than at the current online Grand Prix, official championships - other
portals cannot offer this.
It remains to be seen whether the FIDE Online Arena will degenerate to its
present state, or whether someone will take the controls and use its
undeniable potential. Then this portal can still become something special.
 Chess24
Chess24 (chess24.com) is online since 2014. With about 7,000
simultaneously logged in members it is one of the larger portals. The focus of
the portal is less on the games themselves, and probably the 7,000 users
mentioned are not (at least not all) here to play.
Chess24 is an ideal information centre for national and international
tournaments that are currently running. This also works excellently via the
app on your mobile phone. You can quickly see where which tournament is
currently running and can join in the live broadcast games. For club players
or other chess friends interested in current tournament chess this is a great
function. Amateur and hobby players, who primarily want to play, can do so
at Chess24 as well, but somehow a bit less well than at Chess.com or Lichess.
Somehow one has the feeling that active playing at Chess24 runs alongside,
besides the coverage of tournaments and the numerous video offers.
But playing in the free account is just as well possible as in the paid
premium account. The latter only activates additional features for videos,
eBooks, cloud engine, training and chat.
 Chess Stars
Chess Stars (chessstars.com) is a phenomenon that is difficult to explain.
One hardly dares to call it a chess portal, so reduced are the functions and
offers. And regarding the members, Chess Stars is probably by far at the
bottom of the table.
But still Chess Stars is something special. Because the few players who
meet here (and almost exclusively at a few fixed times when a tournament or
challenge is played) are, in large percentages, title holders. Here I have (as a
bloody amateur) already participated in Blitz tournaments with less than 20
players, more than half of them title holders! It makes you feel as if you
could train with Bayern Munich (or Borussia Dortmund, of course).
A special feature of Chess Stars is the so-called Master Challenge. Here a
Grandmaster does not make himself available for simultaneous chess, but
plays for an hour against anyone who wants to and places himself in the line.
And this is sometimes not just any Grandmaster. Here I took part in a
challenge with Grandmaster Guseinov (among the TOP 100 in the world!),
which was so poorly attended that I could play with this giant several times
within an hour (all games lost, of course). And Guseinov had enjoyed the
whole thing so much that he added another quarter of an hour. Where do you
get something like that?
Whatever the operators of Chess Stars (the Chess Supersite Corporation)
intend to do, it can't be money-making (or the breath is longer than you can
imagine).
You cannot play Chess Stars around the clock, there is simply nothing
going on around the clock. But specifically visiting the events at the
announced times is an insider tip (which is hereby made public) that amateur
players should not miss.
 ChessFRIENDs
The portal with the inviting title "Chessfriends" (chessfriends.com) is one
of the larger providers after Lichess and Chess.com with around 5.8 million
registered players (including inactive accounts). There are usually around
4,000 players online at the same time, and as with all other portals, this
number is more decisive than the number of registrations. Chessfriends is
therefore big and well visited enough to offer you enough traffic for free or
tournament games at any time of the day.
The free basic account is limited in the number of tournaments and free
games (per day and month). The browser-based display looks clean, but a bit
outdated. On large screens there is no scaling, so that screen space remains
unused. The board display offers hardly any possibilities for adjustments,
what is sorely missed is the possibility to enlarge the board (or even play it in
full screen mode). Also the not changeable display of the chess diagram is
not very convincing.
The regular tournament offer (Bullet, Blitz and Rapid) is moderate. Only
traditional tournaments (Swiss system) are offered, no arena tournaments like
on Lichess or Chess.com. The overviews during a tournament (running
games with the possibility to watch them, round pairings, tables) are well
thought out and easy to use. This is also the most important advantage
compared to Lichess: if you don't like the arena tournaments, you should
have a look at Chessfriends.
Chessfriends also has its own area for correspondence chess (but without
tournament offers).
 ChessWorld
The portal ChessWorld (chessworld.net) is completely and exclusively
dedicated to online correspondence chess. The offer of tournaments (solo or
in teams) is immense. Anyone who likes to play correspondence chess is in
the right place here. However, the whole thing only works in the Internet
browser on the PC, there is no app (and in the browser you already need a PC
screen to display the flood of information sensibly, that does not work on a
smartphone display).
This already limits the usability a bit, because online correspondence chess
(see above in the chapter about the reflection time forms) is most useful for
mobile use, as a training method for live chess.
 SPARKCHESS
„The problem with most chess programs today is that they feel
intimidating. They are often the kind of professional tools that grandmasters
use for training, but for regular people they feel hard and, even worse,
boring.”
This - quite debatable view - is the basis of the Romanian online portal
SparkChess (sparkchess.com). And so the portal is not oriented towards the
functions and game offers of the classical chess servers, but towards "fun".
SparkChess stands for the fast game in between, primarily in 3D board view
(optionally in fantasy outfit) and with otherwise unusual time control
regulations (time per move). In the free version the possibilities are limited,
but the paid version also requires only a one-time moderate price (no monthly
subscription). SparkChess offers software for almost all digital systems
(Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and browser) and thus allows easy gaming via
smartphone.
If you are looking for the sportive challenge in chess, you are definitely
wrong here. For beginners, however, the concept of SparkChess seems to be
interesting. So the computer modes you can play against are deliberately
"human": "They make mistakes, they have moods, they have overlook details,
sometimes they get bored.” They have human names, have a funny comic-
like profile picture, and the second strongest computer mode "Boris"
(according to SparkChess an aggressive, strong opponent for the advanced
player) can be defeated comparatively easily by a strong amateur player.
Clearly SparkChess wants to entertain beginners with a sense of achievement
and an attractive board display and to make them permanently play through
the entertainment. This seems to work. According to own statements about
100.00 gamers play on SparkChess every month.
Who seriously wants to play online chess will not be happy at SparkChess
in the long run. But he can recommend it to those who are looking for a quick
and easy introduction to online chess.
 CHESSTEMPO
ChessTempo (chesstempo.com) is a chess portal on which you can also
play. But the emphasis here is elsewhere: on ChessTempo you can do
training, and that in a range of possibilities that no other chess portal offers.
Thus ChessTempo is clearly aimed at experienced chess players, not at
beginners.
Tactical tasks, opening training, endgame training, potential motives -
ChessTempo offers an environment for everything, combined with numerous
statistics and evaluations. This can irritate a newcomer at first; you should
take a few hours to understand the concept and recognize the possibilities.
To what extent this training offer, which is unique in its entirety, appeals to
you more than the classic use of books, videos and databases, is something
that each person must decide for themselves. As the introduction to
ChessTempo is free of charge, a visit is definitely worthwhile. And you can
also play (against human opponents or against computer bots), but only free
games; there is no tournament offer.
 AND NOW?
Now we' re ready to go! If you already play online chess, this small book
may (hopefully) have given you a few ideas on how and where to continue
playing. If you are new to online chess and even now you don't know how
and where to approach it, I suggest the following:
Start on Lichess. It doesn't cost anything, is clearly arranged and you can
quickly get started playing. First play about 15 free games here. This will
qualify you (regardless of whether you win or lose these games) to participate
in the Arena Tournaments. Jump into these tournaments. Everything else will
take care of itself. Visit Chess.com and Playchess, have a look at the FIDE
Online Arena - all this is completely free of charge at first. Or you can stay
on Lichess and find yourself in good company.
No matter where and no matter how much time and sporting success you
have - just have fun with online chess. Be warned of one danger: Online
chess has an obsessive potential which no addiction control center warns you
of! Once there, always there.
Good luck and even more fun at the royal game!
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stefan Breuer (born 1965), who holds a doctorate in history and is a
passionate chess player, lives and works in Aachen/Germany. His active time
as a club and tournament chess player ended when the seriousness of his
working life began. About seven years ago he started to rediscover his old
passion with online chess. He is Arena Grandmaster (AGM) and plays
mainly on Lichess (nickname Moritex). At www.moritex.de he runs a
website which deals with the opening system The Dark Knight System (1. ...
Nc6 against almost everything).