Playing Online (Pros and Cons)

The first time that I played chess via the internet was 1989 when my younger brother let me play in his place some regularly scheduled telnet games with a friend of his in another city. Both my brother and his friend were programmers. The Internet Chess Club (ICC) came into existence a few years later. I recall my brother claiming that he helped with some of the programming.

When ICC started charging a membership fee, Free Internet Chess Server (FICS) was created to maintain a free playing environment. After that one evening in 1989, the next time I played online was a now defunct site called Net-Chess in 1998. I joined ICC in 1999 and started playing regularly--maybe almost every day. I also started watching live broadcasts of Grandmaster events.

ICC, FICS, Net-Chess, and Playchess (where I started in 2003) are servers that require software on your computer and send small amounts of data over the internet. Website hosted chess, to my knowledge, began with Yahoo! It was terrible. Chess.com, which came online in 2007 and added live chess after a few months, began to change the quality of website chess. The distinctions summarized in Edward Collins' Yahoo! Chess vs. The Chess Servers are no longer valid.

LiChess, Chess.com, Chess24, and others now have hundreds of thousands of games every day. They also host Grandmaster events and other tournaments, as well as organizing their own. ICC and Playchess also seem to be doing well. It has been several months since I have played on FICS, and many years since I enjoyed the experience. The lag there is terrible, and I lack confidence that they effectively root out cheats.

Last night I played in the World Open Game 7 Championship on ICC. It is organized by the Continental Chess Association. The time control was 7+2. I was very low in the pairing chart in the open section. In seven rounds, I managed one win and two draws. I beat the only opponent who was lower rated (according to USCF standard OTB rating, which was used for pairings). I had chances in several of the games that I lost.

I threw away a clear win from this position, although my opponent had done the same earlier in the game. It ended as a draw one move before we had lone kings.

Black to move

In the next game, I again threw away a clear advantage. This time, I went on to lose.

White to move

My previous post here highlights how these types of errors are often the product of haste.

Next weekend, I am playing in the World Open. The time control is 60 + 10, longer than any time control I have experienced in live online play (I have played hundreds of online correspondence games). This morning, I tried two games at 30 + 10. Both opponents were relatively weak and I won easily. Even so, I was happy that in 46 moves, I made no blunders (according to the website's Stockfish 11), and only three inaccuracies. Two of these inaccuracies were opening choices that I might make again. The other missed a vulnerability that could have been attacked.

One of our strongest local players offers a summary of the pros and cons of online play at his chess tutoring site: Casey Chess Tutoring. I also recommend him as a teacher if you are looking for some instruction.

Rather than creating my own list of the pros and cons, or repeating his, I want to address one point: cheating.

How common is cheating online?

A high percentage of my online correspondence opponents have been banned from the website where we played because of cheating; perhaps 8-10%. In live play, cheating is less frequent, percentage-wise. Nonetheless, like many others, I am usually suspicious when I get outplayed. I often report my opponents, and often check the engine analysis before or after such reporting. Most players are clean. Nonetheless, it happens. During last night's preliminary remarks by an organizer, he stated that they go over every game before an event is rated, and that they usually (he may have said, "always") find cases of cheating.

I was on the organizing committee for the Washington State Elementary Chess Tournament, which went online this year. We had detailed procedures for rooting out cheats, and we had some ethical breaches that we needed to address. We also had nearly 1200 participants! The number of suspicious players was in the dozens, and most were determined to be clean. More than 99% of the participants never faced a suspicious opponent.

A few weeks ago, I ran into a suspicious player in an online tournament. That player's computer match rate in the event was 97%. To be fair, however, all of these games were relatively short. I submitted a cheating report. Later, I learned that my opponent is an underrated and very young youth player. The cheating accusation was likely quickly dismissed by the website. The player is clean. The third time we played, I won.

Cheating also occurs OTB. Is is less common? We need to consider the percentages. The number of games that are played online is astronomically large and the number of cheats relatively small (even if it happens every single day). I do not know whether anyone has compiled clear data on the question. Hence we are left with impressions and anecdotes.

My anecdote is this: I have lost to cheats online. I also have won against them. I have played more than 150,000 live games online. More than 150,000 of these games have been 100% clean. The risk of facing a cheat is much lower than the fears associated with it.

Do not let fear of online cheating stand in the way of playing chess during a time of social isolation. Do consider playing in tournaments, even tournaments that have entry fees and cash prizes. In my experience, the quality of play in online tournaments is worth it.