What Are the Most Popular Sites for Online Chess?

Ask any chess enthusiast, and they will have a common answer: nothing beats the feeling of playing chess on a board with real pieces. But you can’t really haul an entire wooden chessboard (which is rather heavy) with you while you are traveling, waiting at the reception for your doctor’s appointment, or simply when you’re away from your chessboard. That’s where the most popular sites for online chess come to the rescue, offering players a chance to practice and play exciting matches anytime, anywhere.

Online chess communities like Chess.com provide the perfect space for you to connect with other chess enthusiasts, exchange useful tips, and even get involved in healthy debates. While it’s not quite the same as the sound of pieces clicking on a board or the intensity of an over-the-board stare-down, these platforms make sure that you are always in touch with the game, no matter where you are. Let’s discover more about the popular online chess sites and decide which one is right for you!

Chess.com

Are you really a chess player if you don’t know about Chess.com? Arguably considered as the go-to platform for everyone, from absolute beginners to seasoned grandmasters. Chess.com was created by two friends, Jay and Erik, who wanted to build a better chess website for the world. Now, more than a decade later, the platform hosts more than 10 million chess games every day.

Chess.com supports multiple game formats. You can play standard games, blitz, or even the up-and-coming Chess960, which shuffles the back-rank pieces for a fresh challenge every time. Do you prefer to ponder on your strategy without the pressure of a ticking clock? The platforms give you correspondence-style daily chess, where you have days to make a move.

It’s also a fantastic resource for learning and improving your chess skills. The site has a library of lessons and videos that cover A to Z of chess, from basic openings to endgame techniques. Their puzzles and tactics trainer is a must-try if you sharpen yourself and test your ability to find the best move out in any position. The platform’s adaptive system adjusts the puzzle difficulty based on your performance, keeping the challenges fresh and appropriately tough. There are online tournaments and events where the top grandmasters come together to compete. This is a great way to test your skills against other talented players around the world.

Lichess

Lichess is a breath of fresh air in the world of online chess, offering an absolutely free and open platform that prioritizes the joy of the game over everything else. In 2010, French developer Thibault Duplessis created the app as a hobby project. He made the website completely ad-free and open-source, which means anyone can access the source code. The design of the website is very simple and to the point, so you dive right into the game. The platform is built by chess lovers, for chess lovers!

You can play classic formats like Blitz and Bullet or spice things up with interesting variants like King of the Hill and Atomic Chess. And if you’re serious about improving, Lichess has some of the best training tools out there, from in-depth analysis with the powerful Stockfish engine to a vast library of puzzles that adapt to your skill level.

Playchess.com

Playchess.com is one of the oldest and most popular sites for online chess, and it has been around since 2003. The platform launched ChessBase and it has become the go-to place for serious chess players looking for a welcoming community. The moment you log in, you will feel a different atmosphere — you will find grandmasters and international masters battling it out in real-time.

If you need a living room where you can watch the World Chess Championship match with expert commentary breaking down every move, then tune in with Playchess.com. For anyone looking to improve their game, the site offers an array of training resources, including video lessons and interactive tutorials.

Playchess.com also lets you download its free client for Windows, bringing the thrills of a chess match to your desktop. With a powerful analysis engine included, you can evaluate your games in real-time and learn from your mistakes. Plus, with the Kibitz Blitz feature, you can kick back and enjoy watching strong Blitz games played by fellow community members.

Chessify

Chessify is changing the way players train at a professional level and improve their chess skills. With an impressive analysis speed of up to 1,000,000 kN/s using the latest Stockfish 17 engine, you can get insights into your gameplay that highlight your strengths and weaknesses.

If you want to experience the advanced capabilities of neural networks, Chessify offers a 100 kN/s GPU server for LCZero. The best part? You can access all of this from anywhere, anytime, thanks to Chessify’s cloud service. This cloud service gives you access to other popular chess GUI programs like ChessBase, Fritz, and SCID.

Chessify has a remarkable database comprising 9.7 billion games that are updated weekly. Thus, you'll have access to unlimited opening theories and historic matches from world champions.

You can even analyze your games without spending a lot of money on them. How? Well, Chessify brings a free analysis using engines like asmFish, SugaR, and Berserk, at speeds of up to 1,000 kN/s. This means you can get instant feedback and learn from your mistakes without giving away money.

Security and convenience are also top priorities at Chessify. The platform allows you to save your games and analyses directly on their website, all protected by encrypted connections to keep your data safe. Plus, with the 6-piece Syzygy endgame tablebase, Chessify’s engines can find the best moves even when the game reaches complex endgame scenarios. Chessify is undoubtedly on its way to becoming one of the most popular online chess sites as of 2024.

FIDE Online Arena

FIDE Online Arena is the official online chess platform run by the World Chess Federation. While the platform is not as popular as Chess.com, it still gives players a standardized environment to play rated games. These games can help boost your official FIDE ratings. The platform uses strict anti-cheating measures to make sure that all games are played with integrity.

You can participate in both rapid and blitz formats, which add a thrilling pace to your games. Regular tournaments help test your skills against a diverse pool of opponents from all over the world. So, pair your practice on chess sets for beginners with online games at the FIDE Online Arena. This way, you can prepare yourself for tournament-level matches.

Final Thoughts

There’s something for every kind of player in this world of online chess. While nothing really matches the experience of playing out your moves with real pieces on a chessboard, the most popular sites for online chess have certainly made the game more accessible. These websites bring something tangible to the table, from Chessify’s professional-grade analysis tools to Chess.com’s amazing community.

So, all you really need is your phone to keep the game alive, even if you’re away from your favorite chess set. When you’re ready to bring your passion for chess from online games to real life, a high-quality chess set from the House of Staunton is all you need! Our carefully designed chess sets combine tradition with luxury. Shop through our collection now!

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