The Right Approach to Online Chess: How to Set Up Your Playing Process from A to Z

In this article, I want to tell you in as much detail as possible how to start playing chess online and, just as importantly, how to approach it properly.

First, I will explain how to set up your playing process, which time controls to choose, and I will share a few interesting strategies that will help you improve faster. This article may also be useful even for those who have already been playing on Chess.com for several years and have a solid rating, because I will share several original methods that I use with my students.

Preparation on Chess.com

I recommend that you play on Chess.com, and I recommend Lichess a bit less. Lichess is the best training platform, but when it comes to playing, not everything is good there. The first thing I dislike is that everyone gets the same starting rating of 1500. It does not matter whether you are a grandmaster or a complete beginner. And usually, if a beginner creates their first account there, they lose their first 10 games. This definitely hurts self-esteem. On Chess.com, however, if you indicate that you are a beginner, you will be assigned an appropriate starting rating, and you will only play against players of your own level. That is why in this article I will only talk about Chess.com.

So, you created an account, but before starting, let’s make some basic settings. You need to click the Play button, then Play Online, then the small gear icon in the corner of the board, and then Play again.

Next, in the window that opens, set the following:

1. If you have already been playing for a while and your rating is above 100, then in Incoming Rating and Open Rating Challenge set it from -100 to +300. If you are a beginner, then do not change anything in this section.
2. Next, for all levels – click Live at the top and activate: 1) Premoves 2) Auto-queen promotion. This will save you a lot of time during the game.
   

That’s all, and you can close the settings. Additionally, I want to ask you: do not change the piece style. Yes, there are many beautiful sets there, but if you choose something extraordinary, you will take a long time to get used to it, and later you will have to spend time getting used to normal pieces again.

Preparing your playing environment

Here I want to urge you to take your games as seriously as possible. Create a tournament atmosphere for yourself. Turn off your phone and all notifications. Isolate yourself in a separate room where neither children nor pets can distract you. You absolutely need maximum concentration because a real brainstorm is coming. It only takes a moment of lost concentration to make a blunder and lose the game. Learning how to avoid these mistakes is one of the fastest ways to improve your results.

Moving on to the game

And here I would immediately like to answer the question about time control.

Those 10 seconds per move are the increment. It is added after every move you make and protects you from losing on time. This is very helpful if, for example, you are up a queen but have little time left.

If for some reason the 15+10 time control is too long for you, then try 10+5. If the system takes too long to find an opponent, then switch to 10+0. But please, no less than that! And especially do not play blitz! This can seriously harm you as a chess player. Remember, if you are pursuing serious goals in chess, never turn it into a mindless video game.

So, we have chosen a fairly long time control for online chess. But I strongly ask you: do not play quickly.

Therefore, try to use 90% of the time given to you. If it is 15+10, then:

1. The first 12 moves should ideally take 5-8 minutes.
2. The next 5 minutes should be spent on moves 12 to 25.
3. Leave the rest of the time for the endgame. At levels below 1500, the endgame is usually simple and does not require special preparation.

How many games should you play per day? I have answered this question many times and I will gladly repeat it: no more than 10-12 games with the 15+10 time control per week. If you play thoughtfully, this will already take a lot of time, trust me! And ideally, you should analyze them afterward as well. Playing games is only one part of improvement. To make steady progress, you also need a structured chess training plan that balances games, analysis, tactical exercises, and opening study.

Analyzing your games

After every game you play, click Game Review and try to study your mistakes. For more advanced players, I would advise not analyzing games on Chess.com, but instead copying the PGN and going to Lichess to analyze the game there in Study mode. It is more convenient. But for beginners and amateurs, it is better to do it on Chess.com. After you click Game Review, make sure to click on your mistakes with your mouse. Read carefully what the computer says and обязательно click the Explain button. Study the improved lines that the computer suggests.

To be honest, for a beginner it is very hard to analyze games independently. The best way is to do it with an experienced coach. For example, I can spend up to 20 minutes analyzing one of my student’s games, but I always explain every mistake in great detail so that it does not happen again. But you also need to learn to analyze your games on your own. Start and try to do it as best as you can. Over time, this skill will come to you, I promise!

Most improvement comes from understanding the mistakes that hold players back, not from memorizing more opening theory!

My Practical Tips for Online Chess

First tip. Avoid losing streaks

If you have just started playing chess and are playing your first games in your life, this advice does not apply to you. But if you have been playing for some time and your rating has stabilized and you are progressing – a losing streak is something that can destroy weeks of your progress. Yes, even if you lost 10 games in a row, it does not mean you became a worse player, but you received a lot of stress and a hit to your self-esteem. It is exactly because of losing streaks and bad performances that players quit chess, and other sports as well. So here is my rule number 1:

I wrote in more detail about how to avoid losing streaks in this article: (link)

Second tip. A backup account

Let’s say you lost 3 games in a row, but you still want to play. Then a second account will come in handy. Right away I will say that Chess.com rules forbid having two or more accounts, but trust me, they will never find out if you do not personally tell them. They do not even ban 80% of cheaters who openly cheat and use chess assistance during games. But if you still feel uncomfortable about it, then for your second account you can use Lichess.

This will be your backup account for bad days, when you feel tired but still want to play and practice. Play there and you risk nothing! And most importantly, you greatly reduce your chances of getting a losing streak.

Also, a backup account will be very useful if you have not played chess for a long time and feel that  you have lost your playing form . It will help you get back into shape without losing rating.

Third tip. Set Yourself a Challenge

It is a bit radical, but it will work very well for those who are impatient, often fall into losing streaks, and for one reason or another have developed an unserious attitude toward chess but still want to improve. This method has shown excellent results in practice, but I repeat, it is not for everyone.

You set yourself a challenge: you sit down to play online rapid games with the 15+10 time control, and you play until your first loss. As soon as you lose, you stop playing for 24 or even 48 hours. And moreover, the remaining time that you wanted to spend playing – you spend training with tactical puzzles. This is quite harsh, but I personally have seen how much more serious a player becomes about every game. You really do not want to lose. But this will only work for those who can keep promises to themselves.

Fourth tip. Abort If Something Feels Off

This is mainly for players rated 1000+. You click Play and the system gives you an opponent. Spend 10 seconds and before making your first move, click on their profile and check the registration date. If you see something like: Registered 1 hour ago, 1 day ago, or even 1 month ago, it is better to abort the game.

For players above 1500+, this advice is absolutely essential.

You may ask me why. After all, each of us was once a beginner who had just created an account. And yes, there is a chance that your opponent really did just create an account and is learning to play. That is why I made the note that below 1000 rating you may ignore this. But think logically: how did it happen that a player created an account one day ago and already has a 1700 rating? You have been studying for several years and only now reached this goal, and he achieved it in just a few games. The answer is simple – it is not his first account. Most likely, he had many other accounts before that were banned for cheating. And now he created a new one again and got matched with you, and now wants to ruin your mood. Sometimes professionals rated 2000+ create new low-rated accounts just to boost their ego against beginners. And there are many other reasons why this may happen, but we do not need to understand all of them – we just want to protect ourselves.

So it is better to abort that game before you make your first move and search for another opponent. Chess.com will send you a warning message saying that you should not do that, but no sanctions will be applied to you, so do not worry.

Final Words

I tried to describe the entire online playing process in as much detail as possible and make this article as useful as possible both for complete beginners who are just starting their chess journey, and for more advanced chess players. I also hope that my 4 tips will really be useful to you. I consider tips 1 and 3 absolutely essential. The last tip also works very well, but on a more advanced level. Tip number 2, as I already mentioned in this article, is not for everyone, but someday I recommend that you at least try this challenge once. After that, I will be glad to hear your feedback and add it to my personal statistics.

♟ Article prepared by Grandmaster and chess coach Valery Filippov ♟

FAQ

What is the best time control for improving at online chess?
15+10 is an excellent time control, provided you are ready for the fact that your game may last up to half an hour. If you do not have that much time available, then I recommend 10+5.

Is Chess.com better than Lichess for beginners?
I would say that Chess.com’s rating system is much easier to understand. But both websites are quite good.

How important is game analysis after playing?
It is very important! Please do not neglect this advice and always try to analyze your games, even if it feels like you barely understand anything about analysis.

Is it normal to have losing streaks in chess?
Yes, of course! It is impossible to avoid them completely. But you can reduce the length of a losing streak and make it less frustrating for yourself. That is exactly what we will be working on.

Should beginners play blitz chess?
No, please don’t. Most likely it will harm your improvement.