user24850: I read somewhere that playing and making moves otb is better than online for improvement. Is this true?

user18809: They're pretty much the same thing once you get used to both, specially for long games. In Blitz, you'll be able to move a bit faster or slower depending on how much you've practiced and the difference could be critical.

user18832: I play most (>95%) of my games online, and when I play with a real board, I find a bit difficult to translate positions I already played and the visual pattern matching of tactical situations takes longer. Not to look at the board then, helps a bit.
So, I think, when you prepare for a board tournament, or something like this, preparing on a real board will help. When you only play online all the time, it doesn't matter.

24850: <p>I read somewhere that playing and making moves otb is better than online for improvement. Is this true?</p>
 18809: <p>They're pretty much the same thing once you get used to both, specially for long games. In Blitz, you'll be able to move a bit faster or slower depending on how much you've practiced and the difference could be critical.</p>
 18832: <p>I play most (&gt;95%) of my games online, and when I play with a real board, I find a bit difficult to translate positions I already played and the visual pattern matching of tactical situations takes longer. Not to look at the board then, helps a bit.</p>
<p>So, I think, when you prepare for a board tournament, or something like this, preparing on a real board will help. When you only play online all the time, it doesn't matter.</p>
