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Hikaru Nakamura's Forbidden Platform

lichess.org

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Re: Hikaru Nakamura's Forbidden Platform

#21

Post by bitcharmer »

mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote: post #6

Paying off Chess streamers is pretty much the only way Chess.com can keep people using their site. Their product is simply inferior in every way, except for their library of master lessons, and all these GMs exclusively streaming through Chess.com. I figure all this spending on sponsorship and GM content is why the rest of their site is so inferior to Lichess. Lichess can spend all their time perfecting the platform,…

> Their product is simply inferior in every way, except for their library of master lessons

That's just not true. I've been using both for a long time and chess.com has more intuitive UI. I frequently find myself exporting my games from lichess into chess.com simply because the latter offers superior game analysis experience.

Re: Hikaru Nakamura's Forbidden Platform

#23

Post by ginnungagap »

bitcharmer wrote: post #21
mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote: post #6

Paying off Chess streamers is pretty much the only way Chess.com can keep people using their site. Their product is simply inferior in every way, except for their library of master lessons, and all these GMs exclusively streaming through Chess.com. I figure all this spending on sponsorship and GM content is why the rest of their site is so inferior to Lichess. Lichess can spend all their time perfecting the platform,…

> Their product is simply inferior in every way, except for their library of master lessons That's just not true. I've been using both for a long time and chess.com has more intuitive UI. I frequently find myself exporting my games from lichess into chess.com simply because the latter offers superior game analysis experience.

> simply because the latter offers superior game analysis experience.

But it does so once per day, unless you pay (the low depth analysis you get for free on chess.com is not great to put it mildly)

Re: Hikaru Nakamura's Forbidden Platform

#25

Post by soegaard »

There is plenty of room for all of Chess.com, Chess24 and Lichess to exist.

Lichess has the best platform to play on and is free to use.

Chess.com is a business. As such they want to earn money. However, without a large, online chess community there will be no subscribers. The amount of effort chess.com has made to sponsor events, streamers etc. is tremendous.

Making a living as a chess professional is tough. Streaming/YouTube has opened the field somewhat: it is no longer required to be in the world top 20 to make a living in the field of chess.

The Chess24 initiative is without doubt inspired by Chess.com. Chess24 gives yet another way for chess players to earn money. Via Chessable (owneed by Chess24) players can sell chess online book/booklets.

If Hikaru has a clause in his contract with Chess.com, that he can't play on Lichess - then the just can't play on Lichess. That's simple.

Would Nike be happy if Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo suddenly appeared in Adidas shoes?

It works the other way too: Wen did you last see Magnus play on Chess.com? [I am aware that Magnus as owner/investor in Chess24 makes his own rules - and plays on Lichess]

Re: Hikaru Nakamura's Forbidden Platform

#26

Post by jstx1 »

bitcharmer wrote: post #21
mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote: post #6

Paying off Chess streamers is pretty much the only way Chess.com can keep people using their site. Their product is simply inferior in every way, except for their library of master lessons, and all these GMs exclusively streaming through Chess.com. I figure all this spending on sponsorship and GM content is why the rest of their site is so inferior to Lichess. Lichess can spend all their time perfecting the platform,…

> Their product is simply inferior in every way, except for their library of master lessons That's just not true. I've been using both for a long time and chess.com has more intuitive UI. I frequently find myself exporting my games from lichess into chess.com simply because the latter offers superior game analysis experience.

> chess.com has more intuitive UI

This is just mindblowing to me. It's not just that I disagree but I think the opposite is true, and by a very large margin too. I guess people just have different preferences when it comes to UI but especially for fast time controls, I don't get how people put up with chess.com, it's outright unusable for me.

Re: Hikaru Nakamura's Forbidden Platform

#27

Post by jstx1 »

hackerlight wrote: post #7
andrepd wrote: post #4

Bah, the sheer audacity of that tweet! Patently lying through his teeth. This reminded me I should donate to lichess.

Wasn't lying. Tweet was old.

He wasn't necessarily lying but from the given information I don't think that you can conclude with certainty that he wasn't lying.

Re: Hikaru Nakamura's Forbidden Platform

#28

Post by the_mitsuhiko »

bitcharmer wrote: post #21
mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote: post #6

Paying off Chess streamers is pretty much the only way Chess.com can keep people using their site. Their product is simply inferior in every way, except for their library of master lessons, and all these GMs exclusively streaming through Chess.com. I figure all this spending on sponsorship and GM content is why the rest of their site is so inferior to Lichess. Lichess can spend all their time perfecting the platform,…

> Their product is simply inferior in every way, except for their library of master lessons That's just not true. I've been using both for a long time and chess.com has more intuitive UI. I frequently find myself exporting my games from lichess into chess.com simply because the latter offers superior game analysis experience.

I would love to know what makes chess.com UI more intuitive in your eyes. They seem quite similar.

Re: Hikaru Nakamura's Forbidden Platform

#29

Post by throwaway290 »

mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote: post #15
throwaway290 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Chess.com allows chess players to make a living from playing chess, isn't that a good thing/valid tradeoff? A non-commercial volunteer-supported project wouldn't be in a position to do that.

In principle there is no reason a site like Lichess can't hold tournaments with a prize-fund sourced from commercial sponsors. The problem is that companies like chess.com and chess24 tend to sponsor these things, and they're in direct competition with lichess.

Lichess needs money itself. It survives off donations.

The evidence points that it is pretty far from being able to sponsor chess players and let them make a living from doing what they love, like a commercial platform could do.

Re: Hikaru Nakamura's Forbidden Platform

#30

Post by ginnungagap »

kzrdude wrote: post #14
dalbasal wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are more reasons, but... At core there is a dichotomy between Chess.com's business-model-ish approach and Lichess' communist approach... to put it in Thibault's own words. No freemium tiers. No subscription plans, ads, etc. Just donations. That approach has been good for keeping the UX lightweight and snapy. Chess.com has been around longer, so Lichess' is still catching up with features. I quite enjoy having t…

I considered getting a chess.com subscription because their puzzles are a lot better than lichess'. However, the default tier/starting tier of subscription only gives access to a pittance of "puzzles per day" which is ridiculous.

There's also chesstempo for puzzles if you are not aware of it already, the puzzles are great and free, with subscription tiers for more features (unlimited endgame puzzles, custom puzzle sets, opening trainer etc.). The UI is ugly, clunky and old, but as long as it is only for puzzles and not playing I can stand it
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