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Internet chess and the downfall of the chess club...

Chess clubs are probably still around for :
... live chess tournament events;
... slow OTB activities;
... lack of internet;
... social cohesion in your community;
... a quiet night out;
... personal needs, like to see a familiar face.

A smile says lots in a chess club. I cannot get that same feeling from the internet. A happy face profile picture beside the chessboard could be a good start. It would look stressed if time is short or turns sad if you lose. If people are viewing the game, the bottom of the screen could have the faces scrolling by ... displaying the available facial expressions.
After playing chess for some years via the internet I ventured to the only chess club in my town mainly because I wanted to take part in chess tournaments and I needed some practice over the board as I was not used to 3D chessboard :D. Now I visit it 2-3 times a week just to play a round-robin tournament with other people. But yeah, OTB is truly the chess as it is. I enjoy it more than online chess. The only disadvantage is... lack of pre-moves, lol.
Too bad young men are rare to see there, me being one of them :) Most people only attend tournaments, but don't go to the chess club.
Used to go to several chess clubs. Like was said, the premoves and players available at any time of day are the main advantages to online chess.
Plus, you can get to play half naked and visibly under the influence of alcohol with Online chess. You can hiss and scream at your opponent and he never minds. You can have a smoke whenever you need one. And I'm very bad at 3D board recognition too.
I remember how i wasn't used to 3D board when i first played at my club when i was younger, i got used to it now though :P
I never an idea how much the game of Chess is engrained in American culture. You guys have more clubs in one state than we probably have in half the nation of Germany.
@ride-UIED
Thats not right. I think there are nearly four time more Clubs in Germany then in the USA are. If you compare

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schachverein 2700 Clubs with about 95.000 active Players

with the uschess side and search for all Clubs the Search gives you 733 clubs.

With four times more people lives there.
Well apparently, I need to go outside more, lol!

But I find it depressing that the nearest club I know of lies an hour or so away from me. I live in bumfuck nowhere, it has its nice sides too but you can't really expect something sophisticated as a Chess club here

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