Disconnection

In online chess, a disconnection occurs when the internet or electronic link between the player's device and the playing zone, the platform area that hosts the board and clock, is lost. The board may stop updating, moves may fail to send, and the server no longer receives normal activity from that device.

This is not the same as lag. With lag, communication continues but arrives late. During a disconnection, communication is interrupted. Both can look similar to the player for a few seconds, so the interface or connection status is the better guide.

Consequences depend on the platform or tournament rules. Under FIDE's online regulations, the player is responsible for maintaining a stable connection and the clock continues during a disconnection. A player who reconnects before time expires may continue with the remaining time. Failure to reconnect can result in a loss unless the competition's specific rules provide another outcome.

A supervised tournament may add requirements concerning cameras, devices, location, and communication with the arbiter. A platform-wide server outage may also be treated differently from an individual connection problem. A pause, reconnection period, or automatic result should therefore not be assumed to work identically everywhere.