Online chess

Online chess is chess played through the internet. The International Chess Federation (FIDE) regulates online competitions in which players transmit moves via the internet, either through a virtual board on a website or application, or through an electronic board connected to the playing platform.

The term does not by itself specify how long the game lasts. Online chess can range from games of only a few minutes to much longer limits on thinking time. Not every competition has the same supervision either: FIDE distinguishes events without specific player supervision, events where an arbiter supervises players remotely, and hybrid events where players are physically supervised by arbiters while still making their moves through the internet.

The difference from over-the-board chess is the channel used to enter and transmit the moves. The distinction from correspondence chess is more conceptual: modern correspondence games may also use the internet, but they remain a remote-play discipline with their own rules and normally much longer thinking periods.