OTB chess club memebership

This is a question for all you players who only play online or at home against friends/ family but are not a member of an OTB (physyical) chess club.
What is/ are the main reason(s) for not playing at an OTB chess club? Or even visiting once? Do you play live, OTB tournaments?

The cost of membership in the club, plus membership in a national federation. For what? One game a week?

OTB is expensive, online is free.
But chess is designed to be a social game between two humans and you're missing out on all those interactions if you're hiding behind a computer. Plus the quality of OTB chess is superior and there's no cheating.

"there's no cheating"

• Several players got caught cheating. Usually a hidden cell phone, or an accomplice signaling.
  At serious tournaments all players get scanned with a metal detector, and access to the playing area is restricted.

@Thom164 said ^

This is a question for all you players who only play online or at home against friends/ family but are not a member of an OTB (physyical) chess club.
What is/ are the main reason(s) for not playing at an OTB chess club? Or even visiting once? Do you play live, OTB tournaments?

Most clubs are free to attend in the USA the first time, mostly. I don't know about in The Netherlands.

OTB tournaments can range from $20 or so for single day quads (3 rounds - small tournaments) to big events that might be $100+ per entry (example: 34th ANNUAL EASTERN CLASS CHAMPIONSHIPS is $118 entry fee for a 5-round event over 2-3 days), but then you have to add hotel expenses ($169 for this event at the site) or you can bring the funk and sleep in your car. Chess player hygiene is a thing that should not be experienced or forced on others.

The main reason people do not play in OTB is because they are likely cheating online, its a big inconvenience to them, or thirdly, they are anti-social hoomans who don't play well with others. Not everyone is as affable as I am, or yourself, perhaps. This is why OTB chess was better "back in the day". There was no online concept - I'm talking the 70's and such. I speak from experience. Big tourneys had book sales, a room for analysis or off-the-cuff blitz games, kibitzing, etc. A real-world experience. Mostly now competitors rush out of the playing hall post-game to mash down some food between rounds. I usually can be found in the bar eating my between-round gnosh.

I'm one of the older guys at events and it's mostly rude little shit kids nowadays who need their ears clipped on occasion. But otherwise, tolerable mostly. The stories I could tell...

So:
1-day: $20 or so
Multiday Big events: $120 EF + hotels (say anywhere from $90 to $170 per night), or bring the funk.

A prestigious club in NYC is The Marshall Chess club https://www.marshallchessclub.org/membership
In Boston, the Boylston Chess Club https://boylstonchess.org/membership

I personally tend to play locally and avoid the hotel cost but If I got the extra cash or plan ahead it's the best option for your soul and your chance to perform best.

Go Milwaukee Brewers
Go Tampa Bay Rays

Yankees Suck!

@fwh2026 said ^

The cost of membership in the club, plus membership in a national federation. For what? One game a week?

In Germany: Approximately €85–100 per year in membership fees, plus a €25 entry fee per team per season. To participate in official league matches, players must be registered with the German Chess Federation (DSB) through an affiliated chess club. No separate individual membership fee is normally required–as far as i know. So the financial burden is kept to a minimum. Lichess isn't exactly free either: €600,000–700,000 per year. The players who voluntarily pay cover these costs.

Over the board is tied to place and time.
Online can from home, any time.

@tpr said ^

Over the board is tied to place and time.
Online can from home, any time.

OTB is honest chess, regardless.
Online is rife with cheating, dishonesty, player profiles poisoned with nothing but 'bullet' games ("mouse chess") to prop up a rating, and terrible manners. My guess is bullet players online would mostly get their asses handed to them by OTB bullet players in the skittles room of any tournament because it's not mouse chess. Squeak Squeak. Playing bullet OTB, physically pushing wood and punching the clock is a different animal. Not to mention the distractions around you. Also, most of the chatter in chat would never happen Face-to-Face. your computer is not running interference for you, so you got to behave and not act like an ass.

Why do you think online events the pros play now require a video linkup for all players? Even the pros don't trust each other. Another gift that Carlsen gave us? You could argue that either way. I dont recall, but I dont care that much about online play.

I'll be the first to admit I'm a little salty here sometimes, but I behave like a complete professional at OTB events because that is my real life personality.

I get it - the convinience factor is a big thing for online, but it gets severely abused, especially here.

@fwh2026 said ^

The cost of membership in the club, plus membership in a national federation. For what? One game a week?

Well,

The idea behind federations is to support the game and provide an overarching framework for the tireless organizers to create and run tournaments. I've been a federation member on and off since the 70's. I've missed a few years here and there due to inactivity, but the USCF puts out a decent magazine you get every month. Some clubs put small mags out as well. It's not just the number of games. It's a support system.

In the pre-information age sure, the federations were needed to support the game. But I know all kinds of good players who have no interest in what the federations have to offer. The federations are a lot about the money, lions share of the costs are born by the average player, while the lions share of the spoils go to the elite players. So many average players don't give a damn about the money, they just want to play, for the love of the game.