yes i do find them a bit triky you don't know were they move!

Yes they are very weird. I got used to them, and i have to adjust every time i see  normal interface. It must be tricky for newcomers.

As someone who plays online a great deal, I would go further than the previous commentators - and suggest that the design of the pieces is a serious disincentive to use the site.

Most players (as myself, I'm afraid) will play one game and then go elsewhere.

The playing board is, of course, much too small - another disincentive. However, the design of the pieces is the main issue and one which could be rectified fairly easily.

true , I lost many Qs and thus many games , because of the
strange appearance of the pieces . BUT , one gets used to
them and after about 500 games :)  , you will start to like them. I would not change them now.

                                    best/ pilot

@wwwll pilot

I appreciate the point you are making but the issue is one of losing potential members when there are many other alternative online chess sites which have pieces which are much easier to recognise and which do not have thumbnail sized chessboards.

I agree ! The ratio of the chessboard versus the pices is
not good and the pieces are truly not the standard .
It should not be complicated to use FIDE rules here concerning the size and appearence of the pieces. But I
repeat , after many many games , I have got used to the
outfit here on FoD and can happily play with the " fat men"
and " small board"

                                          best/ pilot

Hi Pilot

Well, I don't know how to contact the site owner or webmaster. Maybe we just have to hope that they see our messages and take notice?

Enjoy your chess and thanks for replying!

Best regards from,
Mr Toad
Blog: "Celebrate Chess"

Hi Toat ! 

I dont remeber playing u , but I think I have seen tha
nickname here. I asked the admin why my name suddenly 
appears in yellow color on the list ( Rooms) . But no answer
so far. I have not high hopes they will change the board
and pieces for us , and its ok with me now. At first it was
horrible. I was wondering if the color changes if one
gets to " orange"  , ie. >350 in 3 classes,
.( I am >350 in 10 , 5 , and 2 min. games.)It is very hard
to get to orange in 1 min games because many here can " fix"
their time / lag so one loses , no matter how fast one plays. But some I win ( now at 300/ yellow )by luck or better play than they. But thx for the chat , - the admin
must be somewhere here to find . At least he/she looks at
all messages here , before it gets here to the forum.

                                    best/pilot

Hi Pilot

"Fix the time lag", eh? Some players don't seem to understand that winning by cheating is not winning at all. Are you sure they can do that?

I gave you my blog name so, if you want to contact me, you can just google it. I live in São Paulo, chess is not very popular here in Brazil - so I haven't had much chance to play OTB until this year. Suddenly, I've found a couple of guys who live nearby and both are very keen on the game :)

Good luck with your games,
Mr Toad

.........well , some here are computer/program " gurus" and
the admin knows that. They can " cut" the connection on their time , but " connect" again before it is too late.
Thus gain valuable time. So u are from Brazil :) One of
the best football land in the world ! Beautyful country
with good food and vines ......and nice people. I look u up
at the blog or facebook . I am probably old enough to be ur
father , 62 retired pilot and architect. I live in Reykjavik
Iceland , far up north. Here GM Robert James Fischer won
WM/GM Spassky 1973 , I think it was. I saw 2 games live , but both were draw. Here this strange and difficult man RJF
lived his last years and died few years ago. Two Icelandic
players have won RJF . GM Ólafsson Friðrik and IM Norðfjörð Sverrir. By the way - I got to " orange" class in 1 min just now, with 352 points.:) Best to u and thx for the messages. / pilot

Hi Pilot

Thanks for educating me about lag time shennanigins.

I'm an English guy, living here because I married a Brazilian lady. Actually I'm the same age as yourself :)

I wrote a couple of posts about RJF in my blog. I'm so impressed that you attended this historic match!!

Regards,
Mr Toad.

so we are two " oldies" here :) , sure we are no less
players than younger ones . I am at lest " orange" in
all 4 classes I play , 10/5/2/1 min and my name yellow on
the list and I have got no explanation about that from the
admin. So you are from England. Have flown many times to
London + Stanstead and Glasgow for 40 years. ( B-727 / B-737
and B-757 , also Dc-8 and A-320 ) Now I only travel as a passenger to meet my son who is a professor in Uppsala SW ,
biochemical engineer with 2 kids and wife. She is surgical
doctor at the University hospital. I take things easy now
and have my dog " Tinna" for a companion ( Border Collie)
but when I start to play chess , eaven mute , she runs away
from the tension and my " words"  when I loose for a bad move. Then she seeks a "shelter" from my wife downstairs .
Wise dog my Tinna ! ,   :O> bark bark
                                     best / pilot

Hi Pilot

Thank you for all this! I do hope you will contact me via my blog so we can chat and maybe play a couple of games by email or whatever.

Border collies are great ... "Hi, Tinna!". We have three dogs here, good companions for me. They can't run free, here in the middle of the city but at least they can enjoy being together as a "pack" of dogs. I take them walks as often as possible of course.

I can also be contacted by googling 'toad tryouts' - another of my blogs.

Best regards,
Mr Toad.

Hi again Toat ! I try to look up ur link on the net , blog/facebook and send u a picture of my Tinna ! She is mostly black with white chest and white socks on her 4 legs.
She is 9 years and ended up here after my daughter asked
from the country, if she could have a 2 month very sweet puppy that they were about to shoot , for there was no need
for a f. dog at the farm. It was on a saturday evening and
" daddy" ( me) had had one or two beers,  so I said. " Yes".
The year after she went to Denmark for medical studies , and
Tinna was "MINE" .........lol. And when the carpet gets hairy from her coat my wife says : " Clean it , she IS URS DOG !!. 
                                      best / pilot

you cant tell  who is who on your own side, or the other side, they look to much alike.Game would be perfect if it were classic style. Please Help us

Yes, please make it possible to have traditional chess pieces. 
Every player can choose whichever set he likes...no need to get rid of the current set.

Its their website, its their choice. If you dont like it then go elsewhere and stop whining. If they cared what you thought, and that goes for any of you whiners -- they would have asked.

I personally like the changes.

What I wish would be fixied is all the cheating program users. This website is so inferior to any other website in that regard.

I Agrre with you dont change them now

Mister_ Toad good day "Fix the time lag", eh? Some players don't seem to understand that winning by cheating is not winning at all. Are you sure they can do that? I ask Why do you consider it is cheating ?, I always loose on time and just blamed it on my old computer. Looking forward to your answer. Saludos