Am I allowed to use the analysis board during a correspondance game?

Hello,

I'm quite new to Lichess (and chess).
I know you can't use computer (engine) assistance during a game (that's cheating of course :) ).

But am I allowed to open an analysis board during a correspondance game (to manually try out different moves and combinations, like I would do on a really chessboard) with no engine assistance?

I've read conflicting statements on this.

Maybe analysis board is not the right feature and I should use the position editor ?

Thanks a lot !

There is an Analysis board specific to each correspondence game you play. This one you are allowed to use.

You get there by clicking on the symbol that looks like a microscope at the top right of your move list (below the rating of your opponent).

Even if it is allowed: Don't do it! The whole point of chess is to try out moves in your head - it's called calculation. You will not learn how to swim using a boat!

But it might be a good idea to set up the actual position on a real chess board. It's less tiring for the eyes and easier to maintain concentration. At least that's my experience with puzzles.

@oberschlumpf

I'm not sure I agree that the point of chess is to try out moves in your head - maybe I'm not strong enough to appreciate that aspect - but even if that were the case then isn't it best to build up to that point?

I wouldn't recommend to a beginner athlete to work on his stepovers because that's what Cristiano Ronaldo does. Instead he works on the fundamentals and then gradually adopts more advanced habits. Similarly, wouldn't using a physical board allow him to look deeper into lines, work on his analysis, develops his strategy? Even specific to visualization, if someone uses a board to analyze 6 moves deep then surely they'll get better at imagining one, two or three moves deep without using the board.

I respect your title and opinion, but I'm not sold.

Thanks good to know this is allowed.

And indeed it might be a good idea to not use it :)

@Zephix Thanks for that tip. I have played a score of correspondence games without knowing that feature was available. Truth is, I prefer to do analysis on my real chess board on the kitchen table, but it's good to know the little secret things that lichess hides around the site.
By the way, I agree with both #3 and #4, even if they seem inconsistent.

@chummer: My recommendation refers only to the time during games and puzzles. After it - in the "post mortem analysis" (latin: "after death") one could - and should! - of course move pieces.

For a beginner the first step is to calculate a single move and change the perspective. Like in the following elementary example: "Can I take the pawn on b7, or is there a trap? What can my opponent do after Rxb7?".

Yes :) I usually « compute » in my head for this :)
It’s just that from time to time I (by chance) find a combination that looks too smart for my brain (usually starting with a check) where the two or three forced answers seems to lead to other forced combinations and I’m getting lost :)

But I like the idea of training to visualise :)

You are allowed to use the analysis board of the corres game, which intentionally lacks an engine. The regular analysis board contains an engine so you are NOT allowed to use that.