I used to be a very active over the board chess player 20 years ago.
I had a strong rating, but due to changes of priorities I stopped
playing chess. I picked it up again on line and play. I also rejoined
the United States Chess Federation (USCF) a few years ago and
played in a small number of rated games. I'm of the opinion that
today the chess players are much stronger than they used to be,
the average player that is. A 1400 today is stronger than when I was
active 20 years ago because of the wealth of teaching aids and on
line activity. Am I wrong in this view?
Kelly
I agree. 20 years ago, it wasn't as easy to get a game. Now you can go online at any time (day or night) and find an opponent. There are also a large number of training materials now available like CT-Art, Fritz, Chess.fm...etc. It makes you appreciate the hard work and genius of earlier players like Fischer, who didn't have all of these resources at thier fingertips, and who still managed to succeed.