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There are more high level players on ICC because that's where the high level players are. Chess.com also has a decent interface, but they particularly excel in chess news, event coverage and community support.


That said there are plenty of verified expert-level players there, whom are probably at least 1 standard deviation above and beyond satisfying 99.99% of the world population of people looking to play chess.^1

[1] - https://en.lichess.org/stat/rating/distribution/blitz


> There are more high level players on ICC because that's where the high level players are

It appears this is not the case, anymore. I logged in to both servers this afternoon, and counted the number of players rated over 2350. Lichess had 50, ICC had 6. I logged in again tonight and saw roughly the same ratio.


Those data points could be valid, but it's important to note that chess ratings work relative to the players involved. A site that only allowed pre-schoolers, for example, would still have 2300+ rated players.


WHAT ratings though? Ratings are not comparable across different player pools.


My Lichess & ICC ratings are typically within 50 points of each other. It's the same for a friend of mine who plays on both servers, too.


ICC is basically dead, even top players are leaving. Takes forever to get a game.




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