@why_am_ yes this game has a trash community, but how could anyone respond to your question you post as a comment instead of in the chat or checking the forums?
I'm not saying that chess is perfect, i enjoy this game far more then i enjoy chess. but if you let someone pick their pieces then it's not really chess anymore. chess evolved online is a much better, and much more fun game, then normal chess. the reason i say it is somewhat abhorrent to change chess, is that it stops being chess then. and that kind of clashes with a lot of chess players world view, even if it's something that they want.
Terroriztical i agree it is somewhat abhorrent to change chess in any way, But it's not pay to win. it's it's play well to win. and beating the challenge everyday is rewarded, but you can move forward even if you can only beat it half the time. also i like the challenge of playing against some one who has proven their skill and has more points to build their deck.
@XazoTak i think that the Soulkeeper is awesome but it's not unbeatable, i could buy one but i don't, but if i get one, i will use it most of the time. i like playing against people 2 ranks ahead of me, and don't like playing people lower rank. and people are downvoting your comment's because they disagree.
i was playing a match and me and my opponent "desynchronized" and it counted as a win. the problem being that i was playing then because i like the blitz games.
@DeadReek
I don't know of a good game guide but the fan page http://ultrafine.de/index.php/en/
And the Wikia
http://annoonline.wikia.com/wiki/Anno-online_Wiki
are good resources.
 "Chess Evolved Online"){kind=icon}
 "Morphobubbles"){kind=icon}
 "Supremacy 1914"){kind=icon}
 "dotHack"){kind=icon}
 "Blight of the Immortals"){kind=icon}
 "Warnet - Knights & Cannons"){kind=icon}
 "Cardinal Quest 2"){kind=icon}
 "Factory idle"){kind=icon}
 "Anno Online"){kind=icon}
Yep!