Draw Etiquette

So, I've been getting draws from people when it seems that the game has swung in my favor. 

And, to be honest, I've done this as well.  lol.  When I'm losing, I've often offered draws!  hahaha. 

But on a serious note and in an effort to be fair and courteous, I"m curious what is the standard chess draw etiquette. 

Is it just plain wrong 100% to offer a draw if you're clearly losing (down in signficant material or under major attack, etc.)?

And what about people who offer draws and say, "Hey, I have to go to work.  Do you mind if we draw?"  

I played someone who did that to me, but it was kind of a weird situation.  It wasn't like he ditched me exactly when he started to lose.  We played 4 games and on game 4 he offered a draw CLEARLY when he started to lose in that game.  But we'd played before and I won some and he won some.  So, I think it could have been legit, but then it did do it after I took a piece from him for free.  lol. 

Anyhow, very curious how you guys handle draws.  Thanks!! 

I usually eat yogurt if that happens.

There is no etiquette for offering draws on internet chess. You can try to bluff your opponent out of a full point by offering a draw at any time. But I offer draws when the outcome of my remaining games can have no impact on the placings. If they decline then I often resign and move on to the next tourney. It is never rude to offer a draw whether your winning or losing, it is a legitimate tactic. Hope this helps your thinking.

well yeah, drawing offers add a bit of physcology to the game. If you wish to refuse just refuse.

First, I'd recommend playing your games out further... you will likely learn more even if it is a defeat.

But as for draw etiquette, it is generally the better side that should offer. It is rude for a player who is losing to offer a draw.

Offer a draw once only or at least several moves between offers and only if the position has changed substantially. Multiple draw offers can be considered an attempt to distract one's opponent.

Etiquette may be practised otb but it seems to be a different situation with internet chess. For example, what gm or highly rated or etiquetted player would continue to play a game that is totally lost and merely plays on hoping for an opponents blunder otb. 

I'm very new to this game, but as I understand it - if you repeat the same position 3 or more times it is considered a draw. Am I misunderstanding something? If that is correct - what do you do if your opponent won' t accept the draw? Please excuse my ignorance.

If the position is repeated 3 times, and you click the draw button, the server will end the game as a draw by repetition. Your opponent has no say in this.

Do what you like, how the opponent takes it is completely up to him/her.

Nothing is rude unless the other person deems it so and it is all subjective in any case.  You can't control how the other guy/girl reacts, some of the things some think is rude is fine by others, if they don't like you offering draws they can simply opt not to play you again.

Then you are probably mistaken about the position having repeated 3 times. There are some subtleties you have to watch out for when determining whether it really is a repeat of a previous position, such which side has the move or the ability to capture en passant. If you post the game we can look at it.

The only time I offer a draw is if I have the inferior position and I know EXACTLY how to force the draw. Otherwise I wait for my opponent to offer a draw. I’m at low enough of a level that it’s very common for either side to win a drawn position. Offering a draw too early admits that you have no plans or ideas on how to win, which should just motivate your opponent. 

How do I post the game?

You should really only offer or accept a draw if a win of either side is impossible. Otherwise what's the point?

There are exceptions in tournament play.  A player with a clear advantage might choose to offer a draw if the half point helps secure his or her desired standing in the tournament.  In an online tournament with simultaneous games, the player might offer multiple draws if the math is in his or her favor.

If I feel neither of us can win, and if I out rate my opponent I may offer a draw. If my opponent has the higher rating I usually wait for him to make the offer. BTW I only play Online chess.

There are instructions at http://www.chess.com/forum/view/help-support/a-guide-to-posting-your-games-on-chesscom

I once read that the time to offer a draw is after you (the player proposing the draw) have made your move, and thereby the player being offered the draw can choose to explicitly refuse a draw, or else the other player's next move represents a refusal to accept a draw, if they do not feel like having to refuse the opponent verbally.

Instead, I am being offered a draw many times after I have made my move.  Aside from the very subtle, almost imagined, implication this presents that the way I play somehow devalues the worth of playing chess at all, and therefore necessitates a gentlemanly draw, this means I cannot make a move as a means of refuting the draw, I have to make a point of saying I refuse.  I don't see why I should, it's like I owe something a bit extra by way of my opponent.  And if I did refuse a draw, I've technically done my opponent a disservice and therefore my psychological patterning has changed subtly, surprisingly enough, because I've been asked rather than told.  They can do this multiple times too - isn't that a form of gamesmanship?  It also raises the philosophical question of whether being offered a draw, and not accepting or refusing by deliberate statement, as you cannot now make a move by way of draw refusal, you have not done something gamesmanlike yourself by making the opponent wait for a response to his draw request on his own playing time, when he needs the question to be settled to know whether he should continue using the time on the clock to further his pursuance of a victory, or end his struggles in assurance of a draw.  I'm sure this will have never actually occured to any of the good folk playing here, but it seems to come into my mind when it happens to me.

Also, why do I keep getting offered draws when I am queen or two rooks up?  Who are you to make such an offer? A Mafia Don?  The Big Boss?

You can ignore the offer and wait for your opponent's move and only then accept it or decline it either verbally or by making your move... That's actually the best course of action. Once offered the offer is valid until you decline or make a move.

If your opponent insists on an answer you are free to ask to see their move first.

Offering a draw several times in a row is considered to be rude. You could ask the arbiter to warn your opponent.

...and when you're asking the arbiter to intervene, you can also ask them to bring you more yogurt.