Chess Matrix: Etiquette in Chess

Hello and welcome back to Chess Matrix! Today we discuss the importance of good etiquette (good behaviour) in chess.

Sportsmanship:

Etiquette is a word that means "proper conduct in public or social areas." It is derived from the French word étiquette, which means, generally, "practices of social life," or in other words, "good manners."

We are not here, however to talk about the intricacies of words and their origins, no matter how interesting that is . We are here to talk about etiquette, how it is important in chess (and in other sports and life in general), and why good etiquette defines one's character.

In chess, good etiquette is shown by:

In over the board chess:

- Not damaging the chess equipment;

- Not eating food at the board (one should walk away from the board to eat if food is allowed during games);

- Shaking your opponent's hand prior to and after the game (ideally with eye contact!);

- Not bothering others and not being too noisy;

- Staying quiet during the game to let everyone think;

- Not pestering your opponent with unnecessary draw offers or pressure them into resigning; and,

- Not arguing if there is an issue; instead, pause the clock and call an arbiter/judge.

In online chess:

- Not spamming your opponent's chat box;

- Not trolling (saying "easy game" or "you're bad at chess" is trolling, so avoid this.);

- Not pestering the opponent with unnecessary draw offers or pressuring them into resigning; and,

- Letting your clock run out in a losing position, just to prevent your opponent from getting the next game (in arena/swiss) or delaying the tournament (in correspondence tournaments).

Of course, these rules are helpful, but there are fair play rules that keep tournaments and regular games clean.

- Do not receive assistance from an engine or another person.

- Do not intentionally lose rating to get more later (sandbagging).

- Do not use anyone else's accounts or let someone else use yours (online chess).

You can find the official chess.com fair play guidelines here: Chess.com Fair Play rules

I hope you have enjoyed this guide on chess etiquette (or chesstiquette ). Are there any rules I have missed? If so, please comment below.

Please follow me and share this post! Feel free to check out the other posts as well.

Leafy