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I usually play 10 minute rapid games, no increment and what really annoys me are: Blitzers. Those people who are either premoving pretty much every move or just just every piece not matter what. More times times than not I end up winning because they do something stupid like hang their queen and they just resign or get back ranked check mated. Here's an example. My opponent make 33 moves in less than 3 minutes. https://www.chess.com/game/live/104874081273 Yeah, I still suck, but I'd be interested in hearing what annoys other people and maybe an example game.

As a USCF club TD, I have a player who can cause disruptions both verbally by muttering to themselves in a fashion that can be heard by all the player in the small hall. Or by slaming the pieces and/or clock on occasion? I am aware of the various rules around disruptions including 20N1, however after having spoken to this player about the behavior, they have claimed that it is due in part to a medical condition. We want to be careful to not discriminate against this player, and have considered moving them to a different playing area, but we are concerned about it still affecting their opponent. Does anyone have any advice, or is there a more appropriate forum to discuss this type of issue.

What level should I learn the Sicilian, and how much theory does it have?

Just wondering.

I’m new and searched the forum but couldn’t find this answer, are the U1450 tournaments USCF rated? I also noticed that they are not marked with the “***” as the open tournaments are. Does this mean anything other than they are open only to those with a U1450 Chess.com rating?

https://www.chess.com/game/live/103514539263 look at opponents profile

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Hey everyone! I'm a high school junior who has a semi-ambitious goal: to reach 1800 by the time I graduate. I'm roughly 1350 right now, and while I enjoy studying and doing puzzles on lichess, I don't have a lot of time for chess; I have other interests and other things to do for most of the day on most days. To this point I've been staying sharp by playing daily games, doing puzzles sometimes, and playing the occasional game (time frame being whatever I have time for). How can I, with my limited time, achieve my goal and make the push to 1800 in under a year and a half?

Hi, I played a U1400 tournament for the first time on Dec 23, 2023 and I ranked 2nd. But I don't see the rating published on uscf website. I thought it was a rated tournament but it was my first time so maybe I am misunderstanding something. Any guidance on when the ratings get published on uscf and also which tournaments here are rated here, will be helpful. Thank you.

How is this possible? Not only that, this one player has played several of these mysterious tournaments and has gained rating all the way from 1600 - 2000!

I played the black side of the Scotch Gambit in a game earlier today, and my opponent fell for this trap; not sure if there's an official name for this trap. If any of you know, pray tell :-)

This question arises from a casual blitz game I played with someone I know a few months ago. I don't remember the position, so this is just a random example: (Again, not the actual position) Let's say I was black here, and it's my move. Seeing as I was in a hopeless position, I went for a cheap trick here– Kg4, to hope he hangs his king. My opponent, who was completely focused on the other side of the board, does not move his king, and plays a move on the queenside. I take his king and claim a win. He says this is not allowed, since it's illegal to take a king with a king (at least I think that's what he said). My opponent is a more experienced and higher-level TD than I am, so I believed them, but I just want to clarify. Again, it was just casual, but assuming we were playing by USCF blitz rules, what would be the ruling here? If taking the king is not allowed there, am I supposed to claim that they made an illegal move without taking the king? Or am I even able to claim a win there? Thanks in advance!

I participated in a few rounds of my first uschess members only tournament on Dec 1 but still do not see a change in the changes in my online rating on USchess nor do I see it listed as a tournament in my tournament history. Any ideas?

Hi, I recently played in a OTB blitz event, with the time control G/5 w. D/0. A disputable scenario occurred: White has 5 seconds and is down a queen. They are trying to push their pawn to promote. Black is up a queen. Black has no more time to focus on moving. Mutual illegal moves occur. Position passes and black flags first. White calls the flag. Black claims that both sides made an illegal move. White claims that the position had already passed, thus nullifying the illegal moves. The TD’s ruling is that the game is indeed a draw due to the illegal moves, despite the fact that 1. Both players were able to show the TD the exact position, it was not a mess. 2. Both players agreed that the illegal move sequence had passed. The TD seemed unsure of themselves when making the ruling. I decided not to pursue my claim because the situation was so silly to begin with, and I was the dirty flagger guy . So, no big deal. But for the future, I was hoping I could receive a clearer explanation. Was the TD’s ruling justified? Your verdict? Thanks!

note: there may be some other variations, these are just what I saw :>sorry

Just came across it in a game and I was curious if it had an official name (like Damiano's mate, or Anastasia's mate).

Thank you!

Why is this a good thing??I see people like this and they are constantly stuck on their floors. A huge list of tourneys where its 1500 >> 1500, 1500 >> 1500, 1500 >> 1500, 1500 >> 1500, , etc, for eternity. Seems very strange... What was the original point of this? Is it really still valid? Seems like negatives outweigh the positives but I am maybe missing something?

see if you can solve this puzzle

I've plateaued at 1800 for about half a year now, longest I've been stuck at a rating level. I'm working on tactics and endgames mostly, outside of playing actual games. Any thoughts on how to break past it, or will it just take a lot more time as the rating ladder goes up? Thanks