disappearing act

I am playing this guy in a tournament and each time he has been faced with a difficult move he has logged off for maybe an hour ,this is the third maybe fourth time this game he has done it.I know this is turn based, correspondence chess but when both people are online wanting to play It is the height of ignorance to just log off I feel.What the hells he upto.

I've always wondered that myself.  I've had many games where we made 5-10 moves, and then all of a sudden he's gone, sometimes for 10 minutes, then he's back and makes a move that is the perfect move. 

one might suspect cheating but i bet he is just slowing down, thinking harder. A lot of people play at work and it cant take thier full attention, so when they really need tomake a smart move, they postpone it until a break or when they go home. I wouldnt worry that he logs off to check the moves in a computer, because there would be no reason to log off.

Maybe he does his best thinking in the shower.. or thereabouts.

I'm not a big "real-time" CC player but if I've been real-timing with someone for a sequence of moves, I do usually type something into the message window (e.g. "Dinner's ready.  Check you later.  ;)" ) so that they aren't sitting there staring at nothing happening for however long it takes them to realize I've buggered off.

 thats ok "disappearing for three days to think about a move.The problem I have is it is like the guy is just trying to upset the rythym of play or getting counsel from another person.He will disappear and often come back and play the move I thought he was going to make.And a good way to gauge if your winning or not is if you know your opponents next move.He is under pressure,And stalling. 

I dont believe it since I posted this he has returned.And gone again in ten minutes.

Thanks Bruiser maybe you are right the player is in another time zone maybe seven eight hours behind myself.I'm just getting impatient to end the game his situation is hopeless anyway Hes looking for a getout and there is none.I should just chill a while. Thanks

I have a solution. I am now using conditional moves, hows that,inspired idea ?now each time he comes on and makes a move about three of my pieces may reply to his moves. A little Machiavellian? So he shouldn't be so ignorant.

Yeah I have a comment on this too.  When  I wake up I get on Chess.com to make my moves but then have to get to work.  I come home during lunch time at which time I make some more moves.  Then after work I may spend another hour or so depending on how quick people are to respond.  I coach youth basketball so I have to leave in the evenings to go to practice.  It may be with this guy, if he is like me, just the rhythm of his life.  

What annoys me more is when I happen to notice that their online in the "my online chess" screen, and they don't make their move. I've seen some people online at 5 different times for more than 20 mins and they don't make their move...I look closer and they move in other games, but not mine....whats the deal???

I usually "blitz" the opening moves because I know most of them by heart, however once a heated middle game pickes up, I tend to try to slow down.

I do that. Sometimes I wanna check an opening more, before deciding what to move, or play a couple of blitz games with that opening. so sure, I make moves in other games, but just because they take less time.

I'm not sure if it applies in your situation, but if I've got more than a dozen or so games going and things are otherwise hectic (as always), then I usually set up an informal rotation scheme, moving in games 1-4 on day 1, 5-8 on day 2, 9-12 on day three.  Repeat as necessary.

Gotta let e-chess be e-chess guys.  If you want it over and done with, there's always the Live scene.

Also, do I look any less online when I'm reading forums or beating my head against the tactics trainer?  I know there's a special online icon for 'live,' but doesn't everything else just look like the little green radio tower?

My opponent was online 5 different times (4 different days) for more than 20 mins at a time....he made several moves with his other games...(btw he only had around 3 or 4 games going on) if it were like your situation, I wouldn't mind, but this is quite obviously a deliberate stalling and complete avoidance of my game...I know it's e-chess...but can't players show a little courtesy? If you are not going to move in a hopeless situation JUST RESIGN!

let's face it; part of the mystery of turn based chess is we just don't know what the opponent is doing when they sign off.  my gut instinct is that the vast majority of time the opponent isn't doing anything wrong or suspicious but I could be wrong.

I can't count the number of times I've looked at a position, tried a bunch of lines on the analysis board, couldn't decide what to do and then switched to a different game.  I've even done it multiple days in a row, multiple times a day.  You know how much time your opponent gets between moves before you start the game; they aren't being rude by using every minute of it. Besides, if it's so "hopeless", just use the conditional moves and start a new game

Hey, sometimes when an opponent makes a great move and I can feel the pressure I just need to log off because I can't face the truth at the moment.     In one game that I was origionally winning against a superior opponent, it took me nearly three days to admit to myself that he was right and had successfully fought me to a draw. It's corrispondence chess, you agreed to the conditions, people are allowed to move as quickly or as slowly as they want. If you don't dwell on what your opponent is doing, you won't feel irritated by it.

Just another wee thought-sometimes I have myself put off moves as described above simply because I hadn't  a clue what to do and was  putting off decision; have read also that SOME FAMOUS PLAYERS COULD SIT LONG PERIODS   at the board unable to decide which opening to use.!

Enjoyed reading xandy's poem by Robert Burns so here's another (part)quotation

"Then gently scan thy brother man,........ to err is only human"

"There is a fine line between playing chess and just sitting staring at the board like an idiot."

Had better correct that last phrase...."to step aside is human "