Greetings (or lack of)

Hi everyone,

To those of you who start the game with a plesant hello, or simple hi, thanks.

To the rest, come on people it's not that hard.  Two letters is all it is, and it goes a long way.  It is a simple courtesy and it is not extended enough.  In some tournaments  you will be kicked for not shaking hands with your opponent. 

Just do it..... Please ...

Cheers

Hi

I on the other hand dont like just HI, its not enough. I like to talk to people, to get to know them, I made some great friends here on chess.com, but not much are willing to talk to me.

gg :)

When I'm White, I always say hello and/or best of luck or a variation thereof. About half the time my opponent will respond. From there, we might have a conversation. 

With Black, if my opponent does not say hi, our game is usually played in silence.

A few times when I've said "good luck" my opponent says that chess has nothing to do with luck. It's true, but it's just a standard greeting that seems to tick some people off.

I'm usually more than willing to extend a greeting, and it fills me with a little more brotherhood when one is extended to me.  A short greeting does not interfere with the game, and really does make things start off well.  However, some people come to the game like it is the war to end all wars, intending to crush the living juices out of their opponent right from the starting position.  Seeing a "hi" offered would seem out of place, thus no response.  By all accounts, no response is probably the kindest thing you'll get from those players.  It is their way of making a good gesture, because if you were to get a response from them, it would not be something you would like.  :)

EDIT:  Although, it would be comical to say to someone:  hi.  :)  you're going down, scumbag.  :)

Everyone has a paradigm they bring to the game.  We can just continue to enjoy the company of some while hoping others will chirp in.

I gotta try that scumbag thing...

But what about live chess? I usually say "Good Game!" at the start of a correspondance match, but I don't waste time typing in live chess. Is this rude?

I normally say hi at the start of every game.

Then sometimes I get replie I don't really know how to respond to without getting distracted from the game:

Hello. How old are you? I am eleven

or

South Africa? Have you met Nelson Mandela?

or

Hello, what kind of cellphone do you use?

Talking is definitely a distraction and therefore a no-no in OTB games. Online, it can be used to your advantage. Remember to keep your head focused on the game at hand, but bombard your opponent with questions like what's your favourite colour and he might get sidetracked from the game

I know your joking, but if that might actually score a chance to succeed, then probably you wouldn't need to worry about your opponent: the occasional fly and his/her own breathing noise would eventually sidetrack him from the game. :)

I always greet my opponents, and I think it's nice when I get replies (about 80% of the time). One fact I like to remember is this one guy I played with soon after I joined chess.com: I said some greeting statement and, soon after, he disables the chat box. Pissed (evidently, once I didn't say anything rude), I proceeded to play and reach a favorable position. Since he was blocked from my list (of course), he couldn't reach me to discuss a draw - which he fished for twice or thrice in the game. I'm a nice guy, but I took pleasure into dismantling his position and ignoring each and every one of his draw offers. Didn't that feel good?

By the way, some of you might be thinking "oh, cool down, prolly was just some kid". Actually, in his profile, it said he was about 52 years old (I did the math back then). Thus, if he lied in the profile info, that says enough about the player. And, if he didn't, well, I suppose some people are born jerks, regardless of age and whatnot.

95% of the time, I say 'hi' or 'hello' at the start of a game (if I don't, it's because I'm focused on my other games), and I always say 'good game' at the end. If I'm playing against a person from a country I've visited, I'll occasionally mention this.

Most people respond, and some start a conversation. If someone doesn't reply, I take it that they think I'm trying to chat to them and they don't want to be distracted, which really doesn't bother me. With or without conversation, I always enjoy playing chess, so no big deal.

There's also the possibility, or in many cases, probability, that English is not my opponent's first language. In those cases, I understand that it would be daunting to reply with a 'hi' because it might start a conversation that they wouldn't be comfortable with.

I agree that greeting an opponent is polite, but I don't think it's rude for them not to reply. No response would never lower my opinion of someone.

I used to do that too, till I found sometimes people who lose take that as sarcasm.

Now I say Well played if I lose, and thanks for the game if I win

Yes, that's much better. Will start incorporating that. :)

Yes, I've played many prisoners via postal chess. The games might take upwards of 3 years, but we have pages and pages of shared correspondence. Seldom do I get that same kind of insight into a person via online chess.

I usually say, hello and good luck, and thanks for the game, but I don't say good game when it stinks :)

I like to mean what I say.

I hear ya'!  I've got to quit saying hola to the Spanish and Mexican players and ola to the Brazilians and Portugese.  I can fake the Spanish briefly, but can't hang with the Portugese.

Nah, I'll keep it up, I might learn somethin'.

The "disable chat" button on live chess is good!

Yesterday I played against an opponent from Tunisia, he constanly wrote messages to me, that I didn't understand! So, thanks for the "disable chat" button :)