“Time etiquette” for Online Chess.

This sounds like another weird question, but I would like to hear your opinion about this.

I have seen some posts (not so many, in all fairness) with complaints about people being too slow in playing online chess (“well, this guy is just playing one move a day”).

Correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding is that if you start a X days per move game, the expectation should be that you play, at least, one move every X days; if you can/want to play faster than that, or if you want to play almost OTB (which is what I do in the evenings, when my opponents are online), all the better, but somebody who is respecting the time limits is in his full right, I think. This applies especially to people who select 3 or 7 days per move, which probably indicates that they don’t expect to be able to play several moves per day.

What do you think?

Thanks all,

Andrea

If somebody wants to play faster, they should opt for Live Chess, instead.

I would have to agree with you.

i completely agree with you. however, i do understand where the complaints are coming from (for example, going into a long vacation time after joining in a tournament).

vacation abuse...makes a 3day pe rmove game take forever.

I think this happens because some people come to this site and don't realize that people have the option of playing so many moves per day. They may be used to playing blitz chess on other sites...but they will soon realize that this option will benefit them (and be grateful for it) in the long run when they have business or home to take care of and can't play a whole game

Agree totally with AndrewCoda. It amazes me how some people get so frazzled by this.

The only exception are games with no time limit (generally skittles OTB) when one player is taking far longer then the other. Thats the only time you can moan and complain.

I swear to god whenever I play a g/60 game all the complaints (90% of the time, and thats a low estimate) about "what, you mean you actually intend to use all 60 minutes" makes my brain shrivel.  People just can't comprehend that somebody else plays chess at a differant speed then what they play at.

I agree.  I understand the eagerness of some people, but the person taking their time isn't really doing anything wrong.  I play 3 days per move even though I frequently am on the site playing for a few hours a day.  I just like having the extra time for really complicated positions. 

What I don't like is when someone will be playing several moves per day, right up until the point when they're going to lose, then they slow down and take the full time.  Now, slowing down in critical positions is fine.  I usually slow down in the end game if I'm unsure of the position.  But sometimes it's a clear loss and they just drag it out. 

In sum though, none of this matters too much.

Maybe they get annoyed that the player plays (for example) 2 moves per day, every day, until they hang a pawn/piece/exchange/whatever. Then, all of a sudden, they slow down to 1 move every 3/7 days. The player is annoyed that the opponent clearly CAN play more frequently, but just AREN'T. It is probably compounded by the fact that they are playing their other games at the quicker pace.

I can see getting annoyed by this, but it's just so much easier not to. Just start a new game, the other game will end in its own time.

If people did the right thing (morally, like when they lose and take their sweet time or go on vacations), then there would not be complaints.
People abuse their rights, and that is not good sportsmanship. Why should I waste my time with these kind of people (sore losers) when I could play a new, more challenging game instead? Or clean the house, or work? What some people don't get is that yes- they have the right to take their time, but is it the right thing to do?
It is not rocket science- and we all know the answer.

I had much this situation happen to me once.  It was very annoying, as my opponent was in a completely hopeless situation (he only had his king and one or two pawns, while I had promoted a pawn to queen and had several others) and slowed down to a crawl (I think we were on 7 day moves), while refusing to resign until checkmate was imminent (2 moves away).  It was the fact that he had been playing fairly rapidly right up until things turned in my favour that lead to my frustration.  But there really is no point getting worked up about these things.

Wow, thanks a lot for the comments and feedback!

I agree with the totality of you - all good point around sportmanships - or therefore lack of - with some behaviours! Also, it happened to me several times (both here and on playchess) that when engaging in G60 - G90, people complained because I was using all that time! This I find really funny, considering that's the whole idea of using a long time control...

Thanks all for the constructive feedback, appreciated!

Andrea

ive always wondered what  this g60 and g90 people are always mentioning. what is this?

i often procrastinate making moves in certain games if its a tough move in hope to think about in and come back  maybe another 2 or 3 times sometimes. I opt for 14day  moves as it covers me from timeouts.nothing worse! half of m loses are timeouts and also now i cant play tournements over this.

I cant see how people can complain about people not moving fast enough. Its turn based chess its supposed to take a long time. Thats why you play many games.

The only thing I have a problem with is if the position is clearly lost and yet the person hangs on and draws the game out, OR, like now, if people go on vacation during a tournament and drag the thing out forever.

G/60 = game in 60 minutes (each)

 G60 means game in 60 minutes. I.E. you have 60 minutes in which to complete checkmate or you lose on time. G90= 90 minutes

yes...during Christmas I was unable to play like normal and so many people got upset with me...to the point of being plain rude...I finally said something back...on one game...the guy was so rude...I was determined to beat because of how mean he was to me...he was a 1400 so so rating...and 79 moves later I won...I just had to...another example is if I have a computer problem or my children need more of my time...the bottom line is...I do my best...some people are just high strung and need to try car racing if they want a fast hobby...

If you play 1 min chess like I do, you will not be annoyed when your opponent uses the entire minute.