people abandoning games instead of resigning

Just as in life, you have NO idea what's going on at the other end. A phone call, a child crying, an angry parent or spouse. So relax, play a puzzle in another window (if you're on a computer), or read a news feed if you're on you're phone. There are a lot of worse things that could happen to you, than have to wait a couple of minutes.

You do not really understand the game of chess do you?
This is not boxing, or ice hockey or football, chess is much more serious, and if you think children (WTF???), angry parents or spouses (again WTF?????????) are any possible excuse for this atrocious and cowardly imbecilic behaviour of losers then, frankly, pal, you do not get chess. if you are losing you must resign - if anything else (like kids choking) you must resign.

The community only has itself to blame. This is what happens when you refuse rematches. And if you need to justify it: Your win means nothing if you can't repeat it.

Just as in life, you have NO idea what's going on at the other end. A phone call, a child crying, an angry parent or spouse. So relax, play a puzzle in another window (if you're on a computer), or read a news feed if you're on you're phone. There are a lot of worse things that could happen to you, than have to wait a couple of minutes.

The problem with a rating penalty is that members would collude to abuse the system.

Just as in life, you have NO idea what's going on at the other end. A phone call, a child crying, an angry parent or spouse. So relax, play a puzzle in another window (if you're on a computer), or read a news feed if you're on you're phone. There are a lot of worse things that could happen to you, than have to wait a couple of minutes.

Yep, you can, you can report for stalling or leaving etc.

The community only has itself to blame. This is what happens when you refuse rematches. And if you need to justify it: Your win means nothing if you can't repeat it.

Why would you collude to lose more points lol

You can justify it at your low rating because you don't have the perspective of someone who has played against people rated upwards of 2k. And yes, it does mean nothing if you can't repeat it. You can get the win once, sure, maybe even against me, but twice? At your rating? Doubtful. What separates luck from skill is repeatability.

That's why you see all these guys hit 1700 and 1800, and then slide back down to 1600 over the course of a week. If your tactics only work because they're gimmicks, then they're not real tactics. But it isn't like the majority of you don't already know that, so all the more reason to continue, right?

This is why I have zero sympathy for you. You'd rather defend your poor behavior than own the consequences of it.

The community only has itself to blame. This is what happens when you refuse rematches. And if you need to justify it: Your win means nothing if you can't repeat it.

Why do you, a person who is far below average rating, who only plays a few times a month, think you have enough data for your opinion to matter?

KerryGM8 wrote:You do not really understand the game of chess do you?
This is not boxing, or ice hockey or football, chess is much more serious, and if you think children (WTF???), angry parents or spouses (again WTF?????????) are any possible excuse for this atrocious and cowardly imbecilic behaviour of losers then, frankly, pal, you do not get chess. if you are losing you must resign - if anything else (like kids choking) you must resign.

Yaktam wrote:

I understand you’re passionate about chess and the etiquette around resigning when the game is clearly lost. But life doesn’t always wait politely in the background while we’re moving the pieces. The whole reason I mentioned a child crying, an unexpected phone call, or an urgent situation is to point out that sometimes people have very real interruptions that require their immediate attention.

It’s not “cowardice” or “imbecilic behavior” if someone takes a few extra minutes or times out because they had something critical to deal with. Sure, if a player knows they are beaten and everything else in life is stable, a polite resignation is the best course. But, it’s also healthy to acknowledge that chess, while serious and important to us, still exists in the real world where things can (and do) happen.

That’s all I was suggesting: to relax and remember there could be many reasons for a delay—reasons more pressing than a single chess game. I’m not devaluing chess; I’m simply saying that sometimes, you never know what’s happening on the other side of the board. And a bit of patience in those rare moments can go a long way.