It is not good to see a top player behaving like an idiot. I absolutely hate losing but you wouldn't know it if you beat me because I would never take it out on my opponent or anyone else for that matter. In fact I congratulate my opponent on playing a great game. The point is that no one is asking them to enjoy losing but at least when they do to make sure it's with dignity.
Bad Losers
Sort:
When I was a very young man (about 18 years old) I entered the Hastings Christmas Tournament. I entered late and was placed in the top section, this was a bit of a shock to me as my rating of around 1950 didn't really warrant this. I questioned the tournament director (a personal friend) and he said that they expected me to do okay and that I was correctly placed. As I had entered late I would have to play the next person through the doors that was good enough to play in the top section also. Well, I have to be honest with you, my heart sank when I saw that I had been paired with a minor German Master (call him B). In previous years I had watched B's games and due to a striking facial similarity, he was known as Bobby (Fischer) to my friends and I.
I had black against the 2350 rated B and the game started as a Ruy Lopez, my move order indicated to B that I intended to play the Marshall variation. B was having none of that, and played an anti-Marshall system. The game drifted on another 15 or 20 moves to a fairly even but complicated middle game position, whereupon the occasion got to me a bit and I offered the fellow a draw. B declined my offer with a vigorous shake of the head, an exaggerated hand gesture and laughter in his voice. He then started to play a little more quickly and fell slap bang into a little trap I had set before the draw offer. B would lose the exchange and a pawn, his position ruined. At this point B leaned across the board extending his hand and said "Yes, okay... a draw". I looked at him like he was mad and replied "Too late now, mate". At which point B stood up (over 2m (6' 6''), a real "door filler") in the tournament hall (150 long play games in progress), growled loudly and swept the whole board and all the pieces on to the floor! he turned on his heel and walked straight out of the venue. I sat for a short while to regain my composure at the empty table, and completed my score-sheet with nearly 300 sets of eyes on me!
Although his score surpassed mine in the course of the tournament, and we saw each other (from a distance!) every day for a week, he never apologised.
I didn't care though, I was known amongst my friends for a little while as the "Bobby basher".
When you're eighteen, not much bothers you, but I think it would now.
That's a cool story Ray.
Funnily enough, if that happened when I was 18, i would have lost it, but now with the advantages of age and maturity???????, I'd have to say I'd be delighted if I managed to phase someone that much.
I do not mind losing if I it was a good game.
However I absolutely HATE when I am in a hopelessly won position and subsequently due to boredom of the game I make a massive error and either cause him to even out or to win (and I mean a real error....like losing my queen for no compensation). At this point I am likely to heap abuse on my opponent, I usually apologize shortly after and always feel like a fool but it really REALLY aggravates me to lose this way.
Also people who keep playing endgames in hopelessly lost positions hoping to maybe claim a draw annoy me, if I were playing in an OTB tournament I would understand this kind of behaviour...but playing on online game on chess.com and fighting so hard to avoid a deserved loss of rating is silly.
About 40 years ago when I started playing chess, a friend took me to a chess club and arranged a game for me with, unbeknownst to me, one of the top players in the area. That player, Walter Suessman, did not know how new I was to the game and we waged a positional battle that went on far longer than my friend expected. Walter could have just attacked and I'm sure I'd have been crushed. After the game Walter told me that he beat Sammy Reshevsky in a game in NYC once and Sammy refused to shake hands or speak to him afterwards. 2 or 3 years later, they met in a tournament in New Hampshire. Sammy won and as soon as Walter resigned, he put out his hand for a shake and said, "How have you been, Walter." like they were friends.
These posts reminded me of that. I quit playing the game a few months later until I recently found Chess.com. So far, most of my opponents have not behaved badly.
Dec 4, 2008
0
#8
Ray, great story. I had an experience about 3o years ago playing in dublin in a large tnment played on those long tables so about 6 games are set up on one table. I blundered a couple of pawns in the opening and my opoonent looked very smug. But I accidently found I got a good attack in the open lines and ended up winning. He attempted to kick the board up in the air but because it was one long table he only succeeded in upsetting a few pieces on our and the adjoining boards. I was childishly amused by this I have to admit. He seemed more annoyed with himself than angry with me.
He wasn't Ukrainian but he was a Northsider (comment won't translate outside Ireland apologies)
MM78 wrote:
Ray, great story. I had an experience about 3o years ago playing in dublin in a large tnment played on those long tables so about 6 games are set up on one table. I blundered a couple of pawns in the opening and my opoonent looked very smug. But I accidently found I got a good attack in the open lines and ended up winning. He attempted to kick the board up in the air but because it was one long table he only succeeded in upsetting a few pieces on our and the adjoining boards. I was childishly amused by this I have to admit. He seemed more annoyed with himself than angry with me.
He wasn't Ukrainian but he was a Northsider (comment won't translate outside Ireland apologies)
We call them "northsiders" yankees where I come from ! 
MM78 wrote:
Ray, great story. I had an experience about 3o years ago playing in dublin in a large tnment played on those long tables so about 6 games are set up on one table. I blundered a couple of pawns in the opening and my opoonent looked very smug. But I accidently found I got a good attack in the open lines and ended up winning. He attempted to kick the board up in the air but because it was one long table he only succeeded in upsetting a few pieces on our and the adjoining boards. I was childishly amused by this I have to admit. He seemed more annoyed with himself than angry with me.
He wasn't Ukrainian but he was a Northsider (comment won't translate outside Ireland apologies)
Not that great bastion of manners D6W then?
Dec 4, 2008
0
#11
Homer, I'm not a southsider either :-) That was an interesting tournament for characters. I played another guy and was piece up etc, he dragged it on and on (fair enough) then started to whistle out of tune through his teeth which was really annoying. Anyhow i eventually got him in a mating net and suddenly he announced in a very loud voice for all to hear "That's stalemate, that's draw!". I had the immature pleasure of saying equally loud for all to hear: "Please move your a pawn, then it's mate next move."
I suspect that a lot of tantrums are really aimed at ones own play. No one ever "Wins" a Chess game, they can only capitalize when we decide to "Lose" the game. So no one ever loses without having done Something Wrong (whether they know it, or not! I think GM's will tend to "know it" more than most :)
Win some...lose some....even the greatest.........Nimzovich was known for his antics when he'd drop a game.......throw pieces across the tournament hall, get up on the chess tables and start kicking...etc etc etc....none of us that love a discipline or game want to fail at it........be frustrated with yourself.......don't
take it out on your opponent.......as the old idiom goes...."the winner in a game of chess, is the next to the last person to make a mistake.......
nobody should be a sore loser
or act like a @!#$%^& idiot, as amcharg stated above...XD
it shows the bad sportsmanship part of him/herself
what one should do is shake hands and congratulate one's opponent for playing a great game!
Jan 10, 2009
0
#18
I confess that i am a bit of a sore loser. In fairness, i don't mind at all losing to somebody who is better than me; after losing i ask which areas i can improve on and 99% of the time they are happy to help :)
However, if i play somebody much weaker than me and i lose, i do feel very annoyed, but i get annoyed at myself and definately not at my opponent!!!! why should i get annoyed at them? if i were them, i would have done exactly the same thing. And i do not get in any tantrums at all i don't take losing that badly :)
And of course, i do shake my opponents and and congratulate him!
Ravi
V Ivanchuk is a great player and often plays exciting chess. His tantrums when he loses are also well known. His latest one in Dresden has caused a huge scandal and may cost his team dearly and damages the image of chess as well. Is there another top player that behaves so badly when they lose? I am not aware of one myself. I have played several Ukranian players here in Portugal and none of them take losing well, is it something in the water in Ukraine ? Last monday I played a rapid event here in Lisbon and I defeated a Ukranian FM and his reaction is also questionable , though not as bad as Ivanchuk's. The procedure here after a game is that the players reset the pieces for the next round. My opponent mumbled something under his breath in Russian and made some hand gestures in disgust (apparently) and refused to reset his pieces but he has no problem doing so when he wins. The Ukranians here are all known for such poor behavior when they lose and it make one wonder what they are taught in the Ukraine about sportsmanship? With a player of such stature as Ivanchuk to set the example though, I suppose I shouldnt be so surprised.