Blitz Chess Etiquette

My own view is that all Blitz games should be played on an increment basis.

The only reason that 5/0 exists is because in the old days all clocks were mechanical and could not handle increments, Digital clocks have removed this problem.

So long as the guy is prepared to be big about it when he gets shafted like that I dont have a problem.

I'm honestly surprised at how many people think he should take the draw.  I can't even imagine offering a draw in blitz chess.  It just seems to me to be contrary to the spirit of the game.

I play blitz chess differently than I play regular chess.  For example, I almost  always will trade a knight for a bishop in blitz chess, knowing that a bishop in the end game can lead to a quicker checkmate.  A knight game is more likely to result in a run down clock.  I throw people into useless checks not because it will lead to a long term gain, but because it's a two second move for me that might require my opponent to spend 10 seconds, and put him in a position where he's in unfamiliar territory, which takes more time.  Sometimes I sacrifice pawns to gain time on the clock.

In a "real" game, I would never do it, but in a blitz game, absolutely.

I'm a little confused about this sentiment.

If it's right to take the draw, it's always right . If it's wrong to take the draw, it's always wrong. It shouldn't depend on whether you like or dislike your opponent, or what he has done in the past. Your own code(?) should be consistent.

If it's a book draw and it's been shown already (we're just repeating moves at this point) then I'd accept or offer a draw because that's what's on the board.  Winning, drawing, loosing on time isn't chess.  I feel the chess that's been played should decide the outcome, not some outside factor.

 I think the idea is, its not always a clear cut point, its not right or wrong.  There are often other considerations.  One might be if you wanted to expend the energy on a time scramble when facing another round shortly.  Maybe a draw now will give you better pairings allowing a better final score (see Swiss Gambit).

I need to clarify that the game I refer to was NOT a blitz game but a classic FIDE rated game in which the time control was G/2 hours !   Forgive me for not mentioning this before, I should have.

 I dont agree with this at all. Blitz chess is a chess variant, and as such, has its own rules. If you add increments to a blitz game then its not really blitz imo. The classic blitz time control is 5 0  and thats the one I prefer but I also have played thousands of 3-0 games as well.

I do NOT like time controls such as G/2 hours though because too often these games do turn into long blitz games, with the clock often completely altering the "correct result" of the game, such as my game that I speak of in this thread. Another common FIDE time control now is G/90 but with a 30 sec increment from move 1.  These games normally last about the same 4 hours ( maximum )  that the G/2hours do but eliminate " blitz finishes " at the end of the game due to the increment.

Fair enough Reb if that is your thing.

I would say though that say a 2 second increment still feels like blitz to me all the increment does is stop guys who just blast around the board with a rook against say a rook until the flag falls, I would hardly call that Chess myself.

I agree, I also play blitz with 2 second increment and it feels like blitz. To say that blitz with increments is not blitz is similar to saying that chess with a clock is not chess. It is still a fast game and it is possible to run out of time in complicated positions, but King and Rook vs. King and Rook will end in a draw as it should, and without either side having to ask for or grant some sort of favour.

 In such drawn positions as this either player may stop the clocks and call the arbiter and claim the draw.

Presuming there is an arbiter. There is another thread somewhere suggesting that chess.com should implement some kind of arbiter for drawn positions. I'm not aware of any online chess site that provides this kind of thing.

I think arbiter (FIDE) and TD ( USCF ) serve the same function(s) and I have never attended any tournament that didnt have one, or more, of them. You have ?

I have played chess on the internet where there is no arbiter.

Schach, I agree that an arbiter system for internet blitz is over complicating matters. I'm not sure what you mean by "Just play it out". In the case of K+R vs. K+R there is nothing to play out.

The original poster asked what the etiquette is in those situations because it came up in a recent game in Live chess. Reb suggested getting the arbiter, but I think he meant for over the board tournaments.

The problem with open ended time controls is that it makes it nearly impossible to have more than one game per day. You almost always have that interminable game in the first round that pushes back the start of the second round to who knows when. If I spend money on gas, food, drive several hours, rent a hotel room for the weekend, I'd sure as heck like to play 2 games per day.

I've played a fair amount of G/2 hours and 40/2 SD/1 and I rarely find that it comes down to a blitz contest. At least for me it's a long ways from "often". I also play a good bit of G/60, where it's a bit more frequent to get in blitz like situations, but its still a fraction of the time.

 You are right that I was referring more to otb games and not online. Its not ver practical to have TDs and/or arbiters online and I dont expect to see them anytime soon.

I remember when we used to have open ended time controls and then adjournments !  I am glad those days are gone myself ! I prefer something like 40/90 and then G/30 ....... this suits me best I believe. The two common time controls here now are G/90 but with 30 second increments from move 1 or simply G/2 hours. I prefer the former but the latter isnt bad.

Loomis, you may prefer at least 2 games a day now but now that I am pushing 60 I find I much prefer 1 game a day and no way I will ever play 3 slow games/day again as I used to a few decades ago.

Um... back to the topic....

I think if it's in theory a drawn position and you really don't have a huge championship title on the line, i would take the draw. Not in blitz, but otb because in my chess community we're so tight-knit, so it's more honorable to take the draw.

Blitz is blitz - that's the name of the game!  Good win. 

Right so we have only two options, either to compete with mouse skills on 1 0, or to play spend-the night games with 2 and half hours each. Anything that tries to compromise between these two is a big no-no.

For a draw offer to be valid a move must be made.  Offering a draw without making a move is just wasting time. (I admit that some server play does not work this way)