Calculation of Game Scoring is Ridiculous!

Of late, I have been kicking other players butts in well over 75% of my matches, but I get penalized at the end because I run out of time by only a few seconds before they do.  Many of these games are against players with much higher ratings where I have them in close to checkmate situations with strong board superiority and power remaining.  To begin with, my rating has been affected greatly by disconnections that has my rating at least 300 points lower than it should be.  I have been disconnected at least fifty times.  In games played against a player with a superior rating, I may have a two rooks, a queen, a bishop and four pawns to there one rook, one bishop and three pawns.  I run out of time, and I lose a point for a game that I have them in a near checkmate situation.  That is stupid scoring!  I should at least maintain a level scoring or even gain points against a player with a 250 or greater rating than that of my own. 

Second point, what is the deal with one minute and two minute blitz games.  Opponents take twice or three times as long as I do to make a move (mine are in two or three second) and the screen shows there clock not moving.  Instead, the icon next to the timer flashes off and on as if it is on hold.  Why does this happen?  In addition, opponents actually gain time on many moves where they go from 40 seconds to 45 seconds while my time continues to decline.  I understand some games are set up to award extra time for capturing pieces but my time never goes up, it stays the same.  Opponents time also increases even when they have not captured a piece.  What the heck is going on?  I can somebody please explain this to me.  Thank you. 

A. Use a better browser.

B. Read the statement that is shown before you log into Live. It says that you will get disconected and that it is a Beta.

C. If you lose on time, you lose a game on time, well, thats a loss. Thats why theres a clock. You cant go around and say, i would win if i had a time advantage. You both get the same time.

D. Both clocks take into account the connection. And, if there is lag, they correct for it. You probably have a normal/fast connection hence your time is always pretty accurate. And im pretty sure you never get extra time when you take a piece.

Further to what joe said...

In Blitz the clock is part of the game just like the board and the pieces.  It should be part of your strategy to use your time effectively as a result.  This goes for OTB tournament conditions too but time management is a far higher priority in Blitz.

If you are crushing someone to the extent that you suggest then it would be fair to assume that you had a significant advantage with a reasonable amount of time on your clock as well.  With enough material over your opponent you should be able to mate them in under 20 seconds.

A

I understand personally that Live is beta, and appreciate that when playing. But I'd like confirmation of the scoring system used after the game - what disctates the points awarded to the winner, and points deducted from the loser?

To illustrate this, I've just played 2 Live games consecutively against the same player.

In the first, I lost it on time and was deducted 78 points.

In the second, I won by checkmate and was awarded 30 points.

This system suggests that the game is focused on who runs out of time first, rather than who plays the better game. Is this the sole reckoning behind Blitz chess? Or is the shorter timeframe simply an added feature of the game?

It could be that your rating was uncertain before you played. This would make it veer wildly after the first game and because this game decreases the uncertainty it would change by less the second time.

What is the scoring system - can anybody tell me what it is or where I can find it?

Scroll to the bottom of any page. Click on FAQs.

Look in the category Online Chess Rules and Questions. (Click on more topics). Scroll down to the question How do the ratings work?; click on it. After the brief explanation, it offers... For more information on the ratings you can go:  

http://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-ratings---how-they-work

Thanks 'ArtFizz

Losing time on clock while ahead: it's called playing with a clock. If you don't want time to be a factor, one suggestion would be to not play with a clock!

The way I look at it, the clock is an extra piece that your opponent has. You've got to beat the clock to win!

There is also a bit of psychology involved in speed chess. A good of convincing your opponent that your making good moves (whether they are good moves or not) is to play fast: which demonstrates your confidence.

Finally, nothing beats the hard work of study and analysis.

Barefoot_Player

Instead of blaming the clock, why don't you take responsibility for your actions and work on your weakness?  If your biggest weakness were something else, would you also blame it on something other than yourself?  Or would you try and improve that weakness?

Part of playing a timed game is managing the clock.  Your opponents are obviously better at it than you, since you are the one running out of time.  And you may be getting better positions because your opponents are playing the clock and not the board.  Part of playing with the clock is time management.  Your opponent has the same amount of time as you. 

If you lose because of time, you lose.  That's part of the rules.  So instead of blaming the rules for your weakness, work on your weakness, and you will improve.  And once you get better at time management, you will win more often.

yeah lol

I sometimes lose helplessly to a faulty clock -- I make a move in 1-2 seconds, then watch as chess.com sleeps for 20 seconds before it registers the move and it docks me the full 20 sec. It's especially frustrating to have a mating attack in progress, see that you need to make 5 or 6 moves in 60 seconds, you only need 6 seconds of real time to do it (you move instantly, you see all of the required moves) ... and chess.com makes you lose on time after the 3rd move.

However, it happens to my opponents as well. I've seen them inexplicably lose on time when their moves were obvious.

I understand it adjusts for lag, what I don't like is when a bullet game effectively turns into a 5/0 game (the clocks may not be ticking, but the players are getting to stare at the board).

I haven't played live chess here in awhile, but it sounds like its the same stuff going on.

I haven't played a whole lot on live but I never have problems. And I am still using dial-up, so it's not that my connection is almighty.