Dirty OTB Tricks I

In my 36 years of otb tournament chess I have had some experiences in which I consider the behavior of an opponent to be questionable/dirty. I have often wondered what other otb players would have done in such situations.... One that really stands out for me involves a closed RR event that I was playing here in Portugal in 98 or 99. In my game against a FM from Spain I had a good position as black and it was his move in a sharp closed sicilian. I had just made a move which had a threat but he had a perfectly adequate response that I was sure he would find. He went into the tank ( a long think ) and so I went to the toilet and to get a drink of water while he was thinking. While I was still out of the playing room he also came out and met me and offered me a draw, which I accepted by shaking his hand. To my horror when I got back to the board I saw he had made a terrible move and was now losing ! What to do ?  I felt he had played a dirty trick on me and maybe I should continue play and not honor the handshake ? I mean, there were no witnesses and it would be his word against mine .  In the end I decided to honor my acceptance of his draw offer and the game was drawn. What would you have done ?! Also, do you think it was a dirty trick ?

LOL, you got crossed. I would continue playing. Just few more move if not more.

Yeah that was a dirty trick, should have punch his light out, maybe you should have kept going as there was no witness and should really offer a draw in the game area only.

You were more honourable than he deserved. Virtue is its own, and usually its only, reward. Was the Spanish player's name C.O. Jones by any chance?

keep playing buddy....

No you did the right thing, it's your fault for accepting his draw.  You should have gone back and looked at the board first before shaking his hand.  I'd be thinking to myself; why did he come to find me to offer the draw?

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The honorable thing was the draw, but I guess next time, check to see what the last move was.  An even dirtier trick would have been for him to take back his move while you were gone, and if anyone saw it, he could just say "j'adoube."  Other dirty tricks include holding the button down on the chess clock, asking for a draw every move, adding a move on purpose to your scoresheet to make it look like you reached time control, exchanging pieces and dropping them over on your opponent's side, knocking down your opponent's pieces accidently but hitting your clock first and allowing your opponent to pick up or adjust the pieces, putting a piece halfway on a square and hitting your clock, then letting your opponet figure out where the pieces should be and to adjust it, banging a piece down forcibly to disturb the opponent or say check when there is no check, having your opponent offer you a draw but you don't accept it until less than one minute or a few seconds away from time control, moving a knight diagonally and placing it on the wrong square and your opponent doesn't notice (actually happened to me when I looked away for a few seconds in time pressure and didn't notice the illegal move until after the game), moving with one hand and hitting the clock with the other hand in time pressure with the usual case of hitting the clock before moving the piece, or just making good moves every single time.

Well, I agree you did the right thing. Afterall, he offered the draw after he moved.  With all due respect (and a considerable amount is due given your skill) it was up to you to check the board to a) confirm he had moved before offering the draw and b) reassess the position.  But the draw was accepted and the lack of witnesses was irrelevant.  It must have given you heartburn but I believe you did the honorable thing.

On the other hand, your opposition was sneaky and dirty, yes. He should have waited for you to come to the board before making his offer. It was your clock that was winding down, not his.

maybe i am out of order here ... i sure as hell wouldnt have accepted the draw i would have continued to play and beat him for giving the dirty trick in the first place

I simply can't believe your naivety at not checking what his move was first. You deserved to lose half a point for that alone...

Speaking of poor etiquette, last league season I played a fellow and outplayed him going into late-middlegame or so. In a great position I initiated some cute tactics allowing him to 'win' my rook with a knight fork, but securing promotion with a nice knight manouevre.

A couple of moves into the combination, he played the knight check for the fork, but then clearly realised what was going on and went into a trance, as I was evidently totally winning and there was nothing that could be done.

He was miles ahead of me on the clock (had about an hour to my ten minutes) but in the end he had two more ten minute 'thinks' for his last two moves in a position where I was a piece up and about to queen my pawn.

So he chose to lose on time rather than resigning honourably, and he spent an hour of his thinking time to bring this about, despite the fact it was painfully obvious to both of us and all onlookers (who had now finished their games) that he was totally lost and he was being deliberately difficult.

Of course the temptation in that situation is to make some snide remark, but I decided it wasn't worth it and gave him a cursory handshake and then talked to my teammates.

That's not a trick, why should his toilet break be during your time, when you already know what your move is going to be.

It's different when he's offered to get drinks and is away for that, but then it seems the higher you play, the less common that is...

About the original post: well it's a trick alright, but I feel it doesn't go over the boundary. You knew when you accepted that you could go and see what his move was, but decided you didn't need to. I see no reason why the draw shouldn't stand. I bet next time, you'll take a good look at their move first :-)

I would have actually gone back to the board and looked at the position.  But I think you did the right thing in honoring the agreement of the draw. 

That's against the rules.

In practice it depends on the level of play, higher rated players take rules like that more seriously than lower rated players (which is why higher rated players generally get their own coffee).

I don't ever feel the need to inform my opponent when I'm going to the loo, either. I just go.

 Maybe I should explain WHY I didnt check his move first. The event was a closed RR event where IM norms was possible, with 10 players. I was one of the bottom 3 players, one of only 3 that didnt have a FIDE title. There were 4 IMs and 3 FMs , or 4 FMs and 3 IMs ( I have forgotten which) . I had played chess more than 25 years in the US but NEVER anything like this ! This was new for me and ofcourse I was a bit shell shocked to even be invited to play in something like this. I had already decided before the game that a draw would be a good result for me as my opponent was more than 100 points higher rated and had white. I also had too much confidence in my opponent and just KNEW he would find the correct move in the position. So, when he offered the draw I didnt need to see that he made the correct move because I just KNEW he would find it. I was wrong and should have been suspicious when he hunted me down away from the board but I wasnt. We were playing in an old abandoned theatre up on the stage. Only 5 tables / 10 players and an arbiter. At each were nice wooden sets and boards with digital clocks with name placards of every player and the flag of the country they represented by each board. This was a first for me and I was in a state of shock s wasnt thinking as I normally would. Anyway, thats my excuse and I am sticking to it.

I wouldn't do it, but I don't think it's a dirty trick really.  It is your responsibility to evaluate the position and decide if it's a draw.  Even when I think a position is a draw, if I'm offered one, I spend a little time re-evaluating.  I've had lots of people offer me draws in games I was completely winning.  Who wouldn't want a draw in a lost game?!

By the way, I think Nigel Short said-

"If your opponent offers you a draw, try to work out why he thinks he's worse off."

 I will only give you a hint. He was FM in this event ( 99 I believe ) and he is now IM. I dont think its proper to name him and thats why I havent.

is there a diference from national master canidate master and fide master about the incodent though he made one blunder and you made the other but i am sure you learnt from it