Ethics...

And you think i come in here with an attitude!  LOL,  Turn it up champ, if you could get any more upyourself it wouldn't be funny!  As with Pawn you just don't like it when everyone doesn't decide to conform to the way you want things.  My POV has always been to allow others to have theirs without being pressured into conforming to what someone else has tried to decide is right for them...obviously you think and practice exactly in this way. 

This being the case I will show you, and have already, as much respect as you have shown yourself to deserve...NONE! 

I wouldn't personally do any of this bait stuff like faking to drop a piece on the wrong square or talking during the game. I wouldn't have any problem playing some small mind games, though. Sit tall, look your opponent in the eye. If I look really confident, he's more likely to feel unconfident because he thinks I know something he doesn't. Even if he goes on to make the right moves, he may waste time looking for something that isn't there and I'm fine with that.

I did capitalize on my opponent having to pee one time. I see that as his fault for coming to the table with a full bladder.

"It is hardly necessary to emphasize that while a good, hard fight is what most players enjoy best, all fighting should be stricktly confined to the Chess board. Only if you can ascribe your victory to your intelligent and courageous play rather than to trickery, can you enjoy it without secret misgivings. It would be a mistake, of course, to think that courage and intelligence are all that is needed to make a good Chess player. A little work is also required, as in any other endeavor which is really worth while." - Edward Lasker, Chess for Fun & Chess for Blood (1942).

Some may argue that this is a rather old-fashioned way of thinking, and that may be true.  However, there are many who yearn for the old-fashioned concepts of civility and decorum that may be rarer today than in the past.

Brian

 Agreed. Is this because it is true or rather that we tend to forgive (or forget) the transgressions of the past? 

There is also the question of where you draw the line between what is part of the game and what is a cheap trick.

Here's an interesting one I heard about recently. A friend was playing in a tourney and his opponent was hung over. They ended up sitting near a window and my friend sat with his back to the window, forcing the hung over guy to face the bright sunlight. My friend won quite easily even though he was the lower rated player. Was that cheap or smart?

What about playing quickly on a line you're familiar with to pressure your opponent to keep up and possibly mess up? Is that part of the game or a "cheap trick"?

How about something as simple as exuding strong confidence? I used to play magic the gathering and I found that I won more and easier if I put my chair (an office type chair) as high as it would go so I sat taller than my opponent. I also made sure to look him in the eyes during his turn. Sometimes I would do things like ask for certain information during his turn to interrupt his train of thought. (in magic, you can play certain cards during your opponents turn, so asking for possibly important information is perfectly legal). Was I cheating or just playing up my advantages?

I am reckoning that we have short memories as well as rose coloured glasses when looking to the past.

As early as the sixteenth century it has been recommended to place the board so that the sun would shine in the opponent's eyes.  So, for hundreds of years this same behaviour has been both a part of chess reality and a part of this debate. 

In my opinion, if it is your aim to win a game at any cost, then unless it is not expressly forbidden in the rules I should not be surprised at such devices that strive for an advantage.  Some such antics are forbidden in OTB play (like intentional distraction of your opponent), so it would be sensible for this type of player to learn the rules of tournament chess so that his "tactic" doesn't backfire and cost him the game.

If it is your goal to become a better player (regarding the activity ON the board) then IMO focusing on these other issues seems a waste of one's time.  A win by such activity denies the aspiring student of the game the satisfaction of actually improving his game.

If your purpose in playing chess is to meet new people with similar interests, make friends, or socialise I submit that the described behaviour may be counter-productive to your goal.  It is hardly a good idea to engage in this type of behaviour when so many (as evidenced by the hearty debate on the topic) find these actions to be either offensive, distasteful or rude. 

Finally, it is also my opinion that the well played game (devoid of the behaviour listed) is the one that is most admired by the majority of chess players.  Again, some may find a thrill in the win achieved by other means - far be it from me to sully their accomplishment.  It just seems to me that more players appreciate the other type of game. 

Depending on your motives, choose the game that suits you.  Just remember that when you choose your behaviour, you also choose the consequences of your actions. 

Brian

Well said Brian.  An awesome post Sir.

When I am playing OTB and my opponent makes a faulty move, I like to immediately pop up from my chair and walk around a bit, as though their mistake has energized me! As I wander around the hall a bit, I will do my best to give them the impression that I am calculating out the devastating line, even if I have the variation already figured. Fun too is to return to the board with a grin, but not sit, rather just stand by the table, hovering over it like a vulture. If you are particularly mean, it is nice to go grab a soda and just relax in the hall as though the battle is already over.

However you view it, you'll have to admit that winning only on the strength of your game is much more elegant than using psychological "tricks".

Please keep it friendly :)

Please don't post personal attacks or religious posts in the public forums

While I am new here, I think someone should read Ben Franklin's "The Morals of Chess"

One always has a choice to:

Pay Attention to what is happening, sights sounds, actions, twitches, etc

or

Ignore totally

As a poker player, I initially pay attention, make a determination whether the information that I am getting is valid or not, then store this for later use or evaluation.

As a chess player, I NEVER pay attention to the other player's antics, and certainly do not allow any action on his/her part to influence or cloud my judgement of the action on the board. I was taught at an early age that every chess move has a reason; my job is to determine the reason for the move, evaluate my actions and/or reactions, and make my corresponding moves accordingly. That is why chess is so easily played by computers.. Their programming reads the move, looks through its memory for the same move and reacts accordingly.

There's good reason to make that distinction:

In poker, you only have part of the information required to make the best possible move.  You don't know what's in your opponent's hand and you don't know what's left in the deck.  Any additional information that might help you get an indication how strong your opponent's had is is invaluable in this situation, and being able to read their body language (and to separate the acting from the involuntary) is an important part of the game.

In chess, all of the information you need to make the best possible decision is right there on the board.  Any information that comes in outside of that is nothing more than a distraction so ignoring your opponent's antics is not only safe, it's downright advisable.

Thank you!

Chess.com would be a rather drab place without RainbowRising!

He was bashing me, yet, I agree. =)

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oops was testing something sorry  :D