thanks for explaining that. they can't move and it's not check, so i guess it's a "stale" mate.
how did i end up losing points on this game?


You played too fast. That is the mistake of every new player. learning to play slowly is very difficult at the start

Yep he is right. Let's say you are playing with the world's best player and you draw. So ofc in normal conditions he would have won but you were so good you drew with him. So you would get the points.

You played too fast. That is the mistake of every new player. learning to play slowly is very difficult at the start
it's a five minute game. i had plenty of time (20 sec to checkmate isn't terrible)

Yep he is right. Let's say you are playing with the world's best player and you draw. So ofc in normal conditions he would have won but you were so good you drew with him. So you would get the points.
i don't mclove it, but i'll accept it
no comments about my ELO. i'm new and improving daily. that being said, one more move on this game (i just got knighted) and i had checkmate. right before that happened, the game called it "stalemate" and subtracted two points from me and added two points to my opponent. what the hell?