It is OK to decline a game with someone if they are too hard to beat?

May Robert J Fischer have mercy on your soul.

Seriously though. Ask yourself it is friendly competition among friends or bullying for the sake of their egos. Decide and act accordingly.

In any case, it's ok to choose who you play with.

Now, if they keep insisting to play with you, it's that they like to play with you. It can be because they are jerks and like to crush plebs, it can be that they like your playstyle, or it can be that they assume lower rated player like to play higher rated players but don't dare to invite them.

If they are well intended (not pleb crushing jerk), you definitely can ask for postmortem, or even casual games with analysis during the game. Alternatively, you can ask for time or material odd.

Once in a while, I play a friend of mine who is a very strong casual player. In any serious game, I would have a very good chance of crushing him on a single tactical blunder, but we often discuss his candidate moves, and I sometimes have him take a move back because of a missed tactic (and I sometimes, although less often, do take one of my move back), and he generally trounces me due to his superior positional skills and chess intuition, and due to my opening repertoire and chess style relying on tactical blunder from my opponent to win. The gap between you and this guys is much greater, but I think a casual game where each move is openly discuss is possible, fun and instructive.

I don't think so because your missing chance of winning!One time this happened and I yelled YES!

answer ;

I too play chess in a club with a player so strong; I will and can not beat him up.

he could literally spot me 2 rooks and a queen and I think I would not beat him.

but I still play him.  why?

first if you lose quickly; its not that this guy is SO good. its cause you have issues keeping stuff safe.

second you can lose a lot about an endgame; if you can get TO an endgame.

and lastly and most;  you can always ask about your errors and weaknesses.

they are Easy for him to see. and it might be very instructive to have him show you some stuff.  so instead of asking all pinched when an obviously strong opponent "beats you like a beginner"; accept your lot (to him you ARE a beginner), so some maturity and humility and try to get some instructive stuff from him.

OP- In OTB games I would stick with opponents rated 200-300 elo higher. It is pointless getting trounced by opponents miles stronger than you. Humans play with much emotion and pride and we always feel threatened by those stronger or better.

Engines like Bismark or Hussar are great for playing against, yet don't play perfect moves like Stockfish, so there is always a slight chance.

After training against them go back and smack the OTB human. Same theory as female tennis players practicing against male hit-up partners.