The benefits of playing UNRATED live chess...

word.

 I play at a different website.

I still don't understand why people need to protect their rating.

The rating is an estimate of your strength based on past performance, not an exact measurement of absolute strength. It's not going to stay at a high, and it's not going to stay at a low.

Sometimes i'll go on a streak and lose 9 in row, playing like a complete idiot. And then I'll win 9 in a row, not playing like a genius, but at least not blundering.

Such is the nature of blitz. Ratings plummet and sky-rocket.

 Why can't some people accept that?

i accept it cuz i couldnt care less what my rating is cuz is suck period at chess.

"I still don't understand why people need to protect their rating.

The rating is an estimate of your strength based on past performance, not an exact measurement of absolute strength. It's not going to stay at a high, and it's not going to stay at a low.'

I'd rather my ratings be accurate though, isn't that the point? I want it to be as close a measure of absolute strength as possible.

To me online chess is more enjoyable with less pressure and knowing that your rating won't go down unfairly.

Well, that's an easy question...at least for me.  I like to keep my rating intact, as it makes it easier to attract stronger opposition. Period.

Playing unrated chess is like kissing through a screen door.

Tell us all about it.  :-)

I've been playing plenty of unrated live. I don't take the games seriously at all, and I doubt many others do either.

If you want a serious game of chess do not play unrated.

I often play blitz games unrated and it's maybe more fun. For longer games though I feel that I am not motivated if there are no points in it.

It's good for what if's in openings though.

"I've always wondered why this move isn't in my opening book..."
"OH GOD! good thing this is unrated"

Here is a chart of my rating history at blitz chess (Fics).

www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/89fa544ea8.png

Are you seriously telling me that it matters whether you resign a game here or there because someone is being a jerk?

Also, polydiatonic, I can see why you like to play unrated games.

I think its because people confuse rating with score. 

I refuse to be confused with ratings or scores.  I play for fun!   I wish you all  the fun this game has to offer.  Happy New Year in chess! 

No actually I play quite serious in unrated chess, I try about as hard as in rated. The only difference to me is that I don't care about the result (so much, or an annoying time pressure loss), but I'm still totally concentrated on the game.

It's underrated. Some pressure is taken off, but for me not all, and ratings/pressure don't need to be involved to play an interesting game. CC games have little pressure (unrated or not, because of the huge amount of time) but can turn into excellent battles  I would just not want, if I finally got to 1700 where I think I am, to get some cheap losses against 1500s forcing me to work really hard and totally outplay them to get back up (this happens to me very often in long chess). It's not necessarily "wuss chess". But these swings do happen, and I don't want to get paired with a 1650 (at the moment about equal to mine) who is actually much worse than me but is just on a winning streak.

...or so you've "heard". 

People take unrated games very seriously.  The evidence for this is that if my opponent plays badly and looses he's just as likely to come unglued and start spewing obnoxious comments as in a rate game.  Someone is taking things way to seriously...

Please enlighten me because I don't know what you're talking about with your last comment.  Maybe if I follow you're link it'll clear up.  If it does I'll update this comment.

Dude, you are totally right. I usually play live unrated. Stress free chess = more fun chess.