why do my opponents get so mad?

You might understand when you get older, but I hope you don't. 

Simple. It is a defense mechanism by the ego. Losing means pain for some. So the defense system that was adopted to lash out when something bad happens.

In a way they turn chess into a real life or death struggle. Instead people need to do an attitude change.

When you lose, your opponent is doing you a favor. They are showing you that there is a weakness that you need to focus on and improve.

It could be that you get ahead in a game and relax. Nothing is harder than winning a “won” game.

It could be that you move too quickly or too slowly and get into time trouble. Both can be equally as bad.

Hopefully most people will get better as they get older and learn to lose gracefully and not with a violent temper.

Best of luck.

guy called me something wayyy worse starting with a c

I’ve had only positive experiences here on this app as well, but yeah people can be really poor losers or winners, and that’s just how some people are. If they lost its because they screwed up or were out played, which is the whole point of chess... so, maybe tell them to play a different game where it’s impossible to lose and there are no mistakes or better players out there...? Like solitaire?

Solitaire with only 4 cards that are all aces. Yeah that seems like an appropriate game for those people. Hope that helps. 🤗