Winning your games. Losing your games. How do you handle it?

Over the years, I have played quite frequently on chess.com, playing all kinds of opponents all over the globe. I learned how to play chess at age 8. but unfortunately, I didn't have many people to play against. Thanks to the Internet, it's easy to find someone who is always wanting to play, no matter what the time or day is. I have a passion for the game. The players? Well, it depends. How do you handle yourself when you win a game? Do you quit, do something else, and come back to the site later? Do you feel your opponent was making such silly moves, that you want to rematch them, knowing you may be able to beat them again? Do you use the chat room to chastise your opponent for making, what you feel are, dumb moves? I'll tell you what you should be doing: Using your computer analysis to figure out how you won the game. Now! How do you handle yourself when you lose a game? Do you quit, do something else, and come back to the site later? Do you feel you were making such silly moves, that you want to rematch your opponent, thinking you can beat them now that you can play white? Do you use the posts to call your opponent a coward, when they do not want to rematch  you? I'll tell you what you should be doing: Using your computer analysis to figure out how you lost the game. Weather you win or lose, you should be using your computer analysis. And always take the high road. You may think you are smarter then your opponent, but the truth is, if you're paired up with that opponent, they're pretty much just as good at the game as you are. A lot of my games, weather I win or lose, I'm making the best move possible more then 50% of the time. How is yours? You may be better at this game then your opponent is making you feel. However you decide to handle it, just don't talk trash. Just enjoy the game, weather you win or lose. Many people can play this game without all the hate. I think you can, too! 

I think it helps a lot to have had the experience of playing in person.

With more or less the same group of guys, week after week.

Because then you see people have good and bad days. Oh look at Tom, the guy can hardly even win 1 game tonight. Or there's Dave, the usual punching bag, but he's on a winning streak, wow, Dave is dangerous today.

You see people you may even admire, and they're on a good day... and they make some huge blunder. Maybe they were even winning all game long, for 50 moves, and it's just that one dumb blunder that decided the whole game.

But no one curses or accuses their opponent of cheating. People aren't happy to lose, but they stick around, do some analysis, and it's on to the next game.

The point is chess is tough, and there is no human who doesn't struggle to play well, so you learn to lose with some measure of grace. You learn losing is natural, and that no one is above making big mistakes. You learn even the best of us have days where we can hardly win a game. And you see that no matter how bad it it was, next week you can come back and try again.

And this is especially true for professionals.

Whenever I have a humiliating loss, I think of pros... their losses are for the world to see. Their humiliating out of form losses are in front of crowds, and cameras, and their moves are enshrined in the annals of history to be seen by future generations. Their losses decide championships and honors and even the money they use to buy their food.

But these guys don't curse at their opponent. They don't quit chess forever. They keep coming back for more against the toughest competition in the world... and you know the pain doesn't go away. You know in 10, 20, 30 years from now they'll be able to recall their one big blunder. People like Bronstein or Korchnoi who lost world championship matches by the narrowest of margins... you think those moves didn't haunt them until they day they died? Regrets like those last forever, you just learn how to live with them. But that didn't stop them.

Well said, Preggo. It's kind of the point I was trying to make. I can't count how many games I've won, where my opponents queen was fully exposed for the taking, and usually they quickly resigned. I'm not laughing each time, thinking my opponent is an inferior chess player. You said it yourself, chess is tough. There is so much you have to keep track of while playing the game, we make bad moves because we are only human. How do I know they weren't being distracted on the other end by a nagging wife, or one of the kids trying to get daddys attention? Chess is a very fun game, but some opponents take their losses to heart, and they shouldn't. Some opponents take their wins with them on a big ego trip, and they shouldn't. I was trying to get an idea on how other opponents handle their wins and losses.