unfair play policy

is someone listen out there....the "fair play policy" is not uniform...i have not not played unfairly...rather opponents have!! So why am I being penalised...for goodness sake check it out....i may as well stick to palying on yahoo games

@OP: What has happened to give you difficulties? We'd be happy to help, but we need more information.

Same happened to me too. Chess.com keeps telling me that I have aborted games and or played unfairly, While, I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOT!??!? Please remove the 5 minutes wait between games restriction, its annoying and unfair!

@DavidKhoury: This is difficult for me to assess since I cannot see what you are doing on your end. If you have been punished for aborting games, but you have not been clicking the Abort button under any circumstances, then you should probably fill out a Support Ticket.

http://support.chess.com/Tickets/Submit

Keep in mind also that if you take too long to make your first move in Live Chess, the server will abort the game for you, and that abortion will be charged to your account.

Can the time limit for the server aborting a game befor the first move be changed?  Sometimes I like to think more than 10 seconds to make my first move. ffs.

I would like to make a complaint about your rating system. I feel its a bit unfair to be penalized 11 points for playing someone who may be rated below me only because they have just become a new member, but are definatly better than what there rated at. It will take years to get up the point system by only getting five points to win but loose 11 if I loose....I protest.

Also my last complaint..This random system of yours seems a bit,,umm not random. I have been black for eight or nine times in a row. What gives?

@jim_ostler: You, in effect, have much more than twenty seconds to decide on your first move. With only twenty possible first moves by either side, and only a few of those being plausible, one can easily have a good idea of what he/she will play before the game even starts. For example, one may feel like playing a game with 1. d4; the opponent probably doesn't matter. For another example, if someone plays 1. e4, you may decide well in advance of the start of the game to answer 1. ... c6 if 1. e4 is in fact played.

If you would like to cater your playing style to the specific opponent with whom you've been paired, this should probably be reserved only for turn-based games.

I am not qualified to comment on the rating system. I speculate that it is quite fair, after having had the opportunity to be refined since Chess.com's inception in 2007. New members must have a starting point as to their rating, and, unfortunately, some new members are much better than their 1200 rating indicates. To offset this, many new members are much worse than 1200, so I believe all balances out.

Finally, your having been assigned Black about eight times in a row is a sign that the randomization feature of color assignment is working. Besides, assigning color is not as simple as flipping a coin. The system also examines your opponent's previous color and how many times he/she played as that color. If you play Black ten times in a row, then rest assured that you will soon play several games as White.

When restrictions come off ?????? I didnt know about aborting games. I aborted some games because I didnt know. When restrictions will come off  ???????

Good lord, you've certainly racked up some complaints in your short time here at chess.com.  Your avatar photo seems very appropriate. 

@Melburn13: The restrictions will be lifted after you simply play more games fairly. I don't know how long the wait will be, but I would guess it's not too long.

A few times while playing on my I-phone the moves made by my opponent become invisible and in the moves column it just said “null”.  I'm usually sitting right next to the computer (because my wife is using it) so it's not an out of range problem. I end up loosing the game after trying to get a draw without success. I sure it sounds ridicules to who I’m playing. So do we just chalk this up to shit happens? Or is this an issue with others as well?

I cannot believe how bad this unfair policy works. I am software development manager myself. I am really sorry that this does not work at all. I have not done anything to gain 5 minute wating. Often some waring comes up which by the time ou say ok, 20 secs is gone and game is abandoned. They should know that any internet application is worldwide and internet speed can vary substantially

Please remove my 5 min ban

When the game is aborted why should I wait for another five minutes as I have wiatined five minites which by itself is wrong by chess.com poor programming

@littlepebble: People often claim that getting Black several times in a row is an indication that the randomization element isn't working. Paradoxically, it is actually an indication that it is at work. This website explains it well:

www.random.org

The server must take into account not only your previous games, but also those of your opponent.

People often mistakenly assume that randomization means achieving a variety of results, and that achieving many of the same results in a row is not random. In fact, always achieving a variety of results reduces the randomness of the sample. This is why the human brain cannot randomize well. People think too hard to try to "mix it up."

@jim_ostler: You seem to be experiencing a technical problem. The staff would be best equipped to help you, so I recommend contacting them directly via a Support Ticket.

How many games does one need to play to lift this restriction?

Here are the details on the sportsmanship "enforcement" features:

http://support.chess.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/171/0/fair-play-policy

We're looking into the "null moves" issue with the iOS app right now, and hope to have a fix in place very soon!