gg is arrogance

+10,   Thanks, @Nimzo.  Much appreciated.

I just ran across this forum, which seems to have engendered a rather odd, and oddly lengthy, debate about typing the letters "gg" at the end of a game. (?!)  And once again, I find myself thinking "wow, that testosterone is really quite an amazing hormone....." 

Among the issues I Can chime in on:  I do agree with you Grobe and Andy, that the Lord Scott made "those things" "unnaturally absorbent."  It's an issue that's troubled me as well, at times.

Only now do I fully understand this:

Enlightenment can be reached in many ways.  Am glad to see these forum comments have helped you achieve "true understanding."  Peace be unto you.

(and don't forget your moist wipes -- thanks for the tip, zborg)

Anything your opponent says to you matters not.  If losing bothers you then don't ever play another game of chess.  The only way (for me anyway) to get a little better every day is to get my clock cleaned over the board and then go back to it and ask "how the crap did I let that happen?"  If you get upset by losing then how are you ever supposed to get better, or be in a good mood by playing chess?  You have to lose over and over and over and over to get better, so unless you like being in a sour mood all the time I suggest you get over yourselves when someone proffers a polite "GG" after the game, win or lose.

This is like a little league argument in my hometown about how youngsters shouldn't keep score, so "everyone wins".  People need to learn how to lose gracefully.  You don't lose a game of chess because your opponent "beats" you, you lose chess games because you didn't find the best move every turn.  YOU didn't find it, your opponent has nothing to do with it.  You wouldn't have lost if you had played the right move, so use your losses to find the critical position you made your mistake in, and stop worrying about what your opponent says or does.   

Hey you guys, I think one of those estrogen people is taking potshots at us again...

I think it's one of those very young cougars!

Oh, my goodness, Sonnie, you have just warmed the heart of a "sweet (if I do say so myself) old lady!"  And it just shows me that you've been brought up to be kind and respectful to your elders.  And I'm inclined to give all the credit to your Momma, so you can just tell her I said she can be proud of her boy, because when her boy calls someone "a cougar," he always adds that she's "very young," so everything works out just fine for everybody involved.  

What I lack in height I make up in politeness!

You seem like a little "angel." --->   .... I certainly hope you don't try to Insult people by saying "gg" when you beat them! 

I always thought cougar was a bit misleading, wouldn't leopard be a more apropos?

Not in North America.

Jaguar works for the Western Hemisphere.

Same as my grade school mascot, years ago.  Now that's robbing the cradle.  

Only cougars!

 

Typically, I say gg in my games simply because it seems to be a similar etiquette to tournament play where as courtesy, players shake hands before and after the matches (though I believe it is not a hard and fast rule as opposed to being a tradition type of thing.

In OTB, I always begin a game with a handshake and, "good luck," "play well," or similar words.

I always end the game with a handshake and, "thanks for the game." When a game was particularly good I say, "good game," "well-played," "wow! terrific battle," or similar words.

Online, I sometimes type "thx," and after a good game, I type "good game, thanks!"

As a tournament director of youth events, I tell kids, "Say good luck and mean it because there is no luck in chess."

But you can still win a chess game through "dumb luck," inter alia, a boner mistake by your opponent when he has a won position.

I think that going forward, prior to any verbal pleasantries the following protocol should be followed at the commencement of each game:

Losing player: Extending my hand in a gesture of good will
Winning player: Grasping your hand firmly and offering three pumps
Winning player: Releasing your hand and withdrawing
Losing Player: Withdrawing my hand

Then, and only then, might the conversation continue like this:

Winning Player: Good Game
Losing Player: Are you kidding me?  There was nothing good about it!  I played like crap and you're lucky to have won you jerk.

etc.

But of course untrue & there is luck in chess. For instance when you make a blunder & your opponent fails to see it (hanging-piece or whatever). Boris Gelfand did not have that sort of luck in his shortest game against Anand in the WC however. :-)

That's not luck, that's your opponent's lack of skill.