Monday, July 07, 2008

A question of manners

The Courier Mail's Rory Gibson on his online chess experience:

We all expect common courtesy, but if the President of France can't get it, what hope have those of us running with the common herd?

I subscribe to an online chess site that allows you to play multiple games against people all over the world at any time of the day or night. When you open a board and start playing, there is a dialogue box on the page that enables you to chat to your opponent.

It's not there so you can indulge in lengthy conversations, but is more a device so you can say g'day or congratulations. In other words it is a courtesy tool.

You would not believe the number of people who will engage you in a game of chess but will not respond to a simple pleasantry.

What I have discovered is that I play differently against the people who remain steadfastly, rudely silent after I have said hello and wished them well at the start of the game.

I am more aggressive, mean-spirited (there is no point taking that pawn, but I am going to anyway just to rub it in) and satisfied if I win, or deeply disappointed if I lose. I want to reach through the computer and upend the board in their face, if there was one.

Those people infuriate me, because it's a question of manners.

From Your move. It's manners, mate.

By the way, here's the leaked footage (in French) of President Nicolas Sarkozy getting all upset at a sound technician.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I always have an excellent result against those players who snubbed my opening greetings repertoire before every start of the match (something like "Hi there! thanks for accepting my humble challenge and good luck" :)complete with smiley) . These people can be liken to those who refuses to shake the offer hands of their opponents. I can't accept those behaviors. I used every minute of the three day per move allowance, (no matter how piled up I am with paper works,) to calculate just to make sure they won't beat me. Talking about breaking one's ego. also, how about those people who don't care a d**n thing to congratulate you or show some appreciation when you defeated them fair and square but instead they quickly demand an immediate re-match? Every time I encounter those bad manner players, I suddenly transpose from mild manner Dr Jekyll to mean Mr. Hyde.

If you are one of these people we're all talking about and have a rating of 1950+, then I'll see you all at chess.com and playchess.com #*&%^!!!

Tom Chivers said...

Talk about over-investment. I wasn't offended in the slightest when a certain ClosetGM on chesscube.com ignored my hello's!

Anonymous said...

hmmm...and those men who can't take it that a lady beats them...and they won't say thanks for a good game nor congratulate you...i had two such blokes last night on chessworld...even if i lose a game, i still say thanks as i think it's a matter of manners! If you play a game otb you would say thank you, so why not online too!