Abusive Internet Chess Players

If you play chess online, you know the type I mean. Nasty comments, hate-sitting, requesting draw offers over and over in a lost position, disconnecting instead of resigning, cheating – heck, the list goes on and on. So, what do we do when we encounter these people? Nothing, that’s what. Ignoring and reporting them is the best solution.

If someone calls us a name or laughs at us after an embarrassing loss and we react, they get the satisfaction of knowing they upset us. If we say nothing to these jerks, however, they are left empty-handed and might even become irritated themselves.

What about someone who has several minutes left on their clock and simply let their time run down instead of resigning? This is commonly called hate-sitting. While it is very annoying, there isn’t much to do besides reporting the player. Just turn the speaker volume up so you can hear the unlikely event of them making a move, and surf the web or something. Again, do not react because the hate-sitting player will be pleased with himself.

Potty-mouths are everywhere, but the anonymity of the Internet brings out the worst in some people. If someone curses at you or uses other abusive language, simply save the chat and report them. There is absolutely no sense in getting into a typing war with a moron over a chess game. Keep your blood pressure down and move on to the next opponent.

Anyone who knows me knows that I hate a cheater. Yes, hate is a strong word, but it is the most appropriate one I can think of. Why it’s any fun at all to fire up a chess engine and rob someone of hard-earned rating points is beyond me, but it happens. If you feel that your opponent cheated you, report the game so the proper administrators can have a look-see and determine if software usage was present. Don’t tell everyone on the site that so-and-so cheats, don’t call them a cheater, and don’t fire up an engine yourself so that you can win the next game against them. Ignore the player and find another opponent.

People love to do things to get us going, especially after a loss. If you play chess on the Net, you simply must accept this as part of the deal. Reacting to them stokes the fire instead of putting it out. Would you be upset if a child stuck his tongue out at you? Internet idiots use basically the same tactic. Don’t allow it to anger you, or the abuser gets what he wants.