General chess etiquette and various tournament formats
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Story last updated at 6/21/2009 – 5:09 am
Happy Father’s Day!
The most common questions of the week are about the general rules of chess etiquette (especially for scholastic players or newbies to chess) and various tournament chess formats.
The following are generally accepted rules of etiquette that are observed by most chess players:
• It is considered rude and inappropriate for a player to eat or have a meal at the playing table.
• Basic refreshment such as water is OK.
• When you chew gum, chew quietly. Don’t annoy your opponent by chewing loudly or blow bubbles.
• Smoking at the playing table is not allowed.
• Refrain from singing while playing. You may think you’re Josh Groban, but do not perform while playing chess.
• There should be no communication with your opponent until after the game, except to resign, offer a draw, or announce J’adoube (means adjusting your pieces).
• Don’t make a draw offer to your opponent after every move once it is refused or rejected.
• Don’t listen to an MP3 player during the game.
Although the following are not rules, it is recommended to do the following:
• Try to show up to your game in a timely manner. It is considered rude to be tardy.
• Don’t adjust the chess pieces with each move. It is quite annoying for your opponent.
• It may sound too basic to even mention, but don’t cough or sneeze at your opponent.
• Shake hands before and after the game. It is customary.
• Have you ever seen the sign: “No shirt, no shoes, no service”? The same rule holds true in chess. Proper attire should be worn while playing.
• Don’t whistle while you are playing. It is annoying and distracting to your opponent.
• No trash talking before, during, or after the game. Be courteous.
• Don’t do anything to annoy your opponent or other players who may be sitting next to you.
Here is the full article.
Cute t-shirt. 😉
Good advice Susan. Now give us some advice on how we the parents should act during tournaments.
Keep up the good work!
Historian
http://www.claudiachess.blogspot.com
I like listening to my MP3 player. I recorded all my opening theory there that I can’t remember (I am not a machine).
That is good advise for all scholastic players.
This is good advice, but I myself have occasionally eaten at the board when a round was scheduled right at dinner. I also played at one venue where they actually provided free apples for the players to munch on as needed. Several players ate during the rounds, but this didn’t seem distracting to me.
A good list of suggestions. I would add “When making a move, make sure to place the piece in the center of the square.”
I don’t have problems with opponents who want to eat a little snack such as an energy bar. Sometimes there isn’t much time between rounds, or someone may be having a long game.
I have to chuckle over anonymous’ story about the apples. Apples are probably one of the loudest foods one can eat.
MP3 players: I don’t think it’s rude to use one during a game as long as the volume is low enough so it can’t be heard by others. There are some tournament sites where it gets noisy, and I find Mozart preferable to people speaking loudly outside the tournament room.
You also left out the part about winners rubbing results in the faces of the losers.
No one loves a sore winner.
Yes, I agree. Great Points !
Eating at the board is very bad, especially chips. Defaults ( or Jail) for people that eat at the board would be a big improvement.
What I find most annoying is seeing people play blitz chess at boards which have been set up for tournaments.
When I sit at a board to play a game I like to think that only mine and my opponent’s “aura” will compete at that board.
If people want to play pre-game blitz to unwind their nerves then by all means do it in an analysis or other informal room.
Organisers spend a lot of time setting up boards and clocks in readiness for tournaments; they deserve respect by having people leave those boards alone until official games are taking place.
Previous comments have made mention of the listening to MP3’s. They come under “electronic devices” and as such under the Laws of Chess as of July 1 2009 they are BANNED.