Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

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Roger de Coverly
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Re: Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

Post by Roger de Coverly » Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:31 pm

Paul Cooksey wrote: It did make me think. I do write = on my scoresheet. Maybe that is enough to acknowledge?
I think you have to acknowledge that you heard the offer, particularly if you may not share the same first language. That can be done by writing (=) on the score-sheet. You don't agree the draw or commit yourself until you make a move or otherwise, so maybe it's better not to say anything until then.

Agreed that if you say "I think I'll play on" to the first offer, that you just ignore repeated offers unless the position has changed its nature.

Graham Borrowdale

Re: Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

Post by Graham Borrowdale » Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:37 pm

My practice is similar to Paul's: if it is worthy of a long think I say "I will think about", or if not then an immediate "no thank you". My opponents tend to come from no further away than Northampton rather than Kazakhstan, so I have not hit what was perhaps a cultural or language difference.
I think there ought to be etiquette for offering draws as well. I think it is bad form if I am offered an early draw when I need to win the game but my opponent only needs a draw. Similarly in an ending say R+2 vs R+3 on the same side it is for the stronger side to offer the draw.
Perhaps I was guilty of bad form last season when I offered my opponent, who was winning easily, a draw during the quick play finish, when he was down to his last minute, and he turned it down to go on to lose on time.

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Gerard Killoran
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Re: Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

Post by Gerard Killoran » Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:55 pm

I usually grab their hand with joy and disbelief - before they can change their mind.

Andrew Bak
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Re: Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

Post by Andrew Bak » Mon Sep 10, 2012 11:19 pm

I (perhaps rudely) don't verbally respond - I write a (=) on my scoresheet and then either play a move or extend my hand.

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John Upham
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Re: Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

Post by John Upham » Mon Sep 10, 2012 11:26 pm

If you want to accept but do not wish to be seen to accept very readily, then it is popular practise to get up from the board, stroll round to other boards in the match, stare at the positions knowingly one at a time and then return and accept the offer.

This has been my recent experience of opponents that I have offered a draw to. :D
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Roger de Coverly
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Re: Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

Post by Roger de Coverly » Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:28 am

Graham Borrowdale wrote: Perhaps I was guilty of bad form last season when I offered my opponent, who was winning easily, a draw during the quick play finish, when he was down to his last minute, and he turned it down to go on to lose on time.
In its way it's quite polite as you are indicating your agreement to a 10.2 draw claim, should he wish to make one. The advice to players short of time used to tell them that they risked losing if they continued to play for a win.

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Re: Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

Post by JustinHorton » Tue Sep 11, 2012 6:55 am

Andrew Bak wrote:I (perhaps rudely) don't verbally respond - I write a (=) on my scoresheet and then either play a move or extend my hand.
Likewise.
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John McKenna

Re: Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

Post by John McKenna » Tue Sep 11, 2012 9:06 am

Is it wise to ascertain if your opponent has also written (=) before rejecting?

Paul McKeown
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Re: Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

Post by Paul McKeown » Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:56 am

Paul - nothing wrong with the way you reacted to the draw offer. If your opponent didn't understand, they could always ask the arbiter.

Perhaps FIDE should make a list of acceptable international languages, alongside stock phrases such as "I resign", "I offer a draw", "j'adoube", "I claim draw by repetition", "I am claiming a draw with the move recorded on my score sheet", "I claim a draw by the 50 move rule", "I claim a draw as you are not attempting to win by normal means", "I claim a draw as you cannot win by normal means", "That is an illegal move", "and I claim the game", "Your flag has fallen", "My flag has fallen", "and I lose", "and I win", "and it is a draw due to insufficient mating material", "You have touched your (king/queen/...) and must move it, otherwise I am going to knock your head into next week and then call the arbiter", etc. These phrases could be appended to the Laws of Chess as allowable - and clear - communication.

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Re: Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

Post by Giulio Simeone » Tue Sep 11, 2012 3:12 pm

When I am offered a draw, I assume that my opponent knows that I may think a bit about it, so I usually look at my opponent, make some facial expression and don't verbally respond. When I refuse, I usually say "OK, let's continue". Unfortunately there are many players, mostly young boys, that don't know how to behave ... sometimes, when I don't respond, they keep asking me. The most funny thing happened to me when my rumanian opponent, not knowing what languages I spoke, offered me the draw in three languages ("Patta?" "Draw?" "Remis?") and then, believing that I still hadn't understood, told GM Istratescu to ask me in English ("Do you want to draw?"). Indeed he was a quite strange guy, all over the game he offered draw something like 12 times, and when at the end I said ("OK then, shall we draw?") he refused, only to re-offer the draw two moves later.

Besides this episode, there are many players that keep offering and offering. After 3 - 4 draw offers, I am likely to became rude, once I said to a 10 year old boy "I said you NO!". Even after that, he didn't give up, he even said "I beg you, I have to do my homework!!". After some moves, I got nervous and I lost a piece, after that he immediately forgot his homework and stopped to offer the draw ... I keep fighting desperately with Queen vs Queen and Bishop, I gave him some 30 checks until he went with his king toward my king and pawns and got checkmated!! That's also why I like chess, because you never get bored!

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Re: Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

Post by Alex Holowczak » Tue Sep 11, 2012 3:22 pm

Paul Cooksey wrote:I do write = on my scoresheet. Maybe that is enough to acknowledge?
You should write (=), according to the Appendix of the Laws of Chess. :wink:

Reg Clucas
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Re: Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

Post by Reg Clucas » Tue Sep 11, 2012 4:31 pm

Graham Borrowdale wrote:My opponents tend to come from no further away than Northampton rather than Kazakhstan, so I have not hit what was perhaps a cultural or language difference.
You don't have to go as far as Northampton to encounter cultural or language differences! :)

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Re: Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

Post by Paul McKeown » Tue Sep 11, 2012 4:35 pm

Actually, it's probably best both to record the draw offer and to acknowledge verbally that you understood the offer and will consider it. It avoids the scenario given by Giulio in which a draw is repeated in case you didn't understand or are deaf. Which does lead on to how best to offer a draw to a deaf player.

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Re: Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

Post by Steve Rooney » Tue Sep 11, 2012 4:46 pm

Paul McKeown wrote:Actually, it's probably best both to record the draw offer and to acknowledge verbally that you understood the offer and will consider it. It avoids the scenario given by Giulio in which a draw is repeated in case you didn't understand or are deaf. Which does lead on to how best to offer a draw to a deaf player.
The original question was about etiquette. I would have thought that it is not only good practice to acknowledge a draw offer verbally to avoid uncertainty, but it is also polite to do so.

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Re: Etiquette when reacting to draw offers

Post by Ian Kingston » Tue Sep 11, 2012 4:56 pm

Paul McKeown wrote:Actually, it's probably best both to record the draw offer and to acknowledge verbally that you understood the offer and will consider it. It avoids the scenario given by Giulio in which a draw is repeated in case you didn't understand or are deaf. Which does lead on to how best to offer a draw to a deaf player.
That was answered in an earlier thread: http://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?p=76952#p76952.

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