Is it improper etiquette to ask your opponent what his/her rating is before the game?
Suppose you're playing in a tournament. For the purpose of filling up your scoresheet, is it improper etiquette to ask your opponent what his/her rating is before the game?
tournament etiquette
asked yesterday
ThomasThomas
2256
add a comment |
Suppose you're playing in a tournament. For the purpose of filling up your scoresheet, is it improper etiquette to ask your opponent what his/her rating is before the game?
tournament etiquette
asked yesterday
ThomasThomas
2256
Out of interest, why do you have a purpose of filling up your scoresheet?
– Spork
yesterday
add a comment |
Suppose you're playing in a tournament. For the purpose of filling up your scoresheet, is it improper etiquette to ask your opponent what his/her rating is before the game?
tournament etiquette
asked yesterday
ThomasThomas
2256
Suppose you're playing in a tournament. For the purpose of filling up your scoresheet, is it improper etiquette to ask your opponent what his/her rating is before the game?
tournament etiquette
tournament etiquette
asked yesterday
ThomasThomas
2256
asked yesterday
ThomasThomas
2256
asked yesterday
ThomasThomas
2256
asked yesterday
ThomasThomas
2256
asked yesterday
ThomasThomas
2256
2256
Out of interest, why do you have a purpose of filling up your scoresheet?
– Spork
yesterday
add a comment |
Out of interest, why do you have a purpose of filling up your scoresheet?
– Spork
yesterday
Out of interest, why do you have a purpose of filling up your scoresheet?
– Spork
yesterday
Out of interest, why do you have a purpose of filling up your scoresheet?
– Spork
yesterday
add a comment |
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
Yesterday, I played a tournament match, and at the table next to me the guy asked his opponent for his rating. “I don’t really know...” was the reply, “about 1580, I think. And yours?”
“Euhm... about 1400”, the guy mumbles in reply.
If you don’t want to give out your exact rating in reply or you don’t know it yourself, I would not ask the question to begin with. Furthermore, I thought the question was bad etiquette and would not really be happy with my opponent asking it.
Finally, where I live, most tournaments have lists of all participating players and their rating which you can look at. So start the game, and then after a couple of moves, when your opponent is thinking, you can always go check the list.
PS: I find that I play better when I don’t know my opponent's rating. Once I know his rating is a lot better, I get nervous and consider myself lost from the start. When I know his rating is much lower, I tend to play reckless and make mistakes.
edited 11 hours ago
Pikachu the Purple Wizard
1074
answered yesterday
TommiieTommiie
40426
Most tournaments have lists of all participating players and their rating which you can look at. If you know the names of your opponents, you can use the US Chess Federation's rating lookup tool, or your organization's equivalent.
– Thunderforge
6 hours ago
add a comment |
I don't think this would be a breach in etiquette - but I think it is a somewhat dangerous thing to do for you. Chess is as much about mental fortitude as it is about "playing skill" and regardless what your opponents answer is - it can get into your head and affect your play.
If your opponent is a lot lower rated than you are, it tempts you to play these "Maybe he won't see it" moves, if he is higher rated, you might overestimate a bad sacrifice or a blunder he does.
Considering the mental effects of a move, before and during the game, may prove to you as useful as considering the positional effects.
answered yesterday
Benjamin RaabeBenjamin Raabe
57417
14
To add a quote from Mikhail Tal: "When I asked Fischer why he had not played a certain move in our game, he replied: 'Well, you laughed when I wrote it down!'".
– Benjamin Raabe
yesterday
add a comment |
It isn't a beach of etiquette and is quite common in tournaments. Many scoresheets have a place to write the opponent's rating, so a lot of players ask while filling it out at the beginning of the match.
There's no shame in being low-rated anyway. With the exception of top players, we're all novices compared to someone.
answered yesterday
QuditQudit
1604
New contributor
Qudit is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
Some people are a bit self conscious if they are lower rated - better to look it up on the tournament list or ask a teammate.
That said, if it's a team game and I don't recognise the opponent or their name on the team sheet then I might ask - I do feel it is important to have a ballpark idea of your opponent's strength.
You could also try google if most of your opponents are >1800 FIDE
answered yesterday
HamishHamish
1915
New contributor
Hamish is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
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4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Yesterday, I played a tournament match, and at the table next to me the guy asked his opponent for his rating. “I don’t really know...” was the reply, “about 1580, I think. And yours?”
“Euhm... about 1400”, the guy mumbles in reply.
If you don’t want to give out your exact rating in reply or you don’t know it yourself, I would not ask the question to begin with. Furthermore, I thought the question was bad etiquette and would not really be happy with my opponent asking it.
Finally, where I live, most tournaments have lists of all participating players and their rating which you can look at. So start the game, and then after a couple of moves, when your opponent is thinking, you can always go check the list.
PS: I find that I play better when I don’t know my opponent's rating. Once I know his rating is a lot better, I get nervous and consider myself lost from the start. When I know his rating is much lower, I tend to play reckless and make mistakes.
edited 11 hours ago
Pikachu the Purple Wizard
1074
answered yesterday
TommiieTommiie
40426
Most tournaments have lists of all participating players and their rating which you can look at. If you know the names of your opponents, you can use the US Chess Federation's rating lookup tool, or your organization's equivalent.
– Thunderforge
6 hours ago
add a comment |
Yesterday, I played a tournament match, and at the table next to me the guy asked his opponent for his rating. “I don’t really know...” was the reply, “about 1580, I think. And yours?”
“Euhm... about 1400”, the guy mumbles in reply.
If you don’t want to give out your exact rating in reply or you don’t know it yourself, I would not ask the question to begin with. Furthermore, I thought the question was bad etiquette and would not really be happy with my opponent asking it.
Finally, where I live, most tournaments have lists of all participating players and their rating which you can look at. So start the game, and then after a couple of moves, when your opponent is thinking, you can always go check the list.
PS: I find that I play better when I don’t know my opponent's rating. Once I know his rating is a lot better, I get nervous and consider myself lost from the start. When I know his rating is much lower, I tend to play reckless and make mistakes.
edited 11 hours ago
Pikachu the Purple Wizard
1074
answered yesterday
TommiieTommiie
40426
Most tournaments have lists of all participating players and their rating which you can look at. If you know the names of your opponents, you can use the US Chess Federation's rating lookup tool, or your organization's equivalent.
– Thunderforge
6 hours ago
add a comment |
Yesterday, I played a tournament match, and at the table next to me the guy asked his opponent for his rating. “I don’t really know...” was the reply, “about 1580, I think. And yours?”
“Euhm... about 1400”, the guy mumbles in reply.
If you don’t want to give out your exact rating in reply or you don’t know it yourself, I would not ask the question to begin with. Furthermore, I thought the question was bad etiquette and would not really be happy with my opponent asking it.
Finally, where I live, most tournaments have lists of all participating players and their rating which you can look at. So start the game, and then after a couple of moves, when your opponent is thinking, you can always go check the list.
PS: I find that I play better when I don’t know my opponent's rating. Once I know his rating is a lot better, I get nervous and consider myself lost from the start. When I know his rating is much lower, I tend to play reckless and make mistakes.
edited 11 hours ago
Pikachu the Purple Wizard
1074
answered yesterday
TommiieTommiie
40426
Yesterday, I played a tournament match, and at the table next to me the guy asked his opponent for his rating. “I don’t really know...” was the reply, “about 1580, I think. And yours?”
“Euhm... about 1400”, the guy mumbles in reply.
If you don’t want to give out your exact rating in reply or you don’t know it yourself, I would not ask the question to begin with. Furthermore, I thought the question was bad etiquette and would not really be happy with my opponent asking it.
Finally, where I live, most tournaments have lists of all participating players and their rating which you can look at. So start the game, and then after a couple of moves, when your opponent is thinking, you can always go check the list.
PS: I find that I play better when I don’t know my opponent's rating. Once I know his rating is a lot better, I get nervous and consider myself lost from the start. When I know his rating is much lower, I tend to play reckless and make mistakes.
edited 11 hours ago
Pikachu the Purple Wizard
1074
answered yesterday
TommiieTommiie
40426
edited 11 hours ago
Pikachu the Purple Wizard
1074
edited 11 hours ago
Pikachu the Purple Wizard
1074
edited 11 hours ago
Pikachu the Purple Wizard
1074
1074
answered yesterday
TommiieTommiie
40426
answered yesterday
TommiieTommiie
40426
answered yesterday
TommiieTommiie
40426
40426
Most tournaments have lists of all participating players and their rating which you can look at. If you know the names of your opponents, you can use the US Chess Federation's rating lookup tool, or your organization's equivalent.
– Thunderforge
6 hours ago
add a comment |
Most tournaments have lists of all participating players and their rating which you can look at. If you know the names of your opponents, you can use the US Chess Federation's rating lookup tool, or your organization's equivalent.
– Thunderforge
6 hours ago
Most tournaments have lists of all participating players and their rating which you can look at. If you know the names of your opponents, you can use the US Chess Federation's rating lookup tool, or your organization's equivalent.
– Thunderforge
6 hours ago
Most tournaments have lists of all participating players and their rating which you can look at. If you know the names of your opponents, you can use the US Chess Federation's rating lookup tool, or your organization's equivalent.
– Thunderforge
6 hours ago
add a comment |
I don't think this would be a breach in etiquette - but I think it is a somewhat dangerous thing to do for you. Chess is as much about mental fortitude as it is about "playing skill" and regardless what your opponents answer is - it can get into your head and affect your play.
If your opponent is a lot lower rated than you are, it tempts you to play these "Maybe he won't see it" moves, if he is higher rated, you might overestimate a bad sacrifice or a blunder he does.
Considering the mental effects of a move, before and during the game, may prove to you as useful as considering the positional effects.
answered yesterday
Benjamin RaabeBenjamin Raabe
57417
14
To add a quote from Mikhail Tal: "When I asked Fischer why he had not played a certain move in our game, he replied: 'Well, you laughed when I wrote it down!'".
– Benjamin Raabe
yesterday
add a comment |
I don't think this would be a breach in etiquette - but I think it is a somewhat dangerous thing to do for you. Chess is as much about mental fortitude as it is about "playing skill" and regardless what your opponents answer is - it can get into your head and affect your play.
If your opponent is a lot lower rated than you are, it tempts you to play these "Maybe he won't see it" moves, if he is higher rated, you might overestimate a bad sacrifice or a blunder he does.
Considering the mental effects of a move, before and during the game, may prove to you as useful as considering the positional effects.
answered yesterday
Benjamin RaabeBenjamin Raabe
57417
14
To add a quote from Mikhail Tal: "When I asked Fischer why he had not played a certain move in our game, he replied: 'Well, you laughed when I wrote it down!'".
– Benjamin Raabe
yesterday
add a comment |
I don't think this would be a breach in etiquette - but I think it is a somewhat dangerous thing to do for you. Chess is as much about mental fortitude as it is about "playing skill" and regardless what your opponents answer is - it can get into your head and affect your play.
If your opponent is a lot lower rated than you are, it tempts you to play these "Maybe he won't see it" moves, if he is higher rated, you might overestimate a bad sacrifice or a blunder he does.
Considering the mental effects of a move, before and during the game, may prove to you as useful as considering the positional effects.
answered yesterday
Benjamin RaabeBenjamin Raabe
57417
I don't think this would be a breach in etiquette - but I think it is a somewhat dangerous thing to do for you. Chess is as much about mental fortitude as it is about "playing skill" and regardless what your opponents answer is - it can get into your head and affect your play.
If your opponent is a lot lower rated than you are, it tempts you to play these "Maybe he won't see it" moves, if he is higher rated, you might overestimate a bad sacrifice or a blunder he does.
Considering the mental effects of a move, before and during the game, may prove to you as useful as considering the positional effects.
answered yesterday
Benjamin RaabeBenjamin Raabe
57417
answered yesterday
Benjamin RaabeBenjamin Raabe
57417
answered yesterday
Benjamin RaabeBenjamin Raabe
57417
answered yesterday
Benjamin RaabeBenjamin Raabe
57417
57417
14
To add a quote from Mikhail Tal: "When I asked Fischer why he had not played a certain move in our game, he replied: 'Well, you laughed when I wrote it down!'".
– Benjamin Raabe
yesterday
add a comment |
14
To add a quote from Mikhail Tal: "When I asked Fischer why he had not played a certain move in our game, he replied: 'Well, you laughed when I wrote it down!'".
– Benjamin Raabe
yesterday
14
14
To add a quote from Mikhail Tal: "When I asked Fischer why he had not played a certain move in our game, he replied: 'Well, you laughed when I wrote it down!'".
– Benjamin Raabe
yesterday
To add a quote from Mikhail Tal: "When I asked Fischer why he had not played a certain move in our game, he replied: 'Well, you laughed when I wrote it down!'".
– Benjamin Raabe
yesterday
add a comment |
It isn't a beach of etiquette and is quite common in tournaments. Many scoresheets have a place to write the opponent's rating, so a lot of players ask while filling it out at the beginning of the match.
There's no shame in being low-rated anyway. With the exception of top players, we're all novices compared to someone.
answered yesterday
QuditQudit
1604
New contributor
Qudit is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
It isn't a beach of etiquette and is quite common in tournaments. Many scoresheets have a place to write the opponent's rating, so a lot of players ask while filling it out at the beginning of the match.
There's no shame in being low-rated anyway. With the exception of top players, we're all novices compared to someone.
answered yesterday
QuditQudit
1604
New contributor
Qudit is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
It isn't a beach of etiquette and is quite common in tournaments. Many scoresheets have a place to write the opponent's rating, so a lot of players ask while filling it out at the beginning of the match.
There's no shame in being low-rated anyway. With the exception of top players, we're all novices compared to someone.
answered yesterday
QuditQudit
1604
New contributor
Qudit is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
It isn't a beach of etiquette and is quite common in tournaments. Many scoresheets have a place to write the opponent's rating, so a lot of players ask while filling it out at the beginning of the match.
There's no shame in being low-rated anyway. With the exception of top players, we're all novices compared to someone.
answered yesterday
QuditQudit
1604
New contributor
Qudit is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited yesterday
answered yesterday
QuditQudit
1604
New contributor
Qudit is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered yesterday
QuditQudit
1604
answered yesterday
QuditQudit
1604
1604
New contributor
Qudit is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Qudit is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Qudit is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
add a comment |
Some people are a bit self conscious if they are lower rated - better to look it up on the tournament list or ask a teammate.
That said, if it's a team game and I don't recognise the opponent or their name on the team sheet then I might ask - I do feel it is important to have a ballpark idea of your opponent's strength.
You could also try google if most of your opponents are >1800 FIDE
answered yesterday
HamishHamish
1915
New contributor
Hamish is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
Some people are a bit self conscious if they are lower rated - better to look it up on the tournament list or ask a teammate.
That said, if it's a team game and I don't recognise the opponent or their name on the team sheet then I might ask - I do feel it is important to have a ballpark idea of your opponent's strength.
You could also try google if most of your opponents are >1800 FIDE
answered yesterday
HamishHamish
1915
New contributor
Hamish is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
Some people are a bit self conscious if they are lower rated - better to look it up on the tournament list or ask a teammate.
That said, if it's a team game and I don't recognise the opponent or their name on the team sheet then I might ask - I do feel it is important to have a ballpark idea of your opponent's strength.
You could also try google if most of your opponents are >1800 FIDE
answered yesterday
HamishHamish
1915
New contributor
Hamish is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Some people are a bit self conscious if they are lower rated - better to look it up on the tournament list or ask a teammate.
That said, if it's a team game and I don't recognise the opponent or their name on the team sheet then I might ask - I do feel it is important to have a ballpark idea of your opponent's strength.
You could also try google if most of your opponents are >1800 FIDE
answered yesterday
HamishHamish
1915
New contributor
Hamish is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered yesterday
HamishHamish
1915
New contributor
Hamish is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered yesterday
HamishHamish
1915
answered yesterday
HamishHamish
1915
1915
New contributor
Hamish is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Hamish is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Hamish is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
add a comment |
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Out of interest, why do you have a purpose of filling up your scoresheet?
– Spork
yesterday