etiquette

Suppose you've played some people several times and they keep making these typical beginner mistakes.Moving the queen about in the opening,playing stuff like 1.e4,e5 2.h3 3.a3,that kind of stuff.I wanted to tell them a bit about this during the game but am not sure how it would be received.Would you find it arrogant/belittling/pompous if your opponent did this?

In real life I'm not too concerned about my social behaviour,I'm the friendly but brutally honest type,but on the net without facial expression and body language I find it a bit more tricky.I do not wish to offend people by mistaken intentions.

I guess it's hard to say. Some people use this website as a chance to test out new openings and ideas for OTB play. Some people play what they know in order to do well. For the most part though I think people play on here just for fun.

Personally I'd be thrilled if I'd been taken apart by Northern Lad or PAWN RIOT and they offered some post game analysis much like I'd be thrilled to get advice afterwards (or more rarely, offer it) OTB.

You could always offer advice with a polite "Would you like to talk about the game afterwards?".

From what I can tell, its largely a waste of time to comment on these sorts of things. Most everyone seems to be amenable to comments like "I thought you might have tried xxx instead" or "Did you think about xxx instead?" in a particular position, but commenting on openings and general strategy (which I generally do only with people I know fairly well) tends to just get the brush off.

Originally posted by Romanticus
Suppose you've played some people several times and they keep making these typical beginner mistakes.Moving the queen about in the opening,playing stuff like 1.e4,e5 2.h3 3.a3,that kind of stuff.I wanted to tell them a bit about this during the game but am not sure how it would be received.Would you find it arrogant/belittling/pompous if your opponent did ...[text shortened]... y language I find it a bit more tricky.I do not wish to offend people by mistaken intentions.

I'll play you and I would cherish such comments.

Originally posted by Romanticus
Suppose you've played some people several times and they keep making these typical beginner mistakes.Moving the queen about in the opening,playing stuff like 1.e4,e5 2.h3 3.a3,that kind of stuff.I wanted to tell them a bit about this during the game but am not sure how it would be received.Would you find it arrogant/belittling/pompous if your opponent did ...[text shortened]... y language I find it a bit more tricky.I do not wish to offend people by mistaken intentions.

Originally posted by adramforall
What happens when your opponent wins after making "a typical beginner mistake"?

Would you feel bad telling them they played a bad opening but they still beat you?

Does this mean they played well or you played badly?

Does this mean they decided to give you a chance and you failed to take advantage?

I'd say let people play as they see fit.

I normally offer an analysis after the game. I used to do that in OTB when I was playing. I think it's polite.

In the analysis you can point out mistake, your thoughts, plans, etc.

But if my opponent doesn't want to analyse afterwards, that's fine by me as well!!!
I always think it's their loss!!!😉😀

Originally posted by Romanticus
It's when I've played them several times and they keep losing quickly due to the same mistakes that I feel an urge to give them some tips,not right away in the first game.It's also not just about a bad opening,you don't need a good opening to beat me,I fully realise I'm not a very good player but when you hop your queen around 4 times in the first 5 moves ...[text shortened]... both still p-rated,you might be stronger than me anyways.Then you can give me tips 😀

Originally posted by dzirilli
It's a deal! Please challenge me when you've got an open spot. If I do something dumb, let me know. 🙂

i think 🙂 ... 😉 have a purpose online ... this thread is full of them and perhaps they can make a comment sound less blunt ...