Yeah, whatever...
Submitted by on Mon, 04/27/2009 at 4:15pm.
What is it with the lack of sportsmanship in Live Chess? It seems to run more rampant in Quick games. I've had a lot of games end with opponents saying, "fuck that," or, "whatever." I think the Quick games cause higher heart rates and blood pressure, and when it all finally comes to the victory or demise, the intense and sudden ending causes a surge of emotion.
The behavior isn't limited to Quick games, of course, as Blitz and Long have brought out some of the worst in people. I just played a Long game where I offered up the usual "gg" after checkmate and my opponent said, "if you say so. maybe it was good on your end." Whenever I get this response, I sometimes can't help but rub the victory in his or her face by saying something snarky or even demeaning. Of course, just as there are sore losers, there are poor winners, too. The bad losers can bring out the bad winner in me.
I've had more civilized chess games and better sportsmanship in jail.