Why do some players consider it rude not to accept a rematch in online blitz? [closed]

Question

I play a lot of online blitz, and frequently my opponent would offer a rematch after a game. Although I sometimes accept, I usually am more interested in analyzing the game to see if I can learn from my mistakes, so I usually decline.

Reading some of the comments posted on chess.com, it seems that some players take offence at this, even going so far as to block opponents who don't accept their rematch request.

Why do players think they are entitled to a rematch? Am I breaking some unwritten etiquette? If I keep declining these requests, will I find myself out of opponents?

Answer 1

They may have made a fatal mistake and think that in another game they can win.

It happens sometimes. You could make a mistake, or miss a mating pattern, and suddenly you've lost the game although you thought you were in the lead. In this case, many people may ask for a rematch because they think that they should have won and want to redeem themselves. If you decline this request, they may see it as claiming a "cheap win".

They may also get offended by you declining their request because they might see it as "running away" from them, a more able player. This is almost insulting because they may see it as acknowledging that they "should have won", but running away with the victory regardless.

They could be Rating Farming.

If your opponent beat you by a large margin, they may ask for a rematch in order to secure a couple of easy wins against you, especially if you have a higher rating than them. Declining this rematch is denying that possible rating boost and could be taken the wrong way.

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Both of the above reasons depict your opponents in a rather negative way, however I think that anyone who blocks another user on the basis that they won't accept a rematch request may not be the best sportsman. The thing is, if they are asking for a rematch because they like your playing style, or want to learn from you, they aren't going to block you if you decline, are they?

Perhaps it's me, perhaps not, but I think that anyone who blocks others for not accepting a rematch is either trying to get easy wins for rating or annoyed / in a bad mood about their own play.

Being frustrated about making mistakes, if allowed to affect your play, will lead to more mistakes and more frustration. Frustrated players make rash decisions and are more likely to take out their anger on their opponent.

I don't think you are breaking any unspoken code of online chess, I just think that some of the chess players out there lack a certain amount of maturity. Take them to a real tournament where you are face to face with your opponent and perhaps they'll learn some tips.

Answer 2

Concerning the last question, no, you will not run out of opponents.

I've been playing on chess.com for about seven years, and when I play blitz I'm almost exclusively interested in having a bit of fun. If you have ever had a small match of a few games against someone online, you quickly realize that many of the games resemble a lot since it is common to play the pet lines that you each enjoy. These repetitive games can quickly reach positions that you know the assessment of, taking away the fun and unpredictability of the game. Because of this, I rarely play the same opponent twice, never ask for a rematch and systematically decline all rematch offers. I don't know if I have been blocked by any players, but there is always someone on the other end of the board to play when I try to.

However, I must say that I may not be your typical online chess player. I rarely take the games as a depiction of my actual strength as a chess player, although I am extremely competitive and do not wish to lose any games. Because of this, most of the time any time scramble, flagging or piece hanging occurs, either on my side or my opponent's side, I take it as being a part of the game mode that I'm playing. It is not a personal offense or unsportsmanlike to use these "techniques" (although "tricks" is probably a more accurate description of what they are) to win a game, it's part of the fun being able to spot unorthodox winning combinations that rely on the position on the board as well as the amount of time there's left on the clock. Not everyone agrees with this viewpoint, and some may be offended if you beat them in an unorthodox way.

Answer 3

To add something else to the other answers: I almost always offer a rematch and almost always accept a rematch but I sometimes need to run away to the toilet or to talk to someone at home or whatever else that needs attention. It is absurd to expect the readiness to accept any rematch.

Answer 4

Several mistakes here: 1: Chess.com - you are probably being trolled by 10-year old brats. Lots of children on that site. 2: Entitled to a rematch? No. If you don't want to play the opponent again, then simply decline. However, it is in a sense 'fair' to do a rematch to even out the color selections. In your mind, play games in "pairs" and be prepared to play 2 vs each opponent.

Besides, if your challenges are within 200 rating points of yourself, then the games should be competitive.

I'd examine why you want to stop and analyze a blitz game mid-stream of playing games. that is non-productive in my estimation. Since your games are recorded automatically, simply play a handful of games then revisit them. You will have a different perspective on the game when you get around to analyzing it post-mortem.

Answer 5

my own experience:

someone seemingly considered it rude that e granted me 2 rematch requests after i lost but i didn't grant a rematch request after i won. LOL.

my own opinion:

1. i was supposed to make a post on stackexchange of reddit about this, but anyway here goes:

i notice you mentioned blitz. i recently figured it may benefit some people to have an option to seek/challenge for a match of blitz games rather than for a single blitz game because people usually do rematches anyway. i think that, at least subconsciously, some people want to play a series of blitz games rather than just 1 blitz game because of the short duration nature of such a game people don't find just a single game satisfying.

2. if you don't rematch, then they have queue again.

regardless it's not your fault.