Etiquette and Strategy are Equally Important in the Royal Game of Chess

Understanding chess and playing it well can benefit you in everyday life, because it teaches you how to concentrate, plan, focus and think ahead. The fact that you can experience friendly competition in a venue where the only thing that gets hurt is your ego isn’t bad either. That’s probably why you see so many beginner chess books online and in stores. It’s been a very popular game for people who think for literally centuries.

But it takes more than just studying chess strategy to play the game effectively. People new to chess are often surprised to discover that when they first go to a chess club or tournament. One of the more important of these aspects is specific etiquette that should be adhered to so you can both enjoy the game and gain the respect of your opponents. It’s amazing how many chess players who should know better don’t know these basic etiquette rules. They should have gotten this information from whoever helped them learn to play chess, but that’s often not the case.

Here are some important chess etiquette tips:

* Cell phones and beepers
Beepers and cell phones aren’t allowed when playing in a tournament, even if they’re set to only vibrate. It’s also considered good manners to keep them turned off when at a chess club, whether in a tournament or not.

* Talking
When it comes to talking while playing chess, think of the Golden Rule: Do onto others as you would like them to do onto you. If you don’t want someone talking during your chess game, then don’t do it to others.

* Moving pieces
The rule is, if you touch a chess piece, you have to move it. If you pick up a piece, place it on a square and keep your fingers on it, however, you can return it to its original square. You still have to move it, but you can choose another square. Once you take your hand off it, though, it’s considered a move.

* The clock
You must use the same hand to press the clock that you use to move the pieces. Also, once you press the clock, you’re not allowed to keep your hand on or over it. When playing a tournament, you should stop the clock if there’s ever a need to speak to the tournament director about any aspect of the game.

* Offering a draw
The correct way to offer a draw is to make your move and offer the draw before you stop your clock. Once you have offered the draw, you can stop the clock. Don’t extend an offer of a draw while time is running on your opponent’s clock.

These are just some of the many etiquette rules that should be honored when you play chess. If you play the royal game, you owe it to yourself to learn all of them.


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November 27, 2009 | Filed Under Recreation and Sports

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