Etiquette — Chess Terms
Tournament conduct and the unwritten rules of fair play — touch-move, draw offers, resignation, and the small courtesies that keep chess sporting.
Beginner
- Bullet Junkie Beginner
- A bullet junkie is a player who compulsively plays bullet chess with very fast time controls such as one minute per player, often to the exclusion of slower formats.
- Cheap Trick Beginner
- A cheap trick is an unsound tactical trap or swindle that succeeds only when the opponent overlooks an obvious threat, typically from a lost or inferior position.
- Copium Checkmate Beginner
- Copium checkmate is chess slang for an imaginary mate the loser clings to while refusing to resign or acknowledge the position on the board.
Intermediate
- Chess Cop Intermediate
- A chess cop is an online player who actively polices rules by reporting suspected cheating, illegal moves, or etiquette violations to moderators or platforms.
- Clock Surfer Intermediate
- A clock surfer is a player who repeatedly glances at the chess clock during the opponent’s turn, usually to assess remaining time and adjust playing speed or risk level accordingly.
- Copium Sac Intermediate
- A copium sac is an objectively unsound sacrifice played mainly as a psychological coping mechanism in a lost or difficult position.
- Elo Farmer Intermediate
- An Elo farmer is a player who deliberately seeks games or sections against much weaker opponents to inflate their rating through easy wins.
- Fingerfehler Intermediate
- A fingerfehler is an unintentional blunder caused by selecting the wrong piece or square through a slip of the hand or mouse, even though the intended move was sound.
- Flag Champ Intermediate
- A flag champ is a player who repeatedly wins by exhausting the opponent’s clock rather than by checkmate or resignation.
- Flag Demon Intermediate
- A flag demon is a player, typically in blitz or bullet, who deliberately steers games into mutual time pressure to win on the clock rather than by checkmate or resignation.
- Flag Farmer Intermediate
- A flag farmer is a player who deliberately maneuvers to win on time by inducing time pressure rather than pursuing checkmate or resignation.
- Flag Hanger Intermediate
- A flag hanger is a player who refuses to resign a lost position in a timed game, continuing solely in hopes that the opponent’s flag will fall before checkmate.
- Flag Lord Intermediate
- A flag lord is an informal term for a player who wins chiefly by forcing the opponent to lose on time rather than by checkmate or resignation.
- Flag Monkey Intermediate
- A flag monkey is an informal term for a player who prioritizes winning on time by exploiting clock pressure rather than seeking a decisive position or checkmate.
- Flag Rat Intermediate
- A flag rat is a player who deliberately plays low-quality or random moves quickly in fast time controls, hoping to win on time rather than through superior play.
- Flagging Intermediate
- Flagging is winning a game by time forfeit when the opponent’s clock reaches zero, regardless of the board position.
- Post-Mortem Intermediate
- A post-mortem is the analysis and discussion of a completed chess game, usually by the players, to identify mistakes, better moves, and lessons learned.
- Rating Vampire Intermediate
- Definition awaiting review.
- Sandbagging Intermediate
- Sandbagging is deliberately losing games to lower your rating and enter weaker sections for an easier path to prizes.
- Smurf Intermediate
- A smurf is a strong player who creates a new low-rated account to face much weaker opponents, typically for easy wins or low-pressure practice.
- Time Troll Intermediate
- A time troll is an opponent who deliberately slows play or makes nuisance moves to provoke time trouble, errors, or frustration without seeking a normal chess win.