I was playing a chess match and switched to another app for about 30 seconds while waiting for the opponent to make a move. When i switched back to lichess, it said I had left the game. I had even given the opponent 1 minute of extra time.
Who thought it was a good idea to implement auto-lose features after you switch tabs for such a short amount of time? This is the kind of thing that might make me switch to a different chess app.
Do you at least have an info page on what the timeout is?
It's not automatic, your opponent is claiming a win:
lichess.org/faq#leaving@nooberdog imagine: you are playing otb in the park in summer, your opponent makes a move and goes away talking to someone else. Would you like that?
@kokkko Haha what? I give my opponent an entire extra minute because he asked. And while I am waiting for him to move I check my messages. And he gets to claim a win? I'm sorry but I don't see why its necessary to watch the board while my opponent is thinking lol.
@Toadofsky Interesting so switching to another app counts as leaving? Whoever implemented this change did not think things through.
@nooberdogI saw another post about this, and apparently on mobile there is no way of telling whether you switched to a different app or if you actually closed the app.
Just keep in mind that this happens and be careful, I don’t think it’s going to be changed.
If you don't know now you know.
When you switch tabs, it’s impossible to tell if you are “checking your messages” or cheating. And either way, you are wasting your opponent’s time. Not to mention needlessly distracting yourself from the game.
For all of these reasons, switching tabs is generally inadvisable. I would go so far as to say you should never do it.
The analogy of an over-the-board game is apt. OTB, you can’t pull out your phone in the midst of a game, because (1) this would distract your opponent, and (2) it might allow you to cheat. Online, it’s really no different. When you are playing chess, just play chess; do other things on your own time. This is common courtesy. It’s also common sense, since dividing your attention is a poor way to learn. For your own sake as well as your opponent’s, you should try to think about nothing but the game. Don’t read a book or talk on the phone, just focus on the game. There is no such thing as a chess game that doesn’t provide you with something to think about. Even if you know you have mate, see if you can find a faster mate. At your rating level, I can guarantee there are better moves to be found than those you’ve been making; and if you wish to improve, you will need to spend that extra time looking for them.
Believe it or not, longer time controls are for people who want to think longer before moving, _not_ for people who like to browse on other sites during a game. ;( If your attention span is too short for a longer game, just play faster games. But either way, stay in one tab the whole time.
That said, if you are expecting some kind of urgent message, then you should check for it on a separate device, if at all possible. Otherwise, just wait till the game is over, then take a break before your next one. Rare indeed is the message that’s so urgent it can’t wait a few minutes.
There has been a LOT of time abuse on this site, lately. Last I heard, more than 10% of all rated games ended with a “rage quit” — and that’s only one form such abuse might take. The feature in question is designed to dissuade these abuses. And it works, like a charm. :) Honest players aren’t the ones taking a hit here. If a few “innocent” people who were only “checking their messages” while playing fall through the cracks, then I for one have no problem with this compromise. You reap the consequences of your own actions. In the game in question, your opponent must have moved relatively soon after you switched tabs, and you must have remained absent longer than you realized. So I side with him, 100%. I, too, would have clicked that button, and I believe you deserved that loss. (Well, what were you expecting? A pity party?) I don’t think this feature is “terrible,” at all; I think it’s Great!
Finally, your “question” has been asked in these forums several times already, and answered quite thoroughly, from a variety of standpoints, from the coding side to the moral angle. There was no need to create this redundant thread to make the same complaint several others have made — some of whom have since been exposed for routinely wasting time in games, or even convicted of cheating. You should be embarrassed to find yourself in such company; in any case, you will be if others more eloquent than I repeat what was said in those threads here.
If any further tweak is in order, it’s a simple expansion of the writeup in the FAQ. Something like, “It is recommended that you don’t switch tabs during a match” might suffice to warn people they do so at their own peril.
So anyway, I hope you have learned your lesson, and will show more respect to others in this community in the future. Of course this is only a minor infraction; and going forward, if you adopt a more professional attitude when playing, we will readily forgive you. <3
I mostly play anonymous. There this new feature is just great, makes playing far more interesting. Why? In anonymous you don't play for rating points, but for good games.So sometimes there is a complicated position and I would like to know how to play on. So I wait ... and sometimes I wait ... and wait. That has changed. Thank you!
Can I say how delightful it is the other side of the coin has shown itself after the neverending stream of complaints about opponents leaving games without resigning?
Because it's delightful!
"Can't please all the people, all the time."
