i got given back 2 points from a cheater that took 12

exactly what it says on the tin

i think this is the game..


cant pretend i was brilliant at it and i dont normally care too much about points. but i lost 12 and got 2 back..??

how does this stuff work out?

i havent played large amounts of games, how on earth if this worth a 2?

It's also not easy to work out who was the cheater when the message appears to tell you you have been refunded.

I agree though, when I see that message I get all excited I'm getting 10 points back but instead it's like my score never moved.

@houndsoflove thing is though i got a message saying i got 2 points back. not 12 or 10 or anything close to what i win or lose

perhaps i got the game wrong and it was a different cheater but even then 2 points doesnt match up to my games

If your rating increases too much, the refund won't give you all of the points you lost back. It will only give you a partial refund to prevent rating inflation.
This should answer your questions: lichess.org/qa/3185/when-am-i-eligible-for-the-automatic-rating-refund-from-cheaters

Have you played games in between losing to the cheater and getting the rufund?
If so then its normal. Look: if you were a 1900 player who lost 50 points to a cheater over lets say 4 games, reported him ( it takes some days usually) and then got back to 1900, no one is gonna bump you to 1950 since you should not have that high of a rating anyway. If you want a full refund the best option is to stop playing rated alltogether, but that may not be an option bc you dont know if the mods will even bother to mark the cheater as an engine. ( if the player was cheating ) Sometimes its not 100% clear.

@Morozov i might have the game wrong but there was only 3 games between playing the person marked as cheating and having the points reinstated

i know the part where having played many games the difference would even out

i dont really care about points i fluctuate quite a bit (depending on if ive had a drink) but found it very wierd to gain back 2 for 12 over such a small amount of games

Well its not only that, the problem with points is that its a interconnected system and regaing points is a compicated thing. It used to be the case that if any game was played after the cheated one, no compensation was given whatsoever. Like I said, to get a full refund no games should have been played. You will not be put at a higher rating retroactively regardless of whether or not you would have earned it at that point if not for the cheater. I play one or 2 cheaters a day and inspecting a profile before i start is too bothersome.
To give a clear example: If you are at 2000 points and lose 20 to a cheater, then win 15 in a fair game, you will not be given 20 back or 18 but 5 so you are at your previous rating of 2000. This is how i think the system works. However I might be wrong.

It also deduces the points you got extra when your rating was lower than it shoudl have been. In other words, you won part of your lost rating back in the time between when you lost to the cheater and when you were refunded.