I often allow a takeback if it provides a learning opportunity, but too many abuse this generous act. I've had one player make a wrong move and request for a takeback several times on the same move. This wasn't him/her/it learning, but it was just a guessing game.
I've loaned people books, and they didn't return them. Now I don't lend out books. When people abuse any system, the system goes away.
Mouse slips are a function of playing too fast and without enough care. Playing faster gives you one kind of an edge. Conversely, playing slower and spending more of your focus on mouse handling will take time away from your tactics. So it's all relative and that balance is part of any timed game. ***Mouse slips are never accidental*** they're a direct result of your conscious decision to devote less percentage of your attention and less care to mouse handling. Slow down and reduce your errors or speed up and accept the losses without whining about takebacks. The choice is always yours, not your opponents.
When I am playing on my phone, there is a chance of me touching slightly beside the intended square causing a wrong move. In such cases, I request takebacks. And also why I sometimes accept them, if I see that the move looks like a misclick.
@Acropora I've had a mouse slip when the mouse stopped responding to my movement.
I've had a premove misclick when I must have pressed the button while moving the mouse back to its natural position. I premoved Re8-e1+, but the move played was Re8-d8, so I must have "accidentally" clicked the mouse.
Neither moves were rushed and neither were conscious decisions. in both cases, I accepted my mistake, but I'm not going to accept your excuse.
Disable takeback. It is not part of real chess. It leads to endless discussions and remorse. If you want takebacks, then just enable move confirmation in your profile to grant yourself infinite takebacks without having to beg for these.
Takebacks are the slippery slope to cheating.
I disabled the feature and I feel better. That's good enough for me. Before, people would try it five times a game, and i would wonder if they would want a take-back because it was a bad move. forget all that thinking, disabled. how many sports have a take-back? like the guy who calls, "foul" on every single play. nobody likes that guy.
i would also like to disable asking for a draw. i'm up 103233232 and the person asks for a draw after every move. if you want to be funny, see if chat is enabled and try to say something funny. idk.
if you can do takebacks, the importance of the move is lessened. this is chess, war. you put your men out in battle, they cannot magically come back if in harm's way. lol. i'm kidding, play however you want.
I'd accept an automated system: you get 1 takeback every 100 games, you have to do it within 5 seconds of making the move and your opponent gets some extra time. Opponent doesn't get to refuse (assuming both players have opted in, of course). You don't get to ask again until 100 games later.
Discretional takebacks are alright as they are. Some people will always spam them like draw offers or just close the app/browser, any given alternative is likely to be abused by such players; game rules always need to be enforced but players' behaviour (and choices) will always be individual.