When is Flagging Ethical?

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DAREALMoneyMan

Dec 23, 2021

So I was playing a game a little bit earlier and this game really tilted me. I was in the winning position seen below and my opponent decided to play on for a flag - I had about 1:40 and they had 3:00.

Move 39

While I was up quite a bit of material, this position still takes a while to convert (at least for me since I don't know the actual endgame theory). I ended up trading his rook for a promoted queen of mine at the expense of two other pawns. This left me with a rook + knight which I can easily mate without, but since he spent the last 71 moves giving as many checks with his rook I had 2.7 seconds. Do you think it is fair for me to be upset about this? More importantly, do you think flagging in this situation was ethical?

I am just curious so don't cussing me out about how I am stupid and could have easily won by X and Y.

llama47

Dec 23, 2021

DAREALMoneyMan wrote:

I am just curious so don't cussing me out about how I am stupid and could have easily won by X and Y.

Ok, well my point of view on it is this is something I prepare for all game long. In other words let's say it's move 20 and I'm ahead on the board, but 1 minute behind, that's something I'm going to notice, and if it's a 3|0 game then I might consider the position equal, and so I'll speed up in a way that's willing to sacrifice some position for regaining that time on the clock.

Similarly when choosing which endgames to go into, I consider how long they'll take to win. If it's similar to your game and I have a good position on the board with 1 minute vs my opponent's 3 minutes in a difficult endgame that will take 40 moves (and my opponent can make threats so I have to be careful), I might evaluate the position as lost for me... that means when I'm flagged I'm not upset because I was expecting it.

The only time I get annoyed is in positions like this where both players have roughly the same amount of time (let's say both have 10 seconds)

I think good etiquette is to willfully allow a rook trade, or allow a 3 fold repetition... some people go for a win, which I personally find childish, but oh well, on to the next game.

busterlark

Dec 23, 2021

Flagging is a part of the game to me. It’s like asking when checkmating is ethical, in my eyes — just because someone was in a winning position but then blundered mate in one doesn’t mean that it was unfair. Same with the clock.

landloch

Dec 23, 2021

Flagging is always acceptable. Just like taking a piece or delivering checkmate is always acceptable.

DrSpudnik

Dec 23, 2021

There is nothing unethical to using the clock as another weapon in the game. However, at the opposite end of this problem, I tried to resign a speed game and couldn't find the gizmo to click on in the new reformatted chess.com.

binomine

Dec 23, 2021

Mr. Fischer said, you have to give up a square to get a square. And one of those squares in speed chess is the clock.

Your opponent thought for 90 seconds less than you did, but obtained more time for that handicap. Then he used is additional seconds to beat you. That is fair in speed chess.

The only real time playing for the flag is unethical is classically timed chess, and that shouldn't happen anyways.