Misclicks

I lost two games on misclicks tonight and I'm looking for some perspective. I am absolutely livid over it. It's just an absolutely gut wrenching way to lose a game. Before anyone mentions it,, I've already switched to confirm moves, but that is hardly any consolation for the potential points I lost.  I don't even like winning games that way. I feel like if someone were to obviously misclick or mouse slip the way I did tonight I'd just want to scrap the game and start over. I feel like there's no integrity in accepting points for a win that came down to a technical error rather than errant play or consistent blundering. 

So is there a different way to look at it? I am going to be writhing over those losses and I just need some fresh perspective to maybe help me see the situation differently. 

Thanks again in advance. 🙏

Plenty of games ahead. Not to worry.

I’m more annoyed when I just play a bad move or miss a winning chance.

It often only takes a single mistake to lose a game, and a misclick the type of mistake which is easiest of all to address.

The whole game is about trying to reduce your frequency of mistakes, but everyone makes them, even World Champions. So forgive yourself for your mistakes but try not to make them again in the future.

Never blame your opponent from taking advantage of your mistake. That is how every game of chess is won.

That is all.

But that's the thing. It wasn't a legitimate mistake. It was a total technical error. I like to win games on skill and ability, not taking advantage of mouse slips or misclicks by opponents. I'm the type of guy where if I can easily identify that a horrendous move was the result of a misclick, I'd rather start the game over and win legitimately.  I get no satisfaction from winning on such mistakes. I guess I just have to remind myself that not everyone thinks the same way. Some people will just take the points and run. 

I can relate, but I think it is just a train that goes both ways.

Can’t really expect everyone to play by the gentle(wo)mans rules so, it just goes 50/50. Sometimes you mouseslip, sometimes the opponent and eventually it levels out unless you are really clumsy.

I will take the points and run.

Similarly, if I lose because of a misclick (which I have) I accept the loss. It's my fault, my opponent did nothing wrong.

As far as ratings are concerned, in the long run it things even out. You may lose a few rating points today because of a misclick, but if you play enough, in a few days or weeks your rating will recover to where it should be.

Use mousekeys.

First, it won't be the last time you missclick.

Secondly, you're upset because you want to win or lose on skill.  I'm sorry to say but online chess is full of unrelated distractions.  Is your rating a true reflection of your skill or did some of your opponents have to attend to a child, answer their spouse, grab their food delivery, or half drunk?  I've lost more games than I can count because of a distraction or mouse slip than I can remember.  If you understand this, then you know you took some of the good with the bad.

In OTB tournaments people are there to play chess and nothing else.  No outside factors, no cellphones, no music etc.  It's full on try-hard mode.  That could better reflect true skill.   Online, you might be try-harding but if your opponent isn't then that kind of takes away from your win.   Online, if you slip or get distracted and lose just hit the resign button and move on.  

Lastly, there is a grey area with "obvious" misclicks.  There are times when it looks like an the opponent meant to castle but misclicked but actually he wanted his king on f1/f8.  Sometimes it looks like a miscapture but actually it's trap.  Where do you draw the line?  For me it's all or nothing.  I'm not going to waste my brain power in a live game to decipher whether my opponent mouse slipped or is trolling/angling me.  I play the board in front of me irrespective of what my opponents intention was.  If I feel like it was a legit mouse slip I will offer a rematch.

@ChickenWings Final move. Obvious misclick. 

You're still crying over the misclick and seeking some sort of empathy or justice. The whole point of my post is that online ratings (ie skill) means nothing nobody cares that you misclicked and you shouldnt either. Because it happens to everyone. So it doesn't matter if you misclicked or an act of god cut the internet and you lost just before you could make the final move to deliver checkmate. Click resign and move on.

Not justice or empathy. Perspective. And I've received a ton of that already on this post. But somehow it doesn't change that I feel that such "wins" or "losses" do not bear any real kind of legitimacy. I know I'm just shouting into the void, but I take this very seriously. Nobody else has to care, but I do. I understand that it will happen, but in the moment when it does happen, it's hard to take. Because even though I love how fun Chess is, I also take it very seriously. I want to learn and become as good as I can. And moments like that are simply deflating. It's like all thought and effort I put into the game ultimately didn't matter. Because one simple mistake having nothing to do with the game, cost me the game itself. 

Don't think I'm not picking up what you're putting down, I get it. The whole point of my post is misclicks simply suck and take away from the experience in general. 

Anyway, I wish you well. Thank you for your input. 🙏

Can someone tell me how to Castle please 🙏

Just be careful. I personally don't mind to win games by missclicking/mouseslipping, because I play more like for points to reach my goals. And if my opponent is not careful enough, it's not my problem

There's no way for me to know whether my opponent's bad move resulted from a misclick or from a miscalculation. Sometimes it seems likely, sometimes less so. I don't feel obligated to give my opponents the benefit of the doubt, and I don't expect them to do so for me. If I have a friendly chat going with an opponent and *then* he or she makes an apparent misclick and then offers a draw, I will take the draw. So far that has never happened. Only two people have requested a draw after misclicking, and they were jerks about it when I refused, so I feel good about my policy.

Some of my most tactically rewarding games came after misclicking or even making a blunder like losing my queen. The situation just lit a fire and caused me to concentrate fully (with two kids and working at home, I'm often doing something with one hand and playing chess with the other). Are the misclicks fair? I suppose not, but neither is stubbing your toe in the middle of the night, having your child get sick, or some idiot broadsiding your car in the parking lot. But they are all just parts of life. Resilience goes a long way.

As for perspective, I enjoyed reading the original post. Knowing to look for perspective indicates maybe a person feels deep down that finding some will make them more content. It's good to remember that we often benefit more from chance, others' unforced errors, or even others' good nature than we ever realize. It's the times it's against us that stick in our craw....