lag

Games over the internet are affected by lag -- the time it takes for the electronic transmission of moves and game positions. As a result, some of your clock time in a chess match is used up by lag time rather than thinking time.

There are many ways for you to get around this problem with transmission lag:

(a) Play games with a higher increment per move and, in general, longer time controls in general.

(b) Play unrated games for a while until the lag problem seems to have improved.

(c) Tell your opponent about your lag. In response, your opponent might do one of several things:

(i) Give you more time occasionally.

(ii) Turn autoflag off (if they have that feature), or at least decide not to flag you as soon as your time hits 0:00.

iii) Agree to abort your game, and cancel it.

(iv) Agree to adjourn your game, and continue it later.

(v) Ignore your information and play on as usual (your op(ponent is under no obligation to give you a break because of lag).

(d) Use the timeseal program if it works for your computer system and configuration. Using timeseal, your clock is not deducted for lag time, just thinking time. Read the timeseal help file for details.

NOTE: It is not unethical for someone to flag you when you have lag.

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