Chess is a terrific game that has many benefits in everyday life, because it gives you the enhanced ability to focus, concentrate, plan and think ahead. The fact that you can experience friendly competition in a way that doesn’t require any more than a board, pieces and your brain is wonderful too. That’s probably why you see such a large variety of chess tips in stores and online. People have known the game’s benefits for centuries.

But it takes more than just learning chess strategy to play chess well. People new to the game are often surprised to discover that when they first go to a tournament or a chess club. One of the more important of these aspects is specific etiquette that should be adhered to so your opponents will respect you. It’s amazing how many chess players who should know better breech these basic etiquette rules. Information about these rules should have been relayed to them by the people who helped them learn to play chess, but that doesn’t happen for many who play the game.

Here are some important chess etiquette tips:

* Mobile phones and beepers
Beepers and cell phones aren’t allowed when playing in a tournament, even if they’re set to only vibrate. It’s also considered good manners to turn them off when playing at a chess club, whether or not you’re playing in a tournament.

* Talking During a Chess Game
When it comes to talking while playing chess, think of the Golden Rule: Do onto others as you would like them to do onto you. If it bothers you to have people talking while you play, then don’t do it to others.

* Moving the pieces
If you touch a chess piece, you’re obligated to move it. If you pick up a piece, place it on a square and keep your fingers on it, however, it’s OK to move it back to the original square. You still have to move it, but you’re free to choose another square. Once you let go, though, it’s officially considered a move.

* The clock
It’s essential that you use the same hand to press the clock that you use to move the pieces. Also, once the clock has been pressed, you’re not allowed to keep your hand on or over it. If you’re playing in a tournament, you should press the clock to stop it if there’s ever a need to converse with the tournament director about any aspect of the game.

* Draws
The correct way to offer a draw is to move a piece and offer the draw before you press your clock. Once the draw is offered, then you can stop your clock. Do not extend an offer of a draw while time is running on your opponent’s clock.

These are just a sampling of the rules that should be adhered to when playing chess. If you play the royal game, you owe it to yourself to learn all of them.