Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“If your adversary is long in playing, you ought not to hurry him.”
- Source
- The Morals of Chess
- Date
- 1779
Meaning of “If your adversary is long in playing, you…”
Franklin makes patience part of fair competition, arguing that disturbing an opponent’s concentration displays rudeness or craft rather than genuine skill.
Where does it come from?
Benjamin Franklin, The Morals of Chess, rule 4 in the reviewed public-domain Wikisource transcription. Franklin tells a player not to hurry or distract a slow opponent and immediately lists singing, whistling, watch-checking, reading and tapping as examples; the passage is historical conduct advice about fair play.
