Chess has much unspoken etiquette, besides what is formally required by the rules. The standard protocol for offering your opponent a draw is straightforward: make your move, offer the draw, and only then press the clock.
But if you offer a draw before you make a move, the opponent can ask you to move before deciding on their response. And it’s considered rude to offer a draw when your position is clearly worse (unless, say, your opponent is far lower rated, or has much less time). Repeatedly offering draws counts as a distraction. If your peace offer is declined, you tacitly forfeit the right to repeat it, unless your opponent has returned the offer since then. Another no-no is to offer a draw while your opponent is thinking. It is considered off-putting, because the proposal should have been available to consider along with the move.
Experienced players honour these principles, but there was a rare contretemps at the UzChess Masters earlier this month. In the diagram, the 19-year old Uzbek grandmaster Madaminov has just moved his queen from a2 to c2.
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Mukhiddin Madaminov
UzChess Masters, June 2026
