Berserk ! It's a question of honor

At the end of the day it just feels like a question of honor to reberserk. If i get slapped into the face i would slap back before starting the game :)

@HORRORMAKER look at this
https://lichess.org/tournament/7cFYtxgA
Magnus Carlsen did not berserk a single game, including those where his opponent berserked. If #1 in the world does not berserk, nobody should ever berserk.

@hangrad If he isn't going berserk he is probably not Carlsen.
It's a fake! Probably a fake Carlsen. I don't think that the real Carlsen would risk to lose his face in front of thousand of players on lichess. It's probably a fake Carlsen.

So far Carlsen did not go berserk in his worldcup matches. Dr. Drawkenstein :)

I completely agree with posts saying that in bullet, blitz, rapid, etc., it is not a question of honor. Use your extra time to win.

But in ultrabullet, considerations become a touch more complicated. I will draw out the different scenarios below.

1. Someone much lower rated than you (1200 against an 1800, for an example) berserks you: Generally, you should berserk back, because unless they are a sandbagger, you should easily win. 1/8 minute chess is not very different from 1/4 minute chess.

2. Someone lower rated than you (1600 vs an 1800) berserks you: Generally, you should evaluate them first before berserking back. Do they have alternate accounts? Do you know them as a friend? Did they ask in the chat for you to berserk back? Evaluate these on a case-by-case basis. (It could also be seen as a sign of disrespect from a non-berserk oriented account, so you may want to put them in their place.)

3. Someone who is similarly rated to you (1800 vs 1800) berserks you: Unless the account is berserk-oriented or they are faster than you, if you have similar ability, berserk back! This can be seen as a sign of friendliness.

4. Someone who is marginally stronger than you (1950 vs 1800) berserks you: If you think you are faster than them, berserk back. If you think you are slower, don't.

5. Someone who is much stronger (2300 vs 1800) berserks you. Generally, don't berserk back unless you think you have a serious chance of winning that game.

I always berserk back, no matter the opponent strength. For me at least, that shows respect. Everyone is different.

TL;DR:

Whether you should berserk back depends on the time control, rating of your opponent, and your opponent's account type (berserk or non-berserk oriented).

By the way, in casual, always berserk back. No ratings are at stake.

HORRORMAKER, the whole titled arena has pretty low berserk rate in general. Iirc the current champ even streamed playing on lichess once+, with arguably less broadcasting issues than the current WC match. Maybe you're seeing more common berserks because you're not playing in titled arena?

Speaking in broader terms, there was recently 15+15 lichess4545 league tournament: https://lichess.org/tournament/qYW5iyqt

Quoting from site: "This is a chess league for people who like playing long time control games online. On lichess.org."

Quoting from tournament: 1st 100% berserk 2nd 81% berserk 3rd 100% berserk; meaning turning 25 minute classical game into 7,5 minute blitz one. With only 1 45+45 game between the three too, it doesn't feel like the result has much to do with the lichess4545 league (my congratulations given to tjchess2500 for winning the tournament, however).

Great, Bersek is anticheating.

Magnus hardly ever beserks and still wins almost every titled event he play in.

It's a matter of if you want to or not. I don't care, I berserk against lower rated players and don't berserk against higher rated players. Honor and berserk aren't in any way related, it's just a way of giving up time for an extra point. @HORRORMAKER