When someone offers me a draw, my usual reply is “Let me think about it.” If I decide against, I say, “Let’s play on” and then make my move. Sticking one’s handout when offering receives an arched eyebrow and an immediate, firmly said, “No”, as the player offering is usually in a totally lost position. On repeated offers, it is best to stop the clock and get the TD. In all cases, I still acknowledge the player offering the draw and make at least some gesture declining or accepting the offer so that there is no mistaken communication. New players at a tournament and all of my students are taught what the proper procedure is for offering a draw. In any event, that is too much information to put on a scorebook or on a loose score sheet.
If a player thinks “I’ll consider it” to be snarky, then that is on him as the phrase implies nothing negative. The player offering the draw has to wait while his offer is being considered. Merely making a move in reply shows little in the way of manners. Some of the players who act this way were not raised well by their mamas. Good mamas would expect their children to reply to a question. Of course, that is old school way of thinking from a time when manners and proper etiquette were the norm and not the exception. The old gentlemen I learned chess from expected proper decorum when chess was played and would have nothing less.
On the contrary, making a move is one of the ways prescribed by the rules to decline a draw offer.
The player offering the draw is supposed to know that once a draw is offered, the offer cannot be withdrawn until the opponent declines it, either verbally or by playing a move. The player should also know that the opponent has his entire remaining clock time to consider the offer. The player who offers a draw, and then seems to be expecting a quick answer, is the one who is showing little in the way of manners.
The best way to offer a draw is with a declarative rather than an interrogative, followed by an immediate clock press. Make the move, say “I offer a draw” (declarative), and press the clock without waiting for a reply. That approach makes it clear that an immediate reply is not expected.
The opponent who says “Draw?”, and then looks into your eyes for a couple of seconds while hovering his hand over the clock before pressing it, is asking for a snarky reply. If I were to respond “I’ll consider it” in that situation, it probably would indeed be with snark in mind.
It is true that simply making a move without responding is a legal way to decline a draw offer. IMHO it is a bit rude to do so. If my opponent offers me a draw I do him or her the courtesy of giving a verbal reply. It costs nothing to display good manners.
The fields I’d want to see as a player are:
Event
Date
White name
Black name
At least 40 move lines per page
As a TD, I’d probably know the event from the date, but in addition to the above information, I’d like to know which of the two players recorded the scoresheet.
As a player, anything else I wanted to know could be determined from the USCF website given the above information.
As a TD, anything else I wanted to know could be determined from my own records and/or from the USCF website.