I really do think most annoying behavior - like that cited by John(Pillsbury)- is done unconsciously by players. If you just observe chess players in the heat of competition you'll often notice some tic or idiosyncrasy displayed by a player. Most of the time  it's just the result of pressure during the game. I know when I first started out, I used to make this chucking sound from down in my throat. It was just a nervous tic, but some of my opponent's must have thought I had Tourette's. I knew another player who would start bouncing his leg up and down and patting his thigh at the same time, another constantly sniffed, and yet another that I found looking at me every time I looked up from the board (that was actually kind of creepy). C'est la vie, chess players will be chess players.

Great idea! Count me in.

How many of you would be interested in participating in an unrated Swiss or round robin tournament at the Lion: one game per week at 60/SD with rounds beginning at 7:30pm?