tmagchesspgh:
If the player has a DGT XL and can text from his cell phone , then I would not accept any argument from him that he did not know how to set his clock correctly. He was jerking the TD around and looking to get an undeserved edge from the other players.
There is a fix for this in future tournaments, whether they are USCF rated or unrated. Make the following announcements before the tournament begins:
This tournament will be conducted using the rules of the US Chess Federation.
All digital chess clocks must be set to (insert time control) and have the following (insert delay or increment setting). If an analog clock is being used, then the following setting (insert setting) must be put on the clock.
Players with digital clocks must show their opponents how the clock works and the setting with correct (insert delay or increment time) before the game begins.
All cell phones must be turned off before the game begins. No texting is permitted. Anyone who is a first responder who needs to have his cell phone on must see the TD before round 1 begins to put his name down on a list to avoid a penalty. The penalties for a cell phone going off are (insert warnings and penalties). Anyone who is texting during a game will receive the following penalty (insert warning and/or penalty)
This should give proper notice to all of the players. You may have to remind the players of announcements 2 through 4 before each round. Then you enforce the “rules” you have announced. Make sure to go around to check the time settings on the clocks as the round begins. With around 40 minutes left until the end of the games, go around to see that the proper delay and/or increment is still being used. Stick around for the time trouble phase. When the TD is around most of the problems and the antics of the problem players goes away.
Additionally, announce/post in advance: “Because of time constraints with our site, the TD will intervene if he observes an incorrectly set clock.”
Hey, thanks to whoever got the rulebook updated to include the TD Tip on rule 16P: “Directors are encouraged to intervene in the game to correct an incorrectly set clock without requiring a player to make a claim first.”
Definitely! And I keep a printed copy of both the Rule Book and the RulebookChanges, and have the PDF of the RulebookChanges on my phone and a tablet, so I can show them the rules.
You’re welcome. Tim Just talked me out of making an ADM for the 2012 meeting to modify rule 16P by promising to add that “TD Tip” (which does not require delegate approval).
Moderator Mode: Off
KeithAmmann:
Fair enough. I guess this was a case of a rule violation so flabbergastingly egregious that it seemed unimaginable that the player could be aware that the rule applied.
OK, so, follow-up question: When you approach a player like that, and he argues that you’d only said he’d be penalized if his mobile phone rang , you didn’t say anything about his using it silently, is it still a teachable moment (my baseline assumption), or should he be ejected tout suite for lack of common sense?
I guess what I’m groping for here is some rule of thumb that says at what point resistance to the application of the rules should itself be construed as breaking the rules and merit a greater penalty.
Let’s take a moment to reflect the whole purpose of this tournament. It was a non-rated community event. I take it that the intention was to attract and recruit players to join your local club and/or the USCF to escalate to rated events.
You had one person that brought in a DGT XL clock. No one else brought their own clock. This signifies to me that this fellow either received this expensive clock as a gift or he was dedicated enough to Chess to pay upwards of $80 for a clock. As was found out later, he had been a certified TD before as well. This shows that he also had been a member of the USCF as well. Looking him up in the MSA, does he have a rating?
Now, as to what to do at the time, hindsight is 20/20. You didn’t know of his past experience and membership in the USCF. You did see that he had a fairly expensive and sophisticated digital clock. Once he had shown either the inability or unwillingness to set the clock correctly, I think it would have been the best to take his clock out of the tournament play and use the analog clock. My statement to him would be that he should go home after and learn how to set the clock correctly when he had time. For now, there was no time to figure out the clock as this was a tournament.
As to his cell phone and texting, I believe this is not that big a deal. He very well should have known better. However, once he did this I would tell him that this was not allowed and he needed to turn off his phone, now. I would smile and be friendly, telling him that in the tournament scene, there is too much of a chance for cheating with cell phones and texting to allow it at all.
Now that there is the history established, there is no wiggle room for him anymore.
A truly excellent reply. i hope many read this as it is a great tonic for the over officious
In a national USCF tournament section, a player answered his cell phone, and loudly
Rob Jones
