I am a bit late in giving this link for the July column, but here we go: https://new.uschess.org/news/just-rules-optional-notation-quiz/
The statement “total playing time (base time control + sudden death, or increment)” is confusing. That does not accurately define “total playing time”.
I agree. What you are calling “sudden death” is actually “increment or delay”. The primary time may be sudden death or not, as in “G/60 d/5” vs “40/60 SD/30; d5”.
It is also a little confusing (although sort of universal) to refer to “total minutes” when adding the main time to the increment/delay time, since the latter is measured in seconds. Whether an event is regular-rated, dual-rated, quick-rated, or blitz-rated is determined by “mm + ss”, where mm is the main time in minutes, and ss is the increment or delay time in seconds.
Bill Smythe
The rule book does a better job of defining total time:
That’s still a little convoluted. Why not just say “main time in minutes, plus increment or delay time in seconds”?
Bill Smythe
But that would be adding two quantities measured in different units…
That’s the whole point. That’s what’s being done anyway, so why not just choose wording that makes it clear?
Bill Smythe
I’m not sure yours is unambiguous on that. If I read yours, I take 60 minutes plus 10 seconds and add them to get 60 minutes 10 seconds.
The rulebook’s version resolves this problem, though maybe it could be worded more clearly.
Jeez. Well, then, how about “number of minutes of main time plus number of seconds of increment/delay time”?
That way, the final answer is dimensioned as neither minutes nor seconds, but just a plain number.
Bill Smythe
The statement “total playing time = main time + delay/increment time” is just a shorthand way of saying main time (in minutes) + delay time based on the “average” of 60 moves converted to minutes.
Delay time in minutes = (Delay time in seconds * 60) / 60 seconds per minute
Actual games, of course, may last longer or less than this.
Your answer does a good job of explaining the rationale for the rule, but I suspect that a player who just wants to know what the rule says might find the other Bill’s answer easier to understand.
Bob
A question I would have liked to have seen included:
You have been making your move, hitting your clock button, and then recording your move. Your opponent objects and says that you should have to record your move before hitting your clock button. Is he correct?
Bob
No.
I often move, hit the clock, and then record both my opponent’s move and my move.
No.
You may also make your move, fail to press the button on the clock, go to the loo, get a cup of coffee, take a walk outside, and then come in to press the clock button to make your move and then write your move down. Your opponent may or may not have made a move while you were gone causing some confusion when the clock button is pressed and she merely presses the button back.
In cases where the player fails to press the clock button after making his move, a good question to ask is the obligation, if any, of the other player who is sitting there while the oblivious player is doing a walkabout while his clock is running. Should he sit there and wait for his opponent to come back? Does he have to inform his opponent that he failed to press the clock button? Should he just make a move on his opponent’s time and not worry if there is an incident? What type of sportsmanship should a player follow?
As a TD, I have seen terrible scenes when such circumstances occur which disturb other players as well as the combatants in the particular game. My preference as a player is to inform the other guy that he failed to press his clock, but that is not a universal practice. You might say that it is his own fault for not pressing the button and he should be punished as ruthlessly as possible to learn a lesson, but the anger and rancor after the game tends to spill over and make the chess experience less enjoyable for new players, youngsters, and spectators or parents who feel that something is fundamentally wrong with chess and player conduct when such a thing has occurred. As an organizer, I want people to be satisfied and come back to play. When they feel gutted for playing a game, they tend to drop out and let their USCF membership lapse.
There opponent of a player who fails to operate the clock properly has no immediate obligation. S/he may:
- wait for the opponent to operate the clock properly,
- prompt the opponent to operate the clock properly, or
- make a move, and press the opponents’ clock and his clock in sequence to maintain the accuracy of the move count and/or increment accumulation. (Failure to press both clocks in these circumstances introduces inaccuracies in timing at best and 2010 USATE outcomes at worst; it is the responsibility of both players to ensure the clock is accurate).
Now, I have heard an anecdote of a player not pressing the clock for a long time after a move complaining when the opponent made a move, claiming he was contemplating a draw offer. Presuming a long delay with neither a draw offer nor a clock press, the proper response to this complaint is:
No.
While I sympathize greatly with Mr. Price’s desires for accuracy, I’m not convinced that a player ever has the right to press the opponent’s clock.
Alex Relyea
It is a practice with which I am not completely comfortable, probably for the same reasons Mr. Relyea has reservations.
I’m in the “wait” camp, personally.
Would you suggest getting the TD to do the honors? The problem with “waiting” is that you end up being tied to the table even if you have a no-brainer move.
That is also a viable option.