Question 4 is intriguing. The answer given being:
> 4. Picking D) is correct. None of A), B), or even C) gets the job done acceptably. The split results of A) rewards someone unnecessarily. The choice of B) or C) begs the old fast-food commercial question: “Where’s the beef?” There is no evidence to support either wood pusher’s version of events. Plus, there is no rule to support a non-verbal handshake and clock stoppage as either a win (13B) or a draw. Since the board and pieces are still set up with the last played position, the game should continue.
But it specifically states this is because the board is still set up, and apparently there is still time for the game to continue.
If the round were nearly over, with not enough time left, would this still be the best answer? What if continued play pushes them into the next round start time, because they took too long to report it? Or if player a reports the draw, then the next round player b sees it and says it was a win?
Or if the board and clocks were cleaned up after they shook hands, we wouldn’t know the clock times or the board position without going through the score sheet, would this still be acceptable? Maybe split the remaining time and use the score sheet to rebuild the game?
Problem 4 is a scholastic event where reporting the game result is done at the board on a slip of paper and then checked over by a TD. Players are instructed to keep the board set up until the game reporting is done. But what happens when the board is no longer set up?
In other columns it has been pointed out that when a discrepancy arises a scoresheet is the key to settling the disputed game result. To prevent the game from holding up the next round TDs have often paired the next round using the split game result - each player gets paired with the result they claimed for that game. The player claiming the win gets paired as a win. The player claiming a draw gets paired as a draw. The Scoresheet gets examined later and the split result may then get an adjustment.
BTW, both players are required to report the result. Check out rules 15H and 15I in the online rulebook for more details about what a TD can consider when those rules get bent.