At a tournament last weekend we were having a discussion about how we would handle a few hypothetical situations, and we were coming up with differing conclusions (or none at all). I’d be interested to hear how some of our experienced arbiters would handle these scenarios.
Assume in a USCF tournament a section is being FIDE-rated so run under FIDE LOC. It is announced in advance that players arriving 30 or more minutes late will forfeit their game. It is also announced in advance players must provide their own clock and none will be provided by the organizer. Further assume there are indeed no clocks available for loan from either the organizer or other players.
I expect there will be opinions shared about the organizer’s or arbiter’s responsibility to have extra clocks available (or not), but assuming that for whatever reason none are, how would you handle these scenarios?
Scenario a) White is at the board at the time the round is started, but has no clock. Black is 20 minutes late and provides a clock. From whose clock(s) should the elapsed time be deducted?
Scenario b) Both players are present at the time the round is started. Black provides no clock. White provides a clock but it is unexpectedly found to be not functioning properly when the round is started and it can’t be fixed.
Scenario c) Both players are present at the time the round is started, but neither provides a clock for use.
For Scenario A:
Although White was there, I would say the arbiter could rule that he had not arrived in the manner required (having a clock). Thus, 6.7b is in effect, and it falls to “or the arbiter decides otherwise.”
In short, I would not gainsay ANY ruling by the arbiter.
That said, I would probably take half the time from each player – Black for being late, and White for not coming properly prepared.
If there are no clocks to borrow, half the players are not abiding by the rules and coming with a clock.
Players can each put up $10 to rent a clock for the duration of the round, and I suspect several players will find that they did, in fact, remember to bring one that could be used for the game.
Failing that, double-forfeit both for the purposes of the tournament (FIDE ratings). Submit the game as an Extra Rated Game to USCF.
For tournament standings, you can double-forfeit both, or assign BYEs according to the results of the game.
Sitting at my desk now, I say I would strongly consider double-forfeit. If they lose out on prize money more than the cost of a clock, they will remember to bring a clock next time. If I actually had to look at their sad puppy-eyes when handing out the double-forfeit, I might assign BYEs.
It may be a bit far-fetched to declare that failure to bring a clock is “not abiding by the rules”, even if the TLA said, “Please bring clocks, none supplied”.
If the TLA said “All players must bring clocks”, that might be another story.
So what does CCA do in their large Super Swisses where sections are FIDE rated? They don’t supply clocks. What is their procedure in the situations presented here? How big of a concern is it a their events?
I believe the FLC does not address the possibility of a game starting without a clock. I further believe it does not prohibit such. So, this is what I do when encountering any of the scenarios Mr. Neilley mentioned.
A: Each player starts the game with 10 minutes deducted, per US Chess Rule 16M.
B/C: Players start the game without a clock, with the understanding that if a clock is applied to the game later, any time elapsed since the start of the round will be split evenly between both players. This includes adjustments for increment time (where applicable) based on the scoresheets.
This occurs in FIDE-rated sections of larger events occasionally. It happened several times at the Pan-Am Intercollegiates last December.
They might simply not want to loan their unused ones out to strangers, or to someone who could finish a lot later than they do, or to someone who hasn’t bothered to buy or bring their own clock, etc.
Not really since my Chronos costs more than $20 dollars. I can not think of a clock that only costs $20 dollars.
Perhaps one puts up $10 dollars to steal a clock… However, leaving an ID say a Driver’s license is probably more effective since one cannot drive without a license… ish.
i don’t get it. you know who you are “renting” your clock to as they are paired for the round. you really think someone will take off with your clock when their identity is known? my big thing, especially in the last round, is loaning a clock and then the person’s game drags on when i’m ready to go home.
Several times, I’ve had a player complain that he lent a clock to someone else, who promptly walked off with the clock. Usually, it’s an honest mistake. Unfortunately, that’s not always been the case.
I won’t let people I don’t know borrow a clock anymore. I let someone borrow a clock at the National Open a few years ago. I lost my game and forgot that I had loaned my clock out. I remembered a few hours later, and decided to just get it from him the next day. Unfortunately, he said he just left it at the board after the game. It was no longer there. Also, my opponent didn’t have a clock for the morning round. Pretty annoying.
Perhaps one puts up $10 dollars to steal a clock… 
However, leaving an ID say a Driver’s license is probably more effective since one cannot drive without a license… ish.