Time scramble behavior

Running Chess Tournaments
1

From time to time, I see players who don’t quite follow the rules, especially in a rapid format. Specifically, I will see players start their move before their opponent is finished moving. A variation of this is hovering their hands over the clock button or the chessboard.

As a player, I won’t tolerate this kind of behavior, and more than once I’ve had to stop the clock and tell my opponent (usually a kid) the rules.

As a tournament directors, do you have any specific policy or practice for enforcing the move rules? Have you ever forfeited a player for bad clock manners?

Best regards,

Steve

2

It is up to the opponent of the offending player to make the complaint. It is not the TD’s responsibility to intervene in such a situation. The rule book has various penalties that the TD could impose.

In time scramble situations where both players are pressed for time it’s very possible that both players may be violating the rules regarding moves and handling of the clock. I had a game last week where both my opponent and I had less then 3 seconds each. Neither of us were particular adept at getting pieces on the center of the square, and spectators observed that one or both of us had made illegal moves. Nobody was quite sure because everything happened so quickly. I think the TD was hard pressed to determine what was going on.

I’ve seen some adults who have been far worse offenders then some of the kids.

3

  1. Refuse to direct any tournaments which use neither a delay nor an increment. This includes blitz (use a 2-second delay). It also includes both time controls (not just the second) in a two-control event, such as 40/120, SD/60.

  2. Be liberal with clock substitution when faced with claims of insufficient losing chances.

  3. As a player, own and furnish a delay-capable clock, and insist on using the delay in each game.

These measures should greatly improve player behavior in a time scramble.

Bill Smythe

4

A good example of a TD Golden Rule while the game is in progress; i.e., no player request, no TD intervention!

5

I have, with scholastics, after a game was over, pulled the players aside and explained how hovering over the clock is not permitted and that if they do what they just did and the opponent makes a claim then they would lose that claim. Part of teaching I think when you have kids playing.

6

I have done the same thing, but not only in scholastic events. If I see kids playing in a regular tournament and they’re doing things like that I will point it out afterwards. I have sometimes played kids who doing little annoying things during our game that I don’t feel like stopping the clock over. (Example: Fancy hand flourishes when making moves, or pieces not being placed on square properly. The latter is usually followed by a quick j’adoube)However when the game is over I will point out the behavior, and suggest how to change it.

7

One of the biggest problem in rapid chess time scrambles seems to be when a player attempts to make a claim with merely a few seconds left. The player stops the clock, mutters something about making a claim and then his opponent restarts the clock! This is especially frustrating when there are no witnesses present to verify this behavior. In one recent example, the flag had already fallen by the time the TD came over, thus nullifying the original claim (it was QK vs QK).

What can you do as a player in this case? The opponent won’t let you stop the clock. If the TD or an impartial witness doesn’t see your flag up, then your claim will be summarily denied. But it is against USCF rules to pick up the clock. You are also not supposed to make a lot of noise because that might distract the players at another board. I suspect that most players will end up shouting anyways just to get someone’s attention.

Of course, a digital clock set to 5 second delay solves this problem quite conveniently. Unfortunately, not all players can afford a quality digital clock, especially young kids.

Michael Aigner

8 
 Why not during the game, if you are the TD? Especially K-3 kids, who are generally considered beginners and not required to record the moves. Surely you do not think they have read the Rulebook. I know some TDs are hands off, but I have seen IA Carol Jarecki point out to a GM that he was not keeping score.
9

I have in fact done that during the game with K-3 players. I generally do not do that with older scholastic players during the game unless there is a complaint or if in thier excitement they are disrupting other players aroudn them.

10

About 97% of the time I agree with Tim Just’s “the TD should not intervene” philosophy.

There are occasions, however, when judicious early intervention can help prevent problems later.

Let’s take the example of an open (“adult”) tournament where the time control is 40/90, then SD/30, and some games are being played with analog clocks. Thus, the clocks need to be reset after move 40, advancing each clock face by 30 minutes.

Some players will neglect to reset their clocks. Then, a time scramble could ensue as the 6:30 mark approaches. “Your time has expired.” “No, it hasn’t – there’s no ‘flag’ at 6:30. I still see a white space.” “No, you don’t – that white space is on the other side.”

Or, worse yet, “I thought I still had 30 minutes. The flag doesn’t fall until the 60-minute mark.”

If the TD had intervened at, say, around move 43, with the clocks showing just a few minutes after 6:00, the whole problem could have been avoided. “I see you guys are past move 40. Please reset your clocks now.”

As I said, though, there’s still the other 97% of the time …

Bill Smythe

11

TDs that use a 30 minute secondary time control deserve problems like this. :smiling_imp:

12

That’s certainly true, but my point still stands.

Bill Smythe

13

A hairy situation arose in a game of mine involving time scramble behavior.

My opponent was under time pressure, but a 5 sec delay was on the game. He kept moving and punching the clock before I could hit the clock after my move. So my move was “determined,” but not “completed.”

After a minute of this, I stopped the clock and complained to the TD. My complaint was based on two factors:

First, the time between determination and completion of a move is the proper time to offer a draw. Had I wanted to offer a draw, it would have been difficult for me to decide how to do it. Since my opponent was rated higher, that was certainly an option I might have considered.

Second, my opponent’s behavior served only as an annoyance, since he obviously could not save time with a 5 second delay being used. However, he was in effect robbing me of any 5 second delay I might have had on future moves. My time kept ticking. So I would have to call this intentionally annoying behavior.

My complaint fell on deaf ears, however. I was later chastised by a senior TD (also involved with the same tournament) who felt my complaint was frivilous. He told me the remedy for this was to simply hit the clock after my opponent had moved (if I never got to hit it).

This to me seems like “tit for tat” behavior, and not appropriate.

I don’t see this as an issue when someone simply forgets to hit the clock, but only when used to intentionally cause annoyance. It also seems like a somewhat different situation if no delay is being used.

I haven’t changed my opinion on the matter, based on my reading of the rules.

I would love to hear your ideas on this point!

Sincerely,

W.T. Hales, LTD

14

The TD was wrong. The player must always be allowed to stop his clock and start the opponent’s clock. Moving before you’ve stopped your clock is simply an illegal move. The TD should have given your opponent a warning, and if he persisted given you an extra two minutes as a penalty.

15

Can you cite a rule for this? I believe that Guert Gjissen (sp?) has said in his column something along the lines that the player always has the right to stop his clock after his move, even if the opponent has moved in the meantime. It seems to me that, according to this, what Mr. Hales should have done is hit his clock anyway, and then the opponent could hit the clock and be back on course. If it’s happening often enough to be presumed to be deliberate, then I’d certainly complain to the TD that I wasn’t being allowed to complete my move, and I certainly don’t think that it’s a frivolous claim, but I don’t see what the opponent is doing as an illegal move, either.

Of course Gjissen is using FIDE rules, which may differ.

Alex Relyea

16

I don’t have time to look it up now; maybe Tim Just could weigh in? But use common sense. You can’t make a move unless it’s your move. It’s not your move until your opponent has completed his move. The move is not complete until the player has stopped his clock and started the opponent’s clock. If you pick up and move a piece before this, it’s not a legal move.

Later: 16C comes pretty close. “Players must remove their hands from the clock button after pressing the button and must keep their hands off and away from the clock until it is time to press it again.” It’s not “time to press it again” until it’s your move, which doesn’t happen until your opponent has stopped his clock and started yours (9 A-D).

17

That’ll work most of the time, but what if my opponent simply forgets to press his clock? Am I forced to choose between reminding him to press it, or waiting indefinitely until he notices?

It seems to me that, after my opponent has had a reasonable chance to press his clock (say, 5 seconds or so), I should be entitled to go ahead and move.

Bill Smythe

18

Why would you want to? His clock is running. He’s losing time. You’re gaining time to think.

19

Because I’m a better sport than that.

I don’t want to win a game because my opponent forgets to press his clock. The first couple of times he forgets, I’ll remind him.

If he forgets a third time, I figure I’ve reminded him enough. At that point, I’ll just ponder my move, taking as long as I need to, but no longer, and then make my move even though his clock is still running.

To keep the move counter accurate in this situation, after I make my move I will press first my opponent’s side and then my own. I have never had an opponent object to this, nor even (as far as I could tell) notice it.

Bill Smythe

20

I agree that in the case you’re describing, the opponent probably has no legitimate gripe (it’s hard to see how he’s being disadvantaged). I don’t think that’s really comparable to a situation in which a player is preventing the opponent from stopping his clock. That’s why TDs need discretion – and better judgment than the TD in the case that started this thead.