The latest version of the USCF Blitz Rules includes this rule:
9.) If a player accidentally displaces one or more pieces, they shall be replaced [on] the player’s own time. If it is necessary, the opponent may press the clock without making a move. If the player presses the clock after displacing pieces, then a penalty may be assessed.
The last sentence of this rule gives the TD considerable discretion. I think Ernie’s suggestion that a player should immediately be forfeited if he knocks over pieces and presses the clock is too harsh, but depending on the situation a forfeit is certainly a possibility.
At this year’s World Open Blitz tournament I forfeited a player who was winning on the board (or had been, anyway) and was about to win on time, because he continued playing for several moves despite knocking over pieces, to the point where it was impossible to tell where the pieces were. I was watching the game, and the player who was about to lose on time appealed to me. I asked the players whether they could reconstruct the position and they just laughed. I initially ruled the game a draw, but the player who had been losing pointed out that all he’d been doing was to move his king back and forth and it was his opponent who had been knocking over the pieces, so I reversed myself and ruled the game a loss for the player who had knocked over the pieces.
If this had been a regular sudden death game I’m not sure what the correct ruling would have been. One option would be to try to reconstruct a position that had occurred earlier in the game, reset the clocks to what they’d been at that time, add two minutes to the clock of the opponent of the player who had displaced the pieces, and have the game continue, but I don’t know how feasible that would be if the players weren’t keeping score, e.g. in a G/10 tournament. Maybe I’d rule the same way that I did in the blitz game: the position can’t be reconstructed, so I’d forfeit the player who was responsible for that fact, using my discretionary power as a TD to impose a penalty in a situation not covered in the rules.
On second thought, if the same thing happened at G/10 (position can’t be reconstructed, player winning on the board and about to win on time has continued playing after knocking pieces over) I think I’d rule it a draw. This would penalize the player who was winning but not to the extent of turning a win into a loss. The difference is that at G/5 an illegal move loses while at G/10 an illegal move only results in a two minute penalty. By analogy, at G/10 the TD should be more inclined to make a ruling based on the position on the board and the likely outcome if the game had continued.
Wouldn’t it be great to play blitz on a auto-correcting board…one that automatically moved the pieces back to the last square they were on if knocked off, and if moved to an ambiguos square, stopped the game added 20 seconds to the opponent and made the player move correctly. Pieces flying everywhich way is the worst ending in Blitz, frustrating to the players, the spectators and the Director. Bob - good for you in doing something about it in this game. Most of the time the players just seem to keep playing in those final few seconds and just accept the verdict of the clock.
[quote=“BobMessenger”]
The latest version of the USCF Blitz Rules includes this rule:
The last sentence of this rule gives the TD considerable discretion. I think Ernie’s suggestion that a player should immediately be forfeited if he knocks over pieces and presses the clock is too harsh, but depending on the situation a forfeit is certainly a possibility.
Hi Bob:
Actually, my intended meaning was for the following situation.
Someone knocks over pieces, punches the clock. The opponent then loses on time while trying
to get the situation rectified.
In that case, unless the opponent took excessive time [definition?], they should not lose as I consider the mating move (losing on time in this case) is produced by an illegal position. My comment was to extend the concept of not being checkmated by an illegal move to not losing on time by an illegal move. Note, this means that knocking over the pieces would not be the only case. For example, I move a Knight from f3 to d5 and punch the clock. My opponent’s flag falls while trying to figure out what happened.
I was not referring to blitz. That said however, when someone knocks over pieces and punches the clock in blitz, the opponent may be even more disadvantaged. Consider a blitz situation. I have a 40 seconds left and my opponent has 5. I knock over pieces and punch the clock. My opponent then restarts my clock after losing 2 seconds. I spend 10 seconds resetting the clock and then repeat this 2 moves later. I strongly suspect I would then win on time. I somewhat agree that forfeiting someone who one time accidentally knocks over pieces would be a bit unfair - the player can avoid punching the clock after knocking over pieces but does not to save time. Perhaps a 2nd occurrence should produce a forfeit. Same thing applies for leaving a pawn on the 8th instead of replacing with the promoted piece.
Player reaches to punch the clock and knocks his opponent’s rook off the board.
A player purposely does #1 which is close to the clock and hopes his opponent does not notice. How do you determine the difference between 1 and 2.
Player knocks over pieces and the only result is he accidentally moves his pawn from the 5th where it is not passed to the 7th where it is.
Player knocks over pieces and his queen is lying on it’s side occupying d5 and e6.
Player knocks over pieces and a pawn and Knight both occupy c7.
Player moves a pawn to e1 and punches his clock without replacing the pawn.
Remember, the rule both applies to an illegal move such as leaving the king in check as well as ANY MOVE THAT PRODUCED A POSITION THAT IS NOT “LEGAL.” This is why a pawn on the 8th is an illegal position!!! This is also why moving a bishop from b1 to b2 is an illegal move.
The real question is, when pieces are knocked over, how can the position be considered legal?
Regards, Ernie
I don’t think that Mr. Ballou is arguing that the position is not illegal, he’s arguing (or at least I would) that knocking the pieces over is not a move.
I misspoke when I referred to your “suggestion that a player should immediately be forfeited if he knocks over pieces and presses the clock”. I believe what you said was that knocking over the pieces and pressing the clock should be considered an illegal move. Since a player who makes an illegal move and presses the clock loses the game at blitz, I inferred that you were saying that a player who knocks over pieces and doesn’t set them back up again should be forfeited. I should have added: assuming they were playing blitz. In a regular game in sudden death, under your interpretation that knocking over the pieces is an illegal move, the opponent should have two minutes added to his time.
I don’t agree that knocking over the pieces constitutes an illegal move, but I do think that if the opponent makes a complaint, time should be added to his clock to compensate him for the time he lost because his opponent knocked over the pieces, and I’d do this even if the player’s flag had fallen, assuming he hadn’t negated the claim by making a move of his own. The opponent shouldn’t benefit by knocking over the pieces.
According to rule 11C (regular rules, not just blitz rules), “If during the game, one or more pieces have been accidentally displaced and incorrectly replaced, then the displacement shall be treated as an illegal move.” That means that if a player knocks over a piece, replaces it on the wrong square, presses the clock, and his opponent makes an illegal move claim, the player loses at blitz. That’s the ruling I made in a previous World Open Blitz tournament. But it’s only an illegal move if pieces are replaced on the wrong squares, not just if they’re knocked over.