I’m playing in a G/90 tournament and I have an obvious won game, say I have KP vs K where the Opponent’s King can not capture the pawn. I have 75 minutes left and my opponent has 50.
He gets up and leaves. Comes back in 20 minutes, makes his move. I immediately move, he gets up and looks at other games.
I was about to use my 70 minutes and go get food, but figured this conduct wasn’t worth my time.
Anything in the rulebook about this?
“Hypothetically”, the player resigned with 5 minutes left on his clock. Basically wasted 45 minutes.
I am guessing that you mean can not capture or stop the pawn.
Ken already mentioned 18G1. It allows adjudication in emergency situations, with an example being “if a player with substantial time remaining and a poor position disappears for more than 15 minutes or is present but shows little interest in considering the position.”
Just letting people know that 18G1 can be used in some circumstances even if the player stays at the board has resulted in some immediate resignations.
Correct, the player could not stop the pawn from queening. I’ve been playing since I was 8, almost 25 years and this was the first time this happened to me. Oh yes, hypothetically.
I remember a time when something similar happened to my wife. I don’t remember the position, but it was clearly won, and her opponent decided to leave with over an hour (I think it was about 90 minutes) left on the clock. After it became apparent that he wasn’t returning, maybe after a half hour, she asked the TD to adjudicate the game, but he refused.
BTW, if I were the hypothetical TD and I didn’t want to adjudicate the game for some reason, I would certainly have allowed you to go get some lunch, if you had asked.
Hmm, that’s like trying to make a right with two wrongs. If the guy is clearly disinterested in continuing the game, he should be forfeited. I don’t see where adjudication even comes into this. Of course, it’s prudent to first give a warning and let him know that he is supposed to be at the board thinking when it’s his move.
I don’t play much tournament chess. I aught to get the rulebook anyway, but there’s a funny story about that…
I bought the book for Xmas last year, and as a Christmas gift to a friend’s grandson, I got him a decent tournament set. (Chess set, board, bag, Excaliber clock).
Well, I hadn’t had a chance to look at the rulebook, when in mid Jan, my friend mentioned his grandson having his birthday soon, I think it was the 3rd week in Jan if I remember. So I was thinking that the rulebook would make a perfect birthday present for him. So I never did get to read the rulebook.
About a month after that, my friend decided to move to a different part of the country. He wanted to spend his retirement closer to son, where he’d be able to visit and babysit his other grandchildren.
Rule 18G deals with adjudications: “Only under emergency circumstances may a director permanently adjudicate a game.” 18G1 gives some details:
“18G1. Example of emergency. An emergency situation could arise, for example, if a player with substantial time remaining and a poor position disappears for more than 15 minutes or is present but shows little intent in considering the position. Such behavior is unsportsmanlike and the director is encouraged to adjudicate, possibly after a warning. See also 1C2, Director discretion; 20H, Long absence during play; 21F, Player requests for rulings; and 21K, Use of director’s power.”
If a person wishes to go to lunch, he needs to inform the TD before he leaves. I don’t have the rulebook in front of me, but I believe it says if a player needs to be away from the board for an extended period of time they should tell the TD and their opponent so this doesn’t happen.
Years ago at the US Amateur I had a similar situation except my opponent didn’t get up from the board. I had just given a check, his king had exactly one square to go to. My next move is mate. He would not move. We had made the first time control, so he had an hour and half of time left. I complained to the TD. The TD adjudicated the game in my favor and gave the player a tongue lashing for such unsportsmanlike behavior.
PS. The player did apologize to me the next day for being a jerk. Apology accepted.
Polly, conduct in an individual game and a team tournament game may vary. Team play has a different dynamic. If a player is lost in team play, he may play on even in a hopeless situation to give support to his team. Resigning early can have a psychological ripple effect on the rest of the team. Hanging on may be annoying to the opponent, but it gives some comfort to his team who will continue to play normally.
Several years ago in our league, our team was not doing so well. A 1/2 -3 1/2 result would not have been unreasonable result. Our second board was dead lost. But, then a miracle happened. His opponent decided to play for a “brilliancy,” blundered into a boomerang combination and lost. The quick posting of a result on the team scoresheet affected the other players, who felt under pressure to make up for their teammate’s loss. Within 15 minutes, a potential bad loss turned into a 4 - 0 score for us.
So, you should not have been so annoyed if your opponent was thinking of his team. And the TD should not have been involved in any adjudication. With mate in one one the board, you should have just savored the position and showed by your body language to your team that you had one in the bag. In an individual tournament, on the other hand, the unwritten ettiquette is different. Here, he was playing only for himself, so it was appropriate to resign with respect to the opponent.
I have seen other occasions where players would not resign in utterly hopeless positions, but those were usually games where there was bad blood because of bad behavior by one or both of the players in previous encounters.
This was US Amateur held in May, not the US Amateur Team. In a team tournament I would understand playing on. I have played out drawn positions trying for a win, because a draw loses the match. I’ve played out losing positions in team events longer then I would if I were playing in an individual event.
There was no excuse for my opponent’s behavior in that particular game. He knew it too, which is why he apologized the next day for being a jerk.
Faced with this hypothetical situation, you don’t agonize over it. You don’t remonstrate with the opponent. You don’t ask for permission to leave the playing hall to eat. The first time he goes on a walk-about, you find the TD and tell him what’s happening. With any luck, the TD will know the rules, and you will have the win in about 15 minutes.
I agree about the unsportsmanlike conduct, but does it have to be an adjudication, officially, so that the game is rated? Or can some forfeits be rated?