Hello,
The last sentence of 15A provides, “The scoresheet shall be visible to the arbiter (tournament directors) and the opponent throughout the game.”
I take it as a matter of common sense that among other things, this rule means the writing on the scoresheet must be visible. Otherwise the rule would have little meaning. So the player may not record his move then turn the sheet upside down and claim he is complying because the scoresheet is visible, it’s only the writing on it that is hidden.
So does this rule effectively prohibit recording in bound books that do not lie flat and close themselves unless they are somehow propped open?
Yes, I saw the TD tip about the warning, but that doesn’t really answer the question, because sooner or later you have to decide what the rule means and enforce it.
Players who try to get around the rules (as in turning the score sheet upside down) generally get penalties faster than someone who simply makes a mistake (like using a bound score book).
Yes, the actual recording of the moves, and other information, must be visible, as stated in the rules. A score book that can’t stay open would be in violation of the rule.
Better get ready to modify the rule then, because it’s already too late to enforce it the way you want. Around here those bound score books that flip shut are very popular, especially with juniors. I think maybe 20-25% of the players at tournaments I attend are using them. Nobody is hiding his scoresheet deliberately, it’s just the way the books are designed. Everyone, including TDs, just seem to accept it as normal.
I do not accept this as normal. I provide scoresheets for the players, and I expect the players to use them. Junior can transcribe the game into his bound volume later if he likes.
In fact, when I do act in the capacity of a coach, I recommend that players not use their books, but use the provided scoresheets. I do this because so many players, and I am probably more guilty than most, mess up. A particularly common error, as Black, is to miss one of White’s moves and start recording one’s own moves in the White column, and White’s moves in the Black column.
I try to get both players to go over the game together immediately afterward, and at that time put it in the book or in the computer.
At the IA seminar last Memorial Day Weekend in Skokie, a foreign arbiter looked at some spiral bound scorebooks and asked with incredulity if we allowed such a thing in our tournaments. I believe his concern was looking back at previous games as an “aid to memory”.
And they are for sale at “USCF Sales” last I looked.
There is no stopping this train of tweaked regulations that take after FIDE. OTOH, it will take a very long time for word to filter down to average players at the average weekend Swiss.
I also see young players especially use the scorebook that cannot be kept open unless it’s propped up somehow. I have yet to hear a complaint, nor have I seen a player who keeps score that way act suspiciously.
As for spiral scorebooks that don’t flip shut: In 35 years of rated play I have never seen a player hiding in a corner with a scorebook, flipping through pages of old games. Never heard of it, either. The chance that that ‘could’ happen might make banning spiral scorebooks reasonable for very high-level events—but for such events, equipment including scoresheets is already provided.
That’s the thing. If an organizer provides all equipment, including designated scoresheets, and advertises, announces and posts that this equiment must be used: OK, fine.
If players are expected to provide their own equipment including scoresheets, then scorebooks, whether they are “open” or “shut,” should be fine. As Hal Terrie noted, that’s been SOP for decades.
Yeah I know: The newish rule says scoresheet must be visible. Good idea. No sticking it in your pocket and taking it with you out of the tournament hall during the game. That much makes sense. But telling a player he must prop open his scorebook even though it closes due to the laws of physics—while he is trying to focus on a rated game—or that he can’t bring his spiral scorebook to his next tournament…too much tweaking.
Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. I hesitate to add to this can-of-worms situation, but after thinking about it more – Consider the player using a standard score sheet who simply flips it over and begins writing moves on the back after filling up the space available on the front. I would have a hard time assessing a penalty, or even interrupting his train of thought with a warning.
1C2 and 1C2b imply the use of a materiality standard in assessing the penalty for any rule violation. Perhaps it would be appropriate to use a chess equivalent of the NBA’s standard, “No harm, no foul.”
As the TD Tip following rule 15A suggests, the requirement that the scoresheet remain visible to the TD and the opponent at all times is motivated by the use of electronic scoresheets. However, it does have its use with a paper scoresheet as well. It prevents a player from keeping a hard-bound scorebook in his lap, out of sight of the opponent, and flipping back to earlier games for notes (which I have seen done). While it is true that the use of notes is already prohibited by rules 20B and 20C, I see no harm in explicitly requiring the scoresheet to remain visible.
It is also useful to the TD to be able to see the scoresheet and check how many moves have been played, especially in an increment time control. When there is an increment of 30 seconds, it is useful to check that the total elapsed time shown on the clock plus the number of moves adds up to the elapsed time in the round. That’s just a sanity check that the clock is set correctly and functioning properly. In fact, I believe it is one of the explicitly listed duties of a match TD in the Olympiad to check the clocks every thirty minutes for correct operation.
I can understand the surprise a foreign arbiter would express at seeing a spiral bound scorebook. As I read the post, Mr. Relyea did not say this is a wrong practice; he simply said the foreign arbiter was surprised. (This agrees with my recollection of the event as well.) I see no basis for concluding that a spiral bound scorebook violates rule 15A as long as it is open and laying flat on the table. Of course, once the player flips the page and starts recording moves on the other side of the page, the front side is not going to be visible. But, the spiral bound scorebook is being used properly. Similarly, I don’t see any problem with turning a scoresheet over once it is full and recording additional moves on the back, although I would personally encourage players to use a second scoresheet (especially if the scoresheet is the no carbon required duplicate type).
As far as the hard bound scorebooks go, I will reserve comment except to say I personally dislike them and think they are a nuisance. But, again, that is my personal opinion. I do not think they comply with rule 15A, but they are in common use, and as Mr. Terrie states, that barn stall has been vacant for some time.
Of course, the organizer still has the right to furnish scoresheets (and the obligation to do so, if the organizer requires copies of the scoresheet). If the organizer does specify the scoresheets to be used for the competition, the players are obligated to use those, spiral-bound or hard-bound scorebooks notwithstanding.
Then, of course, there is the somewhat contradictory paragraph 15G. Ownership of scoresheets where the first sentence says that scoresheets are the property of the organizer. And then the second sentence says that if the games are required to be submitted, then duplicate scoresheets must be provided.
But, if the scoresheets are truly the property of the organizer, then why would you need a duplicate unless the player wants to keep his own copy. Plus, you can infer from this sentence that players must use the tournament provided scoresheet, which in turn would also suggest that electronic scoresheets couldn’t be used (unless the organizer was providing those).
In actual practice, of course, this is ridiculous. I’ve never yet seen a tournament where the organizer insisted that the provided scoresheets be used. It would be a way, though, to prevent usage of electronic scoresheets, if that was desired.
To add to Ken’s example, I have also organized a tournament where all (36) players had to use the scoresheet provided, which just happened to be MonRoi’s. If players also wanted to use a paper scoresheet then they could (in addition to the MonRoi), however they were clearly informed that the MonRoi was the scoresheet of record for the games and would be used for all claims.
I’ve run a RR event where MonRois were the required scoresheet. It was easy to print out final scoresheets for players afterward. It also made compiling a daily games bulletin for the players pretty trivial work.
Exactly. Once everyone received a copy of the bulletin after day 1, the request for printed scoresheets after games diminished. For your reference, the daily bulletins from the event mentioned are available at chesstournamentservices.com/even … ters-2006/
At the risk of stating the obvious:
A player who uses a hardbound scorebook that flips shut is going to be at a disadvantage because he will have to waste time opening the scorebook every time he wants to record a move.