Just the Rules: Do We Need A New Flag Fall Rule?

It seems strange to call that row of zeros on a digital chess clock a “flag fall.” The term is left over from the days when analog clocks were the standard. Those timers had actual tiny flags that dropped, or fell, when a player had used up the allotted playing time.

Flag falls in the digital universe are not much of an issue. When the allotted playing time has run out, your chess-playing website’s programming automatically makes that call for you. The same can’t be said for games over the board.

A US Chess Tournament Director getting involved in a game without being asked is rare indeed -- only the players can make a flag fall claim. TDs have to wait to come onboard until (if) the claim is disputed. Then there could be a lot of hoops to jump through. In fact, that was a topic for two of my earlier columns: Flag Falls Part One and Part Two.

The International Chess Federation, FIDE, gives its onsite officials (arbiters) a bit more wiggle room when it comes to flag falls. FIDE arbiters are allowed to call the flag, and can end the game. They can even take notation for the players that are banging out moves. Can we apply that kind of wiggle room to OTB US Chess? In my honest opinion: maybe.

There is something of a precedent in US Chess. About the only time a TD can jump into the fray is if both flags are down and no time forfeit claim has been made in the final time control period. At that point, the game can be declared a draw by the TD (rule 14G2). Otherwise, without some external intervention, the two opponents might play on, and on, and on ...

Since there is a rule that allows only the two players to make a time forfeit claim (rule 13C1), changing that regulation should be a simple matter to also allow the TD to call the flag. Unfortunately, it is not that simple—is it ever? Consider the following:

Situation 1: In a marathon game, you and your adversary have been pushed to the limit. For every intricate move, a complicated countermove, and both of you have made liberal use of nearly all of your allotted time. Ultimately, your flag falls first, but your opponent does not notice and no claim is made. So you keep on shuffling your chess army around move after move and, finally, your opponent’s flag falls too. You make the draw claim: two downed flags equal a draw! You have turned a goose egg into half-point gold!

• If a TD is allowed to call the flag, then you would lose the moment your clock runs out of time. You would lose the ability to play on until your opponent’s time runs out, and thus any chance to make your double-flag draw claim. Zero would be your score, not the half-point for which you had aimed.

Situation 2: In a game using a classical time control, you have a lot more time left on your clock than the woodpusher sitting across from you. Though their flag eventually falls, their final moves of the game happen faster than lightning, and you have not been taking notation for many moves in the end. With the time you have left -- before your own flag falls -- you fill in the missing moves on your scoresheet, before you claim your point.

• If a TD is allowed to call the flag, then you would have no chance to catch up on your missing notation. Because all notation must stop once the flag fall claim is made, your scoresheet would not be usable to verify your claim. An accurate scoresheet is imperative to making a time forfeit claim in classical time control game.

If the US Chess rule-makers allow the TD to also call flag falls, then both of the aforementioned situations need to be addressed. Given that our members are now pretty used to the online software making that same claim, the door has been opened to giving our TDs the same discretion.

Any thoughts?

Tim Just is a National Tournament Director, FIDE National Arbiter, and editor of the 5th, 6th, and 7th editions of the US Chess Rulebook. He is also the author of My Opponent is Eating a Doughnut & Just Law, which are both available from US Chess Sales and Amazon/Kindle. Additionally, Tim recently revised The Guide To Scholastic Chess, a guide created to help teachers and scholastic organizers who wish to begin, improve, or strengthen their school chess program. Tim is also a member of the US Chess Rules Committee. His new column, exclusive to US Chess, “Just the Rules” will help clarify potentially confusing regulations.

The free, updated US Chess Rules (Chapters 1+2 + 10 +11 from the 7th edition rulebook) are now downloadable and available online. Past “Just the Rules” columns can be viewed here. Plus listen to Tim when he was a guest on the US Chess podcast “One Move at a Time.”