Just the Rules: First Rules Quiz of the Year

Are you ready for the first rules quiz of the year? Put on your thinking caps to solve this quartet of problems!

Question 1.

At the State of Confusion Scholastic Championship, two young grade-schoolers faced off to battle it out over-the-board in a G/45 contest. After a lot of struggling, both combatants had to admit to being defeated by the requirement to keep score. They both knew — via their respective coaches — the importance of having accurate score sheets. To solve their notation problem, they mutually decided to start another game with a vow to do a better job of scribbling their moves down. Of course, this solution did not involve a TD.

When a floor TD walked through the tournament room to check on the few remaining games, he noticed that the two young wood=pushers were still in the opening phase of the game. This seemed odd to the TD; a few minutes earlier their game seemed to be well into the late middle game. Of course, as is common at scholastic events, the two chess warriors also had no chess timer on their contest. When the two players noticed the TD eyeballing their board they proudly informed him of their game restart. What are the TD’s options?

A) Put a clock on the current game. Split the elapsed time between the two players and start the clock.
B) Forfeit both players.
C) Call the game a draw.
D) None of the above.

Question 2.

Your local club scheduled a rated five-rounder at the local park district facility, with a schedule of one game per week over a five-week period. A half-point bye was available, upon request, when entering the event. One competitor asked for their half-pointer to be awarded for Round 4, as they would be on vacation that week.

Rounds 1, 2 and 3 ran without a hitch. They were rulebook perfect. Round 4, however, ran into a glitch, a big glitch! That glitch had a familiar name: Mother Nature. Mom’s nasty weather made safe travel impossible (go ahead, insert your own natural disaster). No one was able to show up to push wood that night. The missed round played havoc with the club’s schedule. Their facility had allowed them only those five weeks for their tournament. The club’s space was not available beyond the scheduled 5th round. What are the TD’s options?

A) Give everyone a zero-point bye for round 4, including the bye-requester.
B) Assign everyone, including the bye-requester, a one-point bye for round 4.
C) Change the tournament into a 4-round event. The previous requested bye is invalidated.
D) Any of the above.

Question 3.

A bit of time after the G/60 contest began, one wood-pusher is not taking notation. His opponent complains to the TD. First, warnings were issued by the TD. Next, time was added to the opponent’s clock. The player simply refused to take notation. The TD then started subtracting time from the offending player’s timer, but even that did not encourage keeping score. What is left for the TD to do?

A) Forfeit the player for not notating.
B) Set the offending player’s clock so that they only have five minutes left—at that point no notation is needed.
C) Deduct time from the player’s clock AND add time to the opponent’s clock.
D) None of the above.

Question 4.

At the annual State of Confusion Scholastic Chess Championship, the TD approached a game to record the final results. Essaying the white pieces, one future GM wannabe — player A — claimed an agreed upon draw was the final result. The opponent, player B, claimed the full point! Why? No words were spoken when a handshake was offered by player A and accepted by player B. The clocks were stopped. Player B claims that the handshake and clock stoppage indicated that his opponent resigned. Player B points out that the handshake and clock stoppage in an equal position means the game is a draw. The position on the board appeared to be locked up. What did the TD rule?

A) The TD rules the score is the split result of 1-½.
B) The game is over, and player A wins.
C) The game is over, and is ruled a draw.
D) None of the above.

Solutions

1. The only reasonable thing to do is place a clock on the current game with the elapsed time split between the two wood pushers. There is no readable score for game one. Splitting the elapsed time between the players keeps the current game on track to end the contest (so the next round can start on time). Since notation seems to be a challenge for the two youngsters, the TD might also consider setting the timer so that both contestants each have only five minutes left to finish their present game. This way, no notation is required (Rule 15C). So, A) is the correct answer.

2. All of the options A), B), and C) have the same end results. So, D) “Any of the above” is correct.

3. Continually dealing with players that don’t respond to all efforts to convince them to keep score is frustrating for everyone. Choosing B) makes everyone happy. The offending player — with only five minutes of remaining playing time — no longer needs to notate during time pressure (15C again). Of course, they also can’t make any claims based on their score sheet. Yes, the opponent keeps all of their thinking time, and they should keep an accurate score until they get into time pressure. Any other choice just sets up a lot of unneeded drama.

4. Picking D) is correct. None of A), B), or even C) gets the job done acceptably. The split results of A) rewards someone unnecessarily. The choice of B) or C) begs the old fast-food commercial question: “Where’s the beef?” There is no evidence to support either wood pusher’s version of events. Plus, there is no rule to support a non-verbal handshake and clock stoppage as either a win (13B) or a draw. Since the board and pieces are still set up with the last played position, the game should continue.

Want more? Past columns can be found here or by searching the Chess Life Online archives.

Plus, listen to Tim when he was a guest on the podcasts “One Move at a Time” and “The Chess Angle.”

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, the latter of which is also available from US Chess Sales. Additionally, Tim 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. US Chess awarded the 2022 Tournament Director Lifetime Achievement Award to Tim. He is also a member of the US Chess Rules Committee plus the Tournament Director Certification Committee (TDCC). His new column, exclusive to US Chess, “Just the Rules” will help clarify potentially confusing regulations.