There are a anumber of unpopular rule changes at this years Olympiad including Match point scoring, the random pairings and the shortening of the tournament to 11 rounds, but probably the most unpopular rule is the deafult rule. Basically any player who is not present at the board at the start of the game loses immediately. No 1 hour default time, instead an instant forfeit for being even 10 seconds late.
Or 3 minutes as New Zealander Bob Smith discovered 40 minutes ago. Deciding to stay back at the hotel for some last minute prep, he took a late bus, missed his stop, and arrived 3 minutes after the start time. New Zealand down 1-0 to Solvenia.
Indeed a number of games were over very quickly by this method, including boards 1&2 of the PNG v Uganda match. The Ugandan's suffered from the usual visa difficulties that afflict many African teams, meaning they started down 2 points against us.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Hmmm, wonder how well that default rule would go down at the Doeberl?
Give it a go. Double dare ya :)
Seriously, seeing the number of times in club games that players who should know better roll up well after the start of play (go get a drink, have a chat or a smoke) and by implication being totally rude to their opponent, such a rule may have some advantages.
Post a Comment