Friday 24 June 2011

The crackdown begins

News from the Russian Championship (Ht Milan Ninchich), shows that what the public demands, the organisers enforce. This tournament, which is a qualifier for the real Russian Championship aka Russian Super Final, has a couple of extra playing conditions.
The first is the extension of the "No draws in under 30 moves rule" to "No draws in under 40 moves" rule. I'm guessing this is not too onerous, although it does require a few more "non-book" moves from players determined to split the point.
The second is substantially more drastic, especially in its enforcement. Players are forbidden from leaving the playing area, although this rule hasn't been enforced in the past. However GM Dmitry Chuprov found that it was being enforced this year, and had a win turned into a loss due to his breaking the rule twice in a game.
Chessbase has a report on the tournament, including the enforcement of these new rules.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bad luck if you need to take a leak!

Denis Jessop said...

The only FIDE law forbidding players from leaving the playing area affects only a player having the move and allows the arbiter to give permission. Any more restrictive provision is contrary to the FIDE Laws of Chess though these days that may not matter much.

DJ

Unknown said...

Pro chessplayers have had it too easy for too long!
Try some of the time-wasting and "toilet breaks" in other pro comps and the officials or other players will soon let you know the consequences!
Eg in tennis an official accompanies you to the bathroom, a delay or time waste gets a warning, then point loss then heavy fines.