TD CORNER

HB Global: Tales, Rumors, & Gossip

By Tim Just

The players and reporters have shared their perspectives about the largest $$$ tournament ever. Now let’s view this colossus from the trenches.

Busted Clock?:One fellow, who was losing on the board while his opponent was very short on time, complained that his clock was broke. Why? It waited 5 seconds before his opponent’s time started to count down!

Mind Games:The position was a draw on the board. It was one of those positions that spelled defeat for the player that tried to win. Player A offered Player B a draw. “B” declined, often. They were playing with an analog clock. Since it was one of the last games of that round with flags that were hanging, the TD was watching the game. Each player repeated many positions more than 3 times. They took turns looking each other in the eye and shortening the “I offer a draw” statement to a “draw?” question. They took turns stubbornly declining the draw while not looking at the TD at all. Finally, Player A decided to try and win the position. His flag fell. Too bad Player A did not ask the TD for either a “no losing chances” or a “threefold repetition of position” draw—sigh?!

Rulebook Editor?:One fellow insisted that his opponent be forfeited for not taking notation. After all, that is what the rulebook prescribes. I pointed to my name on the rulebook cover with my TD ID badge while steering him down the accepted procedural path for such offenses. He insisted other NTDs forfeited players for not taking notation, even for just one move. After losing his appeal he sat down and drew his game a few moves later.

Cheating 101:You know it had to be tried. With that kind money being offered someone was going to try to gain an edge. In the last round one not-so-creative fellow used the cell phone-washroom stall-friend with Fritz method to put his game on steroids. Before the dynamic duo could pull that one off they got “busted.” Before the staff could talk with them, they managed to do the 100-yard dash out of the nearest door in Olympic time. The player’s last round opponent got an instant win and some $$$ pie. His earlier opponent’s scores were re-adjusted for prize and ratings purposes. The appropriate USCF powers-that-be were notified about the incident by the senior TD staff.

New TD Rules:A motion passed at the 2005 USCF Delegates Convention now allows Club TD Certificates to be renewed every three years after the first three-year cycle if the applicant passes a Club TD exam. This renewal process also applies to expired Club TD certificates. Contact Larry Pond lpond@uschess.org in the USCF office for details.

Tim Just can be contacted at uscfrulebook@yahoo.com.