23rd April - Warning

[John Upham]

It would seem both that Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward and Aloysius "Nosey" Parker were both unaware of the nationwide alarm test and attempted to sleep through it.

See

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzYTgUTR7sE

and fast forward to 1 minute in.

Gerry and Sylvia were indeed forward thinking.

PS do not confuse the above Nosey Parker with Matthew Parker, Elizabeth I's first Archbishop of Canterbury.

See https://www.theguardian.com/notesandque ... 69,00.html

[Paolo Casaschi]

I want to be able to keep my phone on without risk of disturbance by the government.

In this case, the friendly notifications of the emergency system should be the least of your concerns.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"or the Mike Basman Memorial"

There was a slight delay in starting the round, so no problem.

[Ian Thompson]

Well if the organisers have been doing their job, then I would expect no problems whatsoever; at the Snooker the crowd was informed play will stop a couple of minutes before hand; I assume this would happen at all tournaments, similar as if it was a fire alarm test which has to occur

Why (for chess)? No-one should have a switched on phone. The organisers doing their job would be to tell players before the round started that anyone failing to follow the rules would likely be found out at 3 pm.

It didn't work for me. I was in Eastleigh town centre and heard lots of phones sounding just before 3 pm, but mine didn't, nor was there any alert on it when I looked later.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Ian, when the system works properly, it actually functions even if the phone is switched off (though not if the battery is removed).

There is a more pressing point. Can participants in chess events be forced by the organisers to disable the feature? I would guess not. So if there is an emergency alert, will the players who (being responsible citizens) ensure they can be alerted, be defaulted, or will it be treated like a fire alarm and play will be suspended with no penalties?

My use of the fire alarm analogy was not entirely random. Some hotels I am at issue me with a deaf alerter system that tells me when the fire alarm goes off. While I have never used those systems while at a hotel hosting a chess congress (as it is really for use in the bedrooms at night), the principle is a sound one.

I would not disable the mobile phone network emergency alert system while playing chess, and I suspect others would not either. So what will organisers do in such cases?

[Joey Stewart]

Ian, when the system works properly, it actually functions even if the phone is switched off (though not if the battery is removed).

There is a more pressing point. Can participants in chess events be forced by the organisers to disable the feature? I would guess not. So if there is an emergency alert, will the players who (being responsible citizens) ensure they can be alerted, be defaulted, or will it be treated like a fire alarm and play will be suspended with no penalties?

My use of the fire alarm analogy was not entirely random. Some hotels I am at issue me with a deaf alerter system that tells me when the fire alarm goes off. While I have never used those systems while at a hotel hosting a chess congress (as it is really for use in the bedrooms at night), the principle is a sound one.

I would not disable the mobile phone network emergency alert system while playing chess, and I suspect others would not either. So what will organisers do in such cases?

I don't think it's going to be any issue for you, if the fire alarm goes off on your phone then the main sirens would be ringing , the playing hall would be evacuated and there wouldn't be any repercussion.

Like I said before, if it is a nationwide thing then every phone in the room will go off and and the arbiters will never know which individuals to punish so common sense will prevail and it will be treated as just 'one of those things'.

[Alan Walton]

Like I said before, if it is a nationwide thing then every phone in the room will go off and and the arbiters will never know which individuals to punish so common sense will prevail and it will be treated as just 'one of those things'.

Since this would be nationwide and only be used in theory for imminent danger to life, I wouldn't mind being defaulted and getting safe somewhere, better than sitting at a chess board with a winning position and then dying; not really going to treat it as "one of those things".

[Roland Kensdale]

Well if the organisers have been doing their job, then I would expect no problems whatsoever; at the Snooker the crowd was informed play will stop a couple of minutes before hand; I assume this would happen at all tournaments, similar as if it was a fire alarm test which has to occur

It didn't work for me. I was in Eastleigh town centre and heard lots of phones sounding just before 3 pm, but mine didn't, nor was there any alert on it when I looked later.

BBC said some customers on the 3 network didn't get the alert and it is being investigated.

[Ian Thompson]

Ian, when the system works properly, it actually functions even if the phone is switched off (though not if the battery is removed).

Not according to the government information.

BBC said some customers on the 3 network didn't get the alert and it is being investigated.

I saw that as well. My phone is Vodafone.

[Roger de Coverly]

The organisers doing their job would be to tell players before the round started that anyone failing to follow the rules would likely be found out at 3 pm.

That was the case at St Albans, but we were treated to the alarm from at least one phone at 3 pm. Personally I left mine in the car and switched it off completely for good measure. There were no missed alert messages when I switched it back on at about 6 pm.

[Joey Stewart]

Like I said before, if it is a nationwide thing then every phone in the room will go off and and the arbiters will never know which individuals to punish so common sense will prevail and it will be treated as just 'one of those things'.

Since this would be nationwide and only be used in theory for imminent danger to life, I wouldn't mind being defaulted and getting safe somewhere, better than sitting at a chess board with a winning position and then dying; not really going to treat it as "one of those things".

You are winning either way in that scenario- if your opponent and the arbiter are so bloody minded that they are not prepared to leave the hall and default you then there will be no one left alive but you to report the result.

[Chris Goodall]

Why (for chess)? No-one should have a switched on phone.

Should. They say that when every chess player correctly observes the mobile phone rule, Paul Morphy will come back to life and reveal to us the perfect game.