Match abandoned

[Roger de Coverly]

It's not something I've run into previously, but what suggestions would you make for what happens next, if a match has to be abandoned because of adverse playing conditions? The obvious one is a fire alarm that cannot be silenced, or even a real fire requiring premises to be vacated. Anything really that causes sufficient delay that an evening match cannot be completed within a reasonable time frame.

It's commonplace for Congress rounds to be interrupted by alarms, but play usually resumes within a few minutes.

The Laws of Chess and probably most local competition rules are silent on the issue. Let's also presume the normal league rules mandate quick-play finishes.

[J T Melsom]

The League Controller was present at the venue for the full duration of the match, but not acting as a match captain so kept his advice at an informal level. I understand he favours treating the match as abandoned and to be rearrranged, but as his club is involved in the relevant match, this will be subject to appeal to county officers independent of the teams concerned. It is an interesting issue, but any decision will be reached by county officers irrespective of the discussion here.

[Ian Thompson]

It's not something I've run into previously, but what suggestions would you make for what happens next, if a match has to be abandoned because of adverse playing conditions?

I think that's an impossible question to answer without knowing the circumstances, e.g.:

• Was there sufficient warning of the abandonment for the games to be properly adjourned, with sealed moves, or not?
  Was there any prospect of resuming the match on the night or not?
  How long had the games been in progress, and was anyone short of time?
  Was the abandonment the fault of, or reasonably foreseeable by, anyone involved in the match, or not?

[John Upham]

I am guessing that the match was in progress and moves had been made on all boards.

With no warning the lights failed or an alarm of some kind sounded or water poured through the ceiling.

Now what?

I've known this happen in a match involving strong players and it was transferred to a local Burger King and completed with little fuss.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

One problem I've heard of was due to smoke alarms bleeping due to batteries running low. A variant on the beeping you get with some mobile phones that are running low on battery power.

[J T Melsom]

It is clearly difficult to establish adequate contingency plans when the nature and duration of the problems is unknown. There were three separate fire alarm incidents, the third prompting the abandonment as although the centre had agreed we could stay later to complete the fixture, we were now almost an hour behind. I don't think you could reasonably expect the two match captains to agree to adjournment given this would effectively invent a new league rule. In my view its simply 'force majeure' and the fixture should be replayed at a later date. I have to say that Roger's club are entitled to feel hard done by in this instance because of the score in completed games and a spot adjudication of those outstanding. However, my sympathy is on the wane because of his attempt to indirectly discuss this on the forum prior to a decision being reached. It would be helpful if all forum members could avoid referring to live disputes within their chess organisations as a basic courtesy to those making those decisions.

Some forumites may wish to know that the table tennis club abandoned their fixture at a much earlier stage.

[Ian Thompson]

I don't think you could reasonably expect the two match captains to agree to adjournment given this would effectively invent a new league rule.

Assuming the league is played to the FIDE Laws and league rules don't override the relevant parts of them, I don't think you would be inventing a new rule. The FIDE rules say that a move must be sealed if the game is not finished at the prescribed finishing time. That means that the deviation from the rules is to continue after the scheduled finishing time.

[J T Melsom]

Ian - its Div 2 of a local county league. My point is not about the laws or rules themselves, but whether match captains can necessarily be expected to be aware of such an option or its desirability, given that we no longer operate adjudication as part of the normal means of playing chess in the county. Given that the match was halted whilst the alarm was still ringing I doubbt anybody would have wanted to seal a move given the impediment to thinking. Since I'm the only person in this debate who was actually present, you are all welcome to your speculation, but I shall probably not comment further.

[Roger de Coverly]

The FIDE rules say that a move must be sealed if the game is not finished at the prescribed finishing time.

Can you cite a reference to that? I looked for it, but couldn't find it. There are still rules in the Appendices for how to conduct an adjournment, but nothing I could see in the main body that prescribed it as a means of dealing with interruptions. In any event with the rules now increasingly written on the assumption of increments , the concept of a prescribed finishing time lacks meaning, as it does with a quick-play finish.

Unless the club still had some envelopes left over from fifteen years ago in the days of adjournments, there wouldn't have been any to hand. That's not to mention the difficulty of sealing a move when you are supposed to be evacuating the building. There's a local precedent from some while back for taking the board and set with you and using the bonnet of your car as a table.

[Ian Thompson]

The FIDE rules say that a move must be sealed if the game is not finished at the prescribed finishing time.

Can you cite a reference to that? I looked for it, but couldn't find it. There are still rules in the Appendices for how to conduct an adjournment, but nothing I could see in the main body that prescribed it as a means of dealing with interruptions.

The start of the section on "Guidelines in case a game needs to be adjourned", which says "If a game is not finished at the end of the time prescribed for play, the arbiter shall require the player having the move to ‘seal’ that move."

You're right that's there's no reference to the section on adjournments elsewhere in the rules. Adjournments are presented as "this shouldn't normally happen, but if it does ...". Rule 6.12 does cover the possibility that games have to be interrupted, which means they may not be finished at the scheduled finishing time.

That's not to mention the difficulty of sealing a move when you are supposed to be evacuating the building.

Obviously, you can't in that situation, so then you're probably looking at annulling the game and starting again. In some other situations you will be able to.

[Laurie Roberts]

Happened once in the Croydon & District League. Players acted in the spirit of good sportsmanship and it was resolved with no rancour

In 3 of the matches, the players went home and looked at the position. They then agreed draws, or wins, losses accordingly. No contentions. (Essentially the games were adjourned but without the sealed moves as no time when the venue was being evacuated)

In the remaining match, the two players went to one of the player's houses and finished it off. The player who won then noticed that his clock had stopped and so he may have had too much time and offered to replay the game. His opponent thought he had been beaten fair and squarely and said that was unnecessary. So the result stood and all were content

All got resolved amicably by players acting in a sporting and reasonable manner. Nobody tried to take advantage of the situation and force a replay where they were losing

[Dan Lambourne]

It has happened previously in the Bucks League in the early to mid 90s, when I was playing for RGS High Wycombe, but I can't remember the opponents.

There was a large power cut, so we stopped the clocks, but after some time the lights did not come back on, so we found torches so that we could seal the moves for adjournment. Of course back then the league had adjournments, so it was an easy decision to make.

[Graham Borrowdale]

I remember an instance at the infamous Maidenhead Library (infamous for the sloping tables), when I think there was a power cut. My team was clearly better in maybe 4 games out of 6, but there was no question of adjourning the games, less still of resigning positions, the match was simply replayed. I have heard the legend of people sealing moves in the car park, but that was because of the caretaker needing to lock up at 1030 sharp at that venue.

[MartinCarpenter]

Circumstances depending, I can easily imagine the away team being within their rights to claim the match as a default.
(It being the home teams responsiblity to provide a usable venue.).

Replays better perhaps but there isn't always time for that.

[Sean Hewitt]

It's sometimes useful to look at what other sports do. In football, if a match is abandoned due 'force majure' (weather, floodlight failure and serious player injury are all reasons I as a referee have had to abandon a match) then it is replayed. I once abandoned a game after 61 minutes with the score at 4-0. The side losing at the time won the replay!

There is an exception. If the game is in the last 10 minutes the score can be allowed to stand if it is over-whelming (i.e. 5-0) but the rule of thumb is, if in doubt, it's replayed.

Back to the OP - Any boards that were completed at the time of the abandonment should be graded as per the OTB result, irrespective of the decision regards replaying the match.