BCF v 4NCL

Historical knowledge and information regarding our great game.
Roger de Coverly
Posts: 21301
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:51 pm

Re: BCF v 4NCL

Post by Roger de Coverly » Tue Mar 13, 2012 9:18 am

As regards National leagues played at weekends without quickplay finishes, I would suspect a very early start (8am) on the Sunday morning. The Germans still do this.

A hypothetical 4NCL started in the seventies or eighties may not have been FIDE rated. If the target market was players graded 175 and above, not many would be rated as the FIDE cutoff was 2200, if such a hypothetical league followed weekend Congress practice, it would have a Quickplay finish, possibly 40/2 and G/60. If based on then London League approaches, it might have been 40/2 then 20/1 with adjudication.

Norm requirements were strictly policed, rating requirements less so. It's then possible that it could have been rated regardless of the rules. A story is told that Blitz tournament once got rated. The story was that Elo himself say the reports featuring a well known GM or two and decided to include it in the ratings without noticing the type of event.

Roger de Coverly
Posts: 21301
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:51 pm

Re: BCF v 4NCL

Post by Roger de Coverly » Tue Mar 13, 2012 9:53 am

QPFs had become commonplace in British weekend Congresses by 1975. EMW observes they made it to the Laws of Chess ten years later. When did they first become allowed for international rating and more crucially title Norms?

Contemporary magazines suggest the Laws change was more to permit one hour chess and a separate rapid play list. It would be some years before major British events such as Hastings and the Championship itself went over to QPFs. I think the first British with QPFs was Norwich in 1994.

The very traditional rate, established in the late 1940s had been 40 moves in two and a half hours followed by adjournment and then continuation at 16 moves an hour. The reforms of the mid eighties extended the session to six hours and speeded the rate, so you had 40/2 followed by 20/1 in a single session.

E Michael White
Posts: 1420
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:31 pm

Re: BCF v 4NCL

Post by E Michael White » Tue Mar 13, 2012 10:29 am

Roger de Coverly wrote:When did they first become allowed for international rating and more crucially title Norms?
I dont know the answer to that without looking it up and even then might not have the info.

However also in 1985, in addition to QPF rules, a separate set of rules were approved for 60 minute chess and it was stipulated that for an experimental period of 1 year games played under that time limit could be FIDE rated. Whether or not there were any rated I cannot confirm. This may be the origin of the rated blitz reports you mention. The 60 minute set appeared before the QPF and many arbiters seemed to get the two confused as regards whether the arbiter may signal a flag fall.

The 60 minute rules had an interesting provision in that the arbiter could cancel a game and order it to be replayed if anyone other than the players pointed out a flag fall. Games in certain ENG tournaments could have lasted weeks or months.