Blackpool Open

[Justin Hadi]

I happen to know the details of the non default mobile incident.

The opponent of the player whose phone went off didn't want to claim because he had come to play chess rather than claim wins which is understandable given entry fee for the open is about £35. Including costs of travelling and accommodation this adds up to quite a lot to not play chess.

In the end the player whose phone went off won the game but the opponent seemed like a very nice guy and had no problem with it, so the players in effect did sort themselves out. This seems perfectly reasonable and common sense to me.

Also the phone was off, the noise was the alarm of the phone which apparently turned the phone on and made the noise.

[Justin Hadi]

By the way although the player whose phone went off did in the end win the female prize that was because she was the only female in the tournament and a claim would have had no effect on this.

Personally I think it should be up to the opponent whether or not to claim and I have no problem with Mark Hebden claiming and the other player (whose name I don't know) not claiming. I have no idea what rules were in place for Blackpool.

[johnmcbride]

I was sat very close to both incidents and both happened very early on in the rounds. Both were quite humorous to watch, but that might not have been the case if it had happened later into the round, when more concentration is needed.

The round four one occurred on one of the lower boards of the open and I assume that the thought of prize money was already dismissed, playing the game was more important to him. I might have felt the same way, but I am sure things would have been different in a team match, or were £750 is at stake. This incident made people smile, as the embarrassment of both players was clear to see, only the sunset later was a brighter shade of red. The girl flew out of the room with the phone and when she returned was greeted by her equally red opponent, who very nicely said that he wanted to play on.

Round five was humorous because of how Mark reacted, punching the air with a yes, like he scored the winning goal in the champions league, John just sat there looking perplexed. This one got a lot of attention as everyone knew just how important this game was. You cannot blame Mark as this is his living and why would he turn down a free point/£750. It took a few minutes before Mark could find and return with an arbiter.

The problem for the arbiters was the number of chess players, plus the size and layout of the room. This meant that the arbiters where located at the other side of the room, a long way from the open. Add to this that in the very early stage of the rounds there is some noise and the arbiters are often dealing with other things out of the playing area. Both phones did not ring for long, or loud enough to be heard so far away. Therefore, both incidents would have required looking for an arbiter to claim the win by mobile. I am sure if they had been closer they might have intervened without being asked.

While I can sympathise with John on board one, we do all know the rules and have to take it on the chin. The disruption to players concentration cannot go unpunished. The future can only get worse as mobile devices running chess software are getting smaller and faster. Not to mention the live boards, even with the delay allow outside help through text messages etc.

[johnmcbride]

I agree, but the arbiters have to be the ones who apply the rules and as was the case, if they are not present, it comes down to the players arbiter hunting. If a player decide not to do this, as was the case in round four, there will always be a variable application of the rules. This has always been the case and happens with other rule breaks, not just mobile phones.

[Crystal Zhu]

oh dear oh dear oh dear...

[Justin Hadi]

Don't worry Crystal at least you look young enough to be described as an "up an coming junior"!

[Matt Mackenzie]

Oh btw - my final round match is being shown on the "live games" page as a loss, for some reason

It was, of course, a draw (as should be clear from the final position )