English Chess Forum

Hello,

I bet most of you, like me, have heard everything one could possibly
hear concerning the weird but wonderful world of league chess.

Wrong!

I was recently informed about what happened when Edinburgh University
played host to the Bank of Scotland in an Edinburgh League Match.

The University camp produced boards and chessmen but for some unexplained
reason no chess clocks. Apparently they have them, but could not find them.

This dilemma would have defeated most of us but never underestimate the bright
young mind of a student. The University solution was simple.

They downloaded six chess clock apps into six different mobile phones and offered to play on!

I've no idea how many chess anti-mobile laws this broke, probably six at least.
The Bank of Scotland declined their kind offer and although they could have claimed
the match they decided to replay the match next year.

No doubt the next post will tell of a league match where clocks were provided but no board and
chessmen so six chess playing apps were duly downloaded into six mobiles and the match took place.

In the publicity material for the Nation Schools Blitz Tournament we actively encourage schools without clocks to use a phone app.
http://englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/201617-2/blitz-201617/

Geoff Chandler wrote: I've no idea how many chess anti-mobile laws this broke, probably six at least.

Anti-mobile laws are there for anti noise and anti cheating reasons. Using a phone as a clock should fall into the exception to the ban on electronic devices which also applies to conventional DGTs. I've seen adverts for a device made by DGT, which looks like one of their clocks, but actually contains a chess engine able to talk to their sensory boards.

Neill Cooper wrote: In the publicity material for the Nation Schools Blitz Tournament we actively encourage schools without clocks to use a phone app.

very sensible.

One point is that apps usually only support the simpler time controls. All move in x minutes with or without increments would be supported, but not x moves in y plus z to finish.

There was a 4ncl weekend in the nineties when the sets and boards didn't turn up. No mobile phone app options back then though so the organisers had to opt for the alternative of sending out an appeal to every club in Warwickshire to try to gather up every ropey set they could locate in the depths of their store cupboards.

I faced a similar situation recently playing against Lancaster Uinversity who were a clock down. I felt a little reluctant at using a mobile phone but in fact I found it far easier both to use and to read than a conventional digital clock. Having said that, I played perhaps my worst game of chess for many years

Most (all?) smartphones have an 'Airplane Mode' that blocks mobile signal/reception, so the phone won't ring. Plus if a phone is on the table showing players' times it is unlikely to be being used for cheating. So rather an imaginative solution, all in all. Just the kind of problem-solving one hopes to see from students, in fact.

I was once turned up for a match against the University, where although the students had managed to book a room, they didn't have any boards, sets or clocks. Beat that.

I would use one for a blitz game, but in a longplay game there is the risk of the phone ringing, other apps shutting the clock off, the phone locking while its owner is away from the board.... A lot of potential problems.

Joey Stewart wrote:I would use one for a blitz game, but in a longplay game there is the risk of the phone ringing, other apps shutting the clock off, the phone locking while its owner is away from the board.... A lot of potential problems.

Well, 'Airplane Mode' will stop the phone connecting to the network, so no chance of it ringing. And there shouldn't be other Apps running if you haven't started them or left them on. Good point about the phone locking - you would need to set the screen timeout to 'no timeout', or at least to its longest setting.

Geoff's Spaghetti Western nod in the thread title reminded me of the famously lengthy wordless opening scene of Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon a Time in The West'. The scene involves the characters, who are waiting for a train so they can kill one of the passengers, finding various noises and irritants (like a buzzing fly) irritating. Bit like a chess match in its 'no talking but noise annoyances' aspects. [The scene has been ripped off by the advertising industry for a lot of ads over the years, e.g. a famous one where a man driving a swanky car eventually traces an annoying/puzzling squeak to his sleeping girlfriend's earring].

Of course, in a chess club with a match in progress the relentless sound always USED to be the ticking of the massed chess clocks. I still can't get used to playing 'serious' (ish) chess without the ever-present ticking. I wonder if any of the Chess Clock apps for Smartphones allow you to add an audible 'tick tock'?

You can see that great opening sequence here (and the next bit here, as it goes).

Last night, I made ...Rg3 and my opponent began pondering for long. I was thinking of his Qf2 an Kh2. I was turning looking at my other teammates' games and some other boards, and, down to earth, I saw his King on h1, wrote that Kh1 and reached the clock. He stopped the clock and called the arbiteress, and I said in surprise "have you not played Kh1?" Then I accepted my mistake after the arbitress came over, and she sain no problem. Am not sure about the decision of the arbitress,

soheil_hooshdaran wrote:Last night, I made ...Rg3 and my opponent began pondering for long. I was thinking of his Qf2 an Kh2. I was turning looking at my other teammates' games and some other boards, and, down to earth, I saw his King on h1, wrote that Kh1 and reached the clock. He stopped the clock and called the arbiteress, and I said in surprise "have you not played Kh1?" Then I accepted my mistake after the arbitress came over, and she sain no problem. Am not sure about the decision of the arbitress,

I did the same sort of thing in a tournament a few years ago. I left the board after moving and when I came back my clock was running. I looked at the board and couldn't see what my opponent had played. After some further time looking at the board, my opponent's scoresheet and my opponent (who just sat there looking at the board, taking no notice of me), I decided he hadn't moved and started his clock. My opponent got 2 minutes extra on his clock for this. We'd played about 12 moves in a standard opening position I've had dozens of times before until my opponent played 11.0-0 (normal), 12. Re1 (unusual), 13.Rf1 (very surprising). I just hadn't realised he'd moved his rook back to f1 because it was such an unexpected move.

Ian Thompson wrote:After some further time looking at the board, my opponent's scoresheet and my opponent

Didn't looking at your opponent's scoresheet tell you what he had played?

Did you consider making a 'free' move? I am sure no true chess player would do this, but it might have happened in some games by accident. Pity the game-inputter if there is one if that happens.

Some years ago I was playing in a congress (GMCA I think). I made my move, waited a few minutes and then wandered off to see how my clubmates were doing.
On returning, my clock was running but I could not see what had been played. Glancing at my opponent's score sheet confirmed that he had not moved, so I pressed the clock and he didn't react in any way. I assumed that I had just forgotten to press my clock.
This scene was played out several times and every time I returned to the board, my clock was running but no move had been made.
I knew that I was now pressing the button but didn't want to accuse my opponent of anything so I decided to spend more time sitting at the table and await developments.
I didn't have very long to wait, after a few minutes one of the players seated at the next board reached across and pressed my opponents clock button in error! He was very apologetic and agreed that he had probably been doing that from the start of the game.
My opponent claimed not to have noticed anything amiss, although he had been sitting there the whole time.
I raised the matter with the controller of the section and having spoken to all players involved, he agreed to add 10 mins to my time and remove 10 mins from my opponent. This did not put my opponent into time trouble, but he did have to start playing more quickly (the third player was no longer pressing our clock) and eventually he blundered and lost the game.