Sealed move during threefold repetition sequence

[Ian Thompson]

Modern digitals display which control period the player is in.

How many players know what to look for and where to look?

How many players have so little idea of how much time they've used that they would need to look?

[Roger de Coverly]

How many players have so little idea of how much time they've used that they would need to look?

I've seen it happen at least twice in league matches where with the 75 minute + 15 minute time setting, that players had failed to notice the extra 15 being added.

[E Michael White]

Probably more the fact that no one in the world uses them anymore. That's probably even true in England, given that leagues that still have them tend to have written their own adjournment rules into their league rules.

Nope. They've been there for years.

More than 20? I think no one has really considered the adjournment rules very much since the world moved on from them.

I expect all English leagues to go onto increment chess but that at the end of the session Leagues will need to have adjournment or adjudication, as some clubs will need to leave their premises at a specific time. I think the Director for Home chess should come up with some procedures to deal with this situation if the leagues' games are to be graded. It sounds to me as if most players would prefer the very occasional adjournment rather than an adjudicator finish the game off for them. Not me though I would prefer to spend no more than 1 night on a game of chess.

Just so you know, from around the year 2001 for games to be ECF graded, FIDE Laws had to be observed during play. Adjournment procedures were written into FIDE Laws. Playing to FIDE Laws has never allowed the Laws to be altered by League Rules. Only FIDE rules not Laws can be altered by Tournament Rules.

Since 2009 FIDE Laws state the Adjournment process are Guidelines, so presumably from that time Leagues can set their own rules and still have games graded. This is 8 years ago and a lot more recent than the 20 years you seek to proclaim. However I believe that the ECF should create some sort of adjournment rules which could be used across Leagues.

[Alex Holowczak]

I think the Director for Home chess should come up with some procedures to deal with this situation if the leagues' games are to be graded.

I don't think games that are adjourned (or adjudicated) should be graded at all, so the last thing I'm going to do is write rules to cover such situations.

I tried putting the latter to Council and was told very firmly that adjudicated games should still be permitted for grading, and so I've no particular desire to wade back into such matters.

If leagues want them, then I can begrudgingly accept that, but they can write their own rules for it.

[Roger de Coverly]

so the last thing I'm going to do is write rules to cover such situations.

Leagues still using them have adjudication and adjournment rules that are "tried and tested". Adjournment rules are usually more recent as adjournments were introduced into some leagues to counter the players who would complete 30 moves or whatever and stop playing.

It's a better adjournment rule to follow what used to be Congress practice and have a well defined second session agreed before the game even starts. The practical effect of such a rule is to abolish adjournments where absence of agreement defaults to "finish on the night".