English Chess Forum

Lorin D'Costa wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 01, 2019 6:44 pm

I then was told my opponent, Mr Storey, had asked them to follow me.

Clearly, based on what's been said here, the arbiters had no option but to award the game to Charlie Storey. What seems curious to me, although it's been unremarked upon here, is why - assuming Lorin is correct in what he says above - Charlie asked the arbiters to follow him. One presumes that this isn't Charlie's invariable practice, once an opponent leaves the immediate vicinity, so why on this occasion?

Because he took his bag with him?

I guess he saw him put the phone in the bag before play, then take the bag with him.

The ECF Twitter account never points here I see?

Who runs that...

From the tournament rules on ECF website

"Anti-Cheating In accordance with the Laws of Chess introduced on 1st January, 2018:

During a game, a player is forbidden to have any electronic device not specifically approved by the arbiter in the playing venue. The British Championships will permit such devices to be stored in a player’s bag, provided the device is completely switched off. This bag must be placed as agreed with the arbiter. Both players are forbidden to use this bag without permission of the arbiter.

If it is evident that a player has such a device on their person in the playing venue, the player shall lose the game. The opponent shall win.

Hand-held scanners will be at used at this event. Board(s) will be selected at random, and both players will be scanned before the start of the round. We reserve the right to scan any player, or a spectator who is in the playing area, at any time.

All games will be submitted to FIDE and may be processed through their checking tool.

Any concerns about cheating should be brought to the attention of the arbiter and nobody else. The arbiter will handle the situation. Please do not raise concerns with anyone else. "

Daniel Rosenbaum I was told at the Glorney handles the ECF Twitter.

Carl Hibbard wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 01, 2019 10:45 pm

The ECF Twitter account never points here I see? Who runs that...

Presumably someone with a brain

Would anyone like to hazard a guess as to the number of move(s) that will be played on board four in the Championship in round 7 ?

There are previous Richard vs Nick games in the db and total number of moves is

8 + 9 + 1 = 18

Could we break the Miles - Reuben record ?

Jonathan Rogers wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 01, 2019 7:47 pm

c) Lorin had left the playing area but was only approached because the arbiters had been asked to do so by his opponent

According to the reports above, it was (c).

Unlike some venues, there hadn't been any announcements as to what was in bounds and out of bounds. It was fairly obvious from the context.

I don't know about the main room but in the other room Geoff Gammon has repeated the same notices daily including the rules about mobile phones. I assume that is so there can be absolutely no misunderstanding.

Roger de Coverly wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:43 pm

Jonathan Rogers wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 01, 2019 7:47 pm

c) Lorin had left the playing area but was only approached because the arbiters had been asked to do so by his opponent

According to the reports above, it was (c).

If the arbiters aren't going to enforce a rule saying players will be defaulted if they walk off with a bag with a phone in it unless asked to do so then either the rule, or the arbiters, should be changed.

Personally, I'd change the rule to say doing this would only be a warning if it's clear that there was no realistic opportunity to use the phone surreptitiously. That would apply if you were in public view within the playing venue at all times.

Ian Thompson wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 02, 2019 12:42 am

If the arbiters aren't going to enforce a rule saying players will be defaulted if they walk off with a bag with a phone in it unless asked to do so then either the rule, or the arbiters, should be changed.

There are apparently 6 arbiters on the afternoon team according to Chess-Results. Matthew Carr is most likely concentrating on the live boards. So that takes it down to 5. According to Andrew's post, the remaining 5 arbiters appear to be spread out over at least two rooms, so it might be there is a 3+Matthew/2 split. Without bothering to add them up, there seem to be something like 300 players in the afternoon. In this context, with large numbers of people coming and going from the playing hall (some of whom won't be players, I imagine), it's probably not so easy to see one individual take one bag out of the room; so you might have to investigate claims like this reactively from a player.

The British isn't a Round Robin event where 2 arbiters supervise 10-12 players. You have to adjust your expectations of what the resources available can do accordingly.

Charlie's official statement on FB:

"My Official Statement for a bizarre experience in round 6 of 9 in the British Chess Championships.

FM Charlie Storey V IM Lorin Da Costa

My opponent took his bag then left the main tournament playing area. I thought it was a surprise why he took his bag and this distracted me. The arbiters followed him and then investigated and it was found that the player had a mobile phone in his bag. The rules were made quite clear at the start of the tournament that if you have a mobile phone that it should be stored on the table or under the table in a bag. Sadly my opponent was defaulted for breach of the rules.

It should be made clear there was no evidence to suggest he used his mobile phone and in my view he most probably did not. It is a basic fundamental mistake to take your bag out of a playing area especially if it has a mobile phone it.

My opponent is a very nice guy who has done a lot for chess and I think it was a genuine mistake, however, it did put me off when I saw him carry it out of sight of the tournament hall and that is not acceptable, the default made by the investigating arbiter was the correct decision.

I wish him well for the rest of the tournament."

Interestingly, this is what Charlie said the day before on FB:

"Played my Second Sniper of The Championship and drew with Black against Fellow England Coach IM Adam Taylor. I won the opening battle then won the middle game battle before losing the late middlegame battle. Entered a complicated but drawn ending and managed to allow a won position for my esteemed opponent. Fortunately he did not see it and we drew. Now for White tomorrow against IM Lorin DaCosta...A lovely guy from London."

This seems to disprove Lorin's suggestion that Charlie had a problem with him.

Rules is rules and they are finicky but without them we are in chaos. Even in 'friendly' golf I like to observe them strictly but, I emphasise, with a gentle and pleasant attitude. If the contest is unimportant it is still best to be sure of the correct result when you are keeping score.

I also play a lot of bridge where the director has to intervene far more than at chess.The vital thing is to let the director decide the correct procedure and not have the players try to sort it out. Everyone must keep calm.

In the Round 6 incident it seems that one player broke a rule and his opponent behaved impolitely and tried to influence the arbiters. I have more sympathy with the rule breaker because his action was probably inadvertent. However, he has to face the consequences. What a wonderful world we would have if every single person behaved properly. It's not difficult. (PS: I wrote the above before seeing Charlie's statement, but I let it stand in the light of Lorin's comments provided they are the truth.)

Curiously there is nothing in Charlie's statement regarding Lorin's claims about events post-disqualification.