WORLD RAPID & BLITZ CH - DOHA 2016

[LawrenceCooper]

Hi Loz,

Thanks for that but my point was also that the second claim was made correctly. The count started with Black's 92 move so when the second claim was made BOTH players had completed 50 moves and not just White as the report stated.

Thanks for that. All I'd been able to see from the various reports was that three claims had been made, two were incorrect but the third, depending on who you believe, was correct.

[David Sedgwick]

I don't understand why the second claim was rejected. The last capture was on White's 92nd move. If the claim was made by Black on his 142nd move then both Black and White had made 50 moves without a capture or (non-existent) pawn move.

There's a Facebook comment from Adly (which I can no longer find) with the final comment from him being along the lines of "The arbiter and I were equally shocked when he played the move on the board and pressed his clock" which gave the impression that he was resigned to the draw claim being upheld if made correctly.

Thanks for that but my point was also that the second claim was made correctly. The count started with Black's 92 move so when the second claim was made BOTH players had completed 50 moves and not just White as the report stated.

Thanks for that. All I'd been able to see from the various reports was that three claims had been made, two were incorrect but the third, depending on who you believe, was correct.

Alex McFarlane is totally correct, as far as I can discern. The third claim was rightly rejected, but the second should have been upheld.

The distinguished arbiter Ashot Vardapetyan appears to have made a serious and very public error.

There but for the grace of God. So far, I have been extremely fortunate that errors of equal magnitude which I have made have not come to public attention. May that continue in 2017.

I take the opportunity to wish all contributors to this Forum, and all readers of it, a Happy New Year.

[Richard Bates]

From the facebook post cited, are you sure the point wasn't that the claim was incorrect, but that it was made incorrectly?

eg. he played Nd7 and said "draw", when he should have stopped the clock and claimed the draw. Hence the additional surprise when, having had the claim rejected, he then failed to claim again on the next move, instead playing Nb8 by which time it was too late?

[Alex Holowczak]

eg. he played Nd7 and said "draw", when he should have stopped the clock and claimed the draw. Hence the additional surprise when, having had the claim rejected, he then failed to claim again on the next move, instead playing Nb8 by which time it was too late?

I've not watched the video since yesterday, but when I saw it then, the clock was stopped before Flores played Nd7.

He then made some gesture pointing at Nd7 having made the claim. But whether he was claiming on the basis of the position after 142. Ke6 being a draw by the 50 move rule, or 142... Nd7 being a draw by the 50 move rule doesn't matter - either would have been valid claims.

[Mick Norris]

I take the opportunity to wish all contributors to this Forum, and all readers of it, a Happy New Year.

Indeed, 2016 has been generally crap, so let's hope that 2017 is much better

Regards to all, hope you all had a good Christmas

[Peter Shaw]

Chuky playing draughts with Jobava during the prizegiving

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHOXx1spnis