Tournaments

    Please note the club tournaments end on 30th June 2013. The winner of each tournament will be the person with the highest score.
      E.g  Player A plays four games, wins four games, will have four points.
             Player B plays nine games, wins five games,  will have five points.
                            Player B is the winner.
   Therefore please aim to play games sooner rather than later.
   If you still have games to play in the last two weeks of June it may be difficult to arrange a match. You may find your opponent is:
                a) away    b)  ill   c)  booked up with other matches  d) some other reason.
   Try to complete ALL  your games in a tournament, at the latest, by the second week of June.

42 move confusion in MSCL

There's been some discussion in the club recently about the 42 move 'rule' (convention) in the league when one or both players decide they have had enough on reaching the time control. This can only be done if either a) both players agree on the result or b) it is impossible for the player who stops playing to lose on time before the stated end of the playing session, i.e. if, after the 15 minute addition, the player were to go on 'thinking' until 10:45 s/he would still have time on the clock.* However, there is one point to notice here, especially for captains: this can only work if the finishing time is clearly stated and agreed at the start of the match. This prevents anyone declaring a 'posthumous' win after the event if it was their opponent's turn to move. (Yes, really!!)

Many still consider the time controls in the league to be inappropriate in not ensuring that the match is played out in the time available, leading to all kinds of complaints and complications, discussions, emails, engines and adjudications. Opinion is divided, but the league has stuck firmly to its conviction that three hours isn't long enough for the match to finish in an evening. But is it really worth the hassle?

* PS It's important to confer with your opponent about your decision to stop play - don't just pass the time in contemplation and then rely on an expired finishing time just as your flag falls!! The above is just a guide to when you can choose to stop playing.

World Candidates Tournament 2013

The candidates tournament starts in earnest today, see http://london2013.fide.com/ - if you can see it that is! FIDE certainly not doing itself any favours here - you have to highlight the text to read it! Perhaps they will be lifting the veil on the mysteries of the game once it gets underway. John Humphrys played a game against Dominic Lawson (a Lewes player) on the Today programme this morning so that's mainstream, with the added suggestion that all the game needs to attract more media attention is for Magnus to date a supermodel. Come on Magnus!! (In the chess sense, I mean, of course.)