tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post1423812980700744629..comments2023-12-28T02:11:22.501+00:00Comments on The Streatham & Brixton Chess Blog: Sitges: better late?Tom Chivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09850710685193416732noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-87982554906322042182015-08-28T09:48:29.183+01:002015-08-28T09:48:29.183+01:00I'm with John Cox here. I'm not a social p...I'm with John Cox here. I'm not a social player, I'm a competitive player. I'm on time because I want to use the full time allotted to me, not because I don't want to keep my opponent waiting. He'll be waiting for my move often enough during the game. If my opponent decides to gift me 15 minutes I'll take them gladly. <br /><br />That being said, team events are a bit different in that respect, because often the starting of the clock is deferred until everybody has arrived. If that is the way things are usually done, coming late is of course pretty impolite. <br /><br />PhilleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-63280773109175258462015-08-23T01:34:30.104+01:002015-08-23T01:34:30.104+01:00I don't believe that was the cause of zero tol...I don't believe that was the cause of zero tolerance for a moment, though it is sometimes used a justification, to be sure. ZT was born out of some fatuous notion that it was unprofessional for players not to be on time, or some such pious bollocks. And of course arbiters took it up because it makes them more powerful and important and the players less so, and this is always the first and chief goal of any arbiter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-37220669006113763122015-08-21T03:04:24.577+01:002015-08-21T03:04:24.577+01:00All joking aside, I agree with what John Cox said....All joking aside, I agree with what John Cox said. Against gamesmanship, the best answer is to make good moves -- make them wish they had more time to think. Against rudeness, the best answer is to behave correctly. What I do is notify the arbiter that my opponent is late, so the arbiter can ring up the hotel room, in case they have overslept or perhaps don't know the start time.<br /><br />About the zero tolerance, I thought the cause was this: In the old days, if black was late, white did not have to move but could start black's clock. Since the crummy display software, as well as digital move counters, could not handle that real-world scenario, they changed the rule to require white's clock be started first, and white must move before starting black's clock. That rule change was the REAL stupidity. The zero tolerance is a natural consequence, so that black cannot not wait in the hotel room for a free peek at white's first move.an ordinary chessplayernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-66382839575986060592015-08-21T01:18:33.159+01:002015-08-21T01:18:33.159+01:00The dog ate my Garmin.The dog ate my Garmin.an ordinary chessplayernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-29410357048382694082015-08-19T22:27:24.550+01:002015-08-19T22:27:24.550+01:00It's bad manners. Whoever heard of a chess pla...It's bad manners. Whoever heard of a chess player with bad manners?David Rnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-53903321574735927362015-08-19T21:55:55.332+01:002015-08-19T21:55:55.332+01:00I don't agree with this at all. If you want to...I don't agree with this at all. If you want to play social chess, play social chess. If you want to play a competitive event, you have to accept that your opponent can turn up at any time permitted by the rules at his or her convenience and not yours. Your opponent may, for instance, dislike rushing before a game, dislike being engaged in social banter before the game and thus prefer to turn up after the session, starts, or whatever (not a few great players have had the habit of turning up a few minutes late). It's not a question of good manners; that simply doesn't come into it. It's a question of people's entitlement in a competitive situation.<br /><br />Anyway, you're allying yourself with Nigel, you know. That can't be good.<br /><br />If you ever play Gigi Bucchichio you won't enjoy it. He finds the game a bit slow and prefers to turn up 45 minutes late. If by some mishap he's earlier then he just sits in a chair at the side of the room for half an hour before making his first move. The young US GM whose names escapes me but writes books - ah yes, Naroditsky - seemed a bit surprised by this at the London Classic.<br /><br />Zero tolerance is far worse than stupid and unnecessary; it's part of the war fought by administrators to increase their power at the expense of players. If we collectively had any gumption we could soon end it - well, obviously we could vote out the cretins who introduced it, but assuming their corruption continues to keep them in power we could simply ensure that all competitors in the Olympiad left the hall a minute before the start of play and remained there until one minute afterwards. Kirsan would soon get tired of announcing 0-0 draws in all matches.John Coxnoreply@blogger.com