The new rulebook kicks in on January 1, 2004. Let us take a look at some of the more common changes and how TDs can apply them.
In the past the only time that a draw claim was also a draw offer was when a 14H (No Losing Chances) claim was made. Now when a player makes any kind of draw claim it counts the same as a draw offer (rule 14 pages 38-39). That means if you are called to a board to deal with any draw claim, like a Three Fold Repetition, 50-move rule, No Losing Chances, etc., your first step is to notify the opponent of the claimant that they have been offered a draw. If the opponent accepts the draw, the game is over and you can move on to other TD duties.
The opponent has two ways to reject the draw:
The old rulebook and the new 5th edition both have a lot of rules that do not specify a penalty. In the past the TD and player were pretty much in the dark as to what penalty to apply. Often a warning will do; however, when stronger action is needed, the standard penalty in the new rulebook is that 2 extra minutes can be added to the clock of the claimant, the opponent of the player violating the rule (1C2a pg. 2). One example:
Even after a warning player A keeps on picking up the clock in violation of rule16C2. This rule does not specify a penalty. Player B makes the claim. The TD rules that player A has violated the rule. Two minutes get added to the unused playing time of player B (the claimant and opponent of the player violating the rules).
Now during the last five minutes of ANY time control both the non-sudden death and sudden death procedures for players are the same. The non-sudden death rules of the past were changed in this rulebook to pretty much match the sudden death rules; i.e., whenever there is only five minutes left in ANY time control, either sudden death or non-sudden death, there should be no TD intervention (11D1 page 25 and 11H page 26), scorekeeping is not required (15B and 15C pages 56-57), and the two minute illegal move penalty applies (16D1 page 63).
The old rules told players that they could not make a 14H claim until they had only five minutes left on their clock. The new rule says that players must wait until there are only two minutes left on their clock before they can make a “No Losing Chances” claim. When processing a 14H claim, TDs are encouraged (after notifying the opponent of the claimant that a draw offer is on the table -rule 14), to place a properly set delay clock on all games with positions that are not blatantly and obviously simple clear examples of “No Losing Chances.” TDs should consider only the position on the board, not extraneous factors, when ruling on a 14H claim. Just like in the past, if there is any chance at all that the position is even remotely unclear the TD should place a properly set delay clock on the game. This approach emphasizes that the fate of the game is being placed in the hands of players, not a TD.
There is still NO RULE THAT ALLOWS A PLAYER TO SIMPLY ASK FOR A DELAY CLOCK and then have it placed on a game. To replace a functioning non-delay clock, a player must first make a 14H claim. This means that before a TD, as a resolution to the 14H claim, possibly places a delay clock on the game, the offer of a draw to the opponent must first take place (rule 14).
Gone is the concept that priority of color assignment is given automatically to players dropping down from a higher score group or to players with a higher rating within the same scoregroup. The only time to now apply the “higher ranked player” model is after not being able to utilize 5 other color balancing rules first. Note example 6 in the chart below indicates that the two players will also need to have the exact same color history before the “highest ranked player” rule kicks in.
Equalization of color assignment is still more important than alternation; however, now, if within a scoregroup, transpositions or interchanges do not help resolve color issues then the player with the most unequal number of color assignments gets allocate the color that cures that problem. Only after that application of the rules does “rank” mean anything at all.
The chart below applies equally to both players within a scoregroup or to players that drop down from another scoregroup. The only time “rank” (scoregroup then rating) is considered for color assignment is if the color history of both players is exactly the same (example 6). This chart illustrates the steps and examples for priority of color assignments a TD needs to bear in mind when considering what color a player will be allocated when making pairings. Check out page 144-145 (29E4) for the exact wording of the rules that this chart is based on.
|
|
Player A |
Player B |
Color Assigned Next Round |
|
1. |
WBW |
B(bye)W |
Player A plays Black due to the greater color imbalance in the three games played thus far. |
|
2. |
WWBW |
(bye)WBW |
Player A plays Black due to the greater imbalance of Whites in the four games played thus far. |
|
3. |
WWB |
WBW |
Player A plays White in order to alternate colors when both players are equally unbalanced. |
|
4. |
WBWB |
BWWB |
Player A plays White based on the first time there is a color difference between the opponent’s (round 2) color difference. |
|
5. |
BW(bye)BW |
BWB(bye)W |
Player A plays White based on the first time there is a color difference between the opponent’s (round 4) color difference. |
|
6. |
BWBW |
BWBW |
The higher ranked player, either A or B (scoregroup then rating), plays Black. |
If you liked the old rule better from the 4th edition, or your pairing software has not been updated within the last year (it is my understanding that WinTD and SwisSys has been updated within the last year) you will need to announce you are using Variation 29E4d, Priority based on rank (page 146), at your tournaments. If you are not sure if your pairing software has been updated check with the author or manufacturer.
16C2 page 62 says that now players must use the same hand for moving pieces and pressing the clock AT ALL TIMES during the game.
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