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SCT 2014 Commentary: Round 12

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Go to: Before the Tournament, Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 5, Round 6, Round 7, Round 8, Round 9, Round 10, Round 11, Round 12, Round 13, Round 14, Round 15, Round 16, Round 17, Round 18, Round 19, Round 20, Round 21, Round 22, Round 23, Round 24.

Round 12 Auto-Commentary

Dave Wiegand (USA) seizes the lead, 10-2 +1045, on a 6-game winning streak. Chris May (AUS) is +770, #2 sliding from #1. David Eldar (AUS) is +621, on a 7-game winning streak, #3 rising from #5. Michael Akonor (GHA) is 1 game behind at 9-3 +895, on a 6-game winning streak, #4 jumping up from #11. Brett Smitheram (Eng) is +852, on a 3-game winning streak, #5 up from #7. Calum Edwards (Eng) is +665, on a 5-game winning streak, #6 climbing from #10. David Koenig (USA) is +633, #7 dropping from #3. Waseem Khatri (PAK) is +543, #8 jumping up from #13. Theresa Brousson (MLT) is +491, on a 4-game winning streak, #9 leaping up from #15. Peter Armstrong (USA) is +418, #10 up from #14.

High Win: Donna Stanton (Eng) 596-326 vs. Sumbul Siddiqui (Eng). Low Win: Elie Dangoor (Eng) 324-318 vs. Ruth MacInerney (Eng). High Loss: Jim Kramer (USA) 480-491 vs. Penny Downer (Wal). Low Loss: H Hardiyanto (IDN) 255-563 vs. Alex Tan (MYS).

My favourite Tournament Director game of the day took place this round, the last one before lunch, when players are extra cranky and careless.

Player A called me over to complain that Player B's tile drawing technique was distracting. Player B demonstrated his technique, which appeared correct. Player A insisted that Player B was blocking his view of the board while drawing tiles, which sounded unlikely. I instructed Player A to try to be a little calmer, and Player B to turn slightly to the side while drawing tiles to show good faith in accommodating Player A. Player A then complained that the real problem was that Player B cast shadows on the board when drawing tiles according to the standard procedure. I reviewed WESPA Rules Version 2 to confirm that there were no specifications for player translucency, nor an expectation that players should not cast shadows.

Later in the game, Player B called me over to insist that Player A should lose a turn. They agreed that Player A had set aside six tiles, then said that he was checking the bag to see how many tiles it contained, then grown impatient with 0:34 on his clock as Player A drew replacement tiles at a regular rate, and paused his clock. Player B claimed that pausing the clock was the same as hitting the clock, and that since there were only six tiles left in the bag, Player A should lose his turn. After consulting with my codirector, I ruled that Player A's intent had been clear, and that Player A was guilty only of inappropriately neutralizing the clock.

I then stated that while a penalty might apply for inappropriately starting a clock, it made no sense to assess one for stopping it. I said that as soon as both players consented to the ruling, Player B could start Player A's clock and play could continue.

Player B immediately started Player A's clock.

Before either player expressed any opinion about the ruling.

I immediately paused the clock, and reminded Player B that I had said that I was prepared to assess a penalty for inappropriately starting the clock, which he had just done. However, given that the loss of time was less than a second, and typical penalties are intended to err more generously in the victim's favour than seemed appropriate, I cautioned Player B, said that I would stand by and monitor the rest of the game.

Player A made a small play, and drew some replacement tiles very quickly, but took time placing them on his rack. Player B made a play and drew replacement tiles, but I noticed that he had only six tiles on his rack, and had a feeling that there might be a tile left in the bag. While I was pondering what to do, Player A made a play and drew the tile from bag that belonged to Player B.

As per the rules, I stopped play and instructed Player A to give any tile of his choice to Player B. Play resumed.

I then realized that I wasn't entirely sure that Player B had had a full rack either, as I never saw all of the last replacement tiles on his rack at once. Not wanting to cause trouble, I kept silent, and the rest of the game concluded without further incident.

Both players concluded the game with an appropriate level of civility and politeness, and had no further similar issues in the rest of the day.