Tournament Longevity-COMPLAINT

Originally posted by jhard
Does the site have any rules on the length of time it takes to play a tourney? I have two games going with "heng" , SplitVII, Rnd 1, going on since June, 2007. Mr. Heng, it seems has over 800 games going! Why is he allowed to play this many games, and totally keep this tournament at a snail's pace? 😠

Here is the oldest in progress tournie Tournament 27 which started way back in May 2003 😲

Heng cut his gameload in half!! He had over 1600 in progress at one time.

Also the time controls of the tournaments dictate the speed of play.

Did you know that some groups in Tournament 2602 are finished, so in effect you are holding up later rounds by playing so slow 😛

Yes, Mr. Heng is going to lose most of his games by time out, I am playing him in a clan game...and he is losing both games to time out. I wrote him about it...and he did not have time to reply, but he got the message...he is truly a chess recluse...absorbed in nothing else.

Originally posted by biligesleage
Yes, Mr. Heng is going to lose most of his games by time out, I am playing him in a clan game...and he is losing both games to time out. I wrote him about it...and he did not have time to reply, but he got the message...he is truly a chess recluse...absorbed in nothing else.

I got a win against mr Heng, I timed him out. (Sorry, Mr heng if you read this, but you have timed others out as well) That's the risc by having hundreds and hundreds of games going. An influenza and the time outs are rolling in.

But, still, I admire mr Heng being able to control so many games at one time! He has certainly the hang of it!

The time limits are MAXIMUM times you can use for a game. I would never say that someone who uses all his 'timeout'-time before he moves plays unsportive or is breaking the rules, but I'm definetely with jhard about the fact that it's annoying.
I've got a game with anuman34 (/gid4333694/) and he played every few days. Since it's obvious that I'm winning the game he started to delay it. Not just a little bit, but he's using the full 21 days before he moves. I messaged him about it, but he won't reply.
Again, I know it's not against the rules and it's his good right, but is sure is annoying...

Originally posted by Ruud229
The time limits are MAXIMUM times you can use for a game. I would never say that someone who uses all his 'timeout'-time before he moves plays unsportive or is breaking the rules, but I'm definetely with jhard about the fact that it's annoying.
I've got a game with anuman34 (/gid4333694/) and he played every few days. Since it's obvious that I'm winning the ...[text shortened]... I know it's not against the rules and it's his good right, but is sure is annoying...

[gid]#######[/gid]

Game 4333694

Originally posted by Drew L
[gid]#######[/gid]

Game 4333694

touche'

I'm in a similar situation in one of my tournament games.

First off, let me start by saying I'm a casual player and a relative neophyte. Still, it's a great evening diversion for after I get the kids to bed.

Anyway, on one of my current tournaments, I managed to stage a rather unlikely comeback and am now poised to win the match (as Black). Since it's a duel and my opponent has already won the other board, that means we'd both advance to the next round. This is the last game of the round and it's gone over 60 moves.

Problem is, he's started playing very slowly, taking several days to make a move. Between three days per move, his available timebank remaining, and my "less than razor efficient" end-game skills, this could draw out for a while.

I personally don't really care that much but, since we are the very last game in the round, it would seem that he should just stick a fork in this one and then we both move onto the next round. He can't even be hoping for a draw at this point.

Originally posted by corvus
I'm in a similar situation in one of my tournament games.

First off, let me start by saying I'm a casual player and a relative neophyte. Still, it's a great evening diversion for after I get the kids to bed.

Anyway, on one of my current tournaments, I managed to stage a rather unlikely comeback and am now poised to win the match (as Black). Since it's ...[text shortened]... we both move onto the next round. He can't even be hoping for a draw at this point.

As long as he's playing within the rules you can't do anything about it, so just try to focus on your other games instead while you for him to move.

Tournament 2574.

Chess can be a thing of person with nothing to do. What´s the problem?

Delaying play in a tournament may be within the rules but it is not good chess etiquette. It is not good etiquette in any sport or game for that matter.

In a tournament a few months ago, I wrote to the guy who was delaying the game and who had no chance to win at that point. He forfaited. This may happen or may not but i think it is necessary to let know these people know that their actions (or deliberate inaction in this case) are noticed.

I always assume that i am playing with gentlemen/ladies and expect the corresponding behavior.

Originally posted by jalajale
Delaying play in a tournament may be within the rules but it is not good chess etiquette. It is not good etiquette in any sport or game for that matter.

In a tournament a few months ago, I wrote to the guy who was delaying the game and who had no chance to win at that point. He forfaited. This may happen or may not but i think it is necessary to let kno ...[text shortened]...
I always assume that i am playing with gentlemen/ladies and expect the corresponding behavior.

Lets say you are playing a game in a tournament and its the last game in the round.

You need to win the game to progress to the final.

Your opponent, who is rated 100 points lower than you can't progress, you have a rook and three pawns and your opponent is a rook, knight and and two pawns up.

However they are teetering on the brink of a possible timeout only having 12 minutes left in his timebank and is taking the full 3 days to make his moves.

Do you resign the game being so far behind or do you play on and hope for your opponent to make a mistake, or even timeout, allowing you to progress to the final?

People aren't delaying play in tournaments, they are merely using the time controls everyone who joined the tournament agreed to. If I join a 21/21 tournament and move once every 20 days am I holding up the tournament?

Originally posted by jalajale
Delaying play in a tournament may be within the rules but it is not good chess etiquette. It is not good etiquette in any sport or game for that matter.

In a tournament a few months ago, I wrote to the guy who was delaying the game and who had no chance to win at that point. He forfaited. This may happen or may not but i think it is necessary to let kno ...[text shortened]...
I always assume that i am playing with gentlemen/ladies and expect the corresponding behavior.

Complaints about players acting unsportsmanlike by pushing the time limits to their limit happen all the time - though not as much as they used to appear.

I, and others, have addressed this many times.

Here is what I said a few months ago:

Players, usually newer players, come along and complain about someone slowing down once they start losing and no longer moving once or twice a day but, instead, waiting until the very last moment of their time to make the move.

The response is usually very quick and not very sympathetic because there is really is nothing that can be done. Although this style of play is not very sportsmanlike or gentleman'ish', it is within the rules of the game even if those rules have become frustrating.

Just think about it, how would RHP enforce a system to punish players for not resigning when the game was 'lost'?*

Rather, the rules are clear, concise, simple and easily followed - each game has time limits. If a player fails to move within those time limits, he forfeits the game. No appeals, no meddling from any outside players, just a clock ticking away.



There are also other considerations here:

By posting on the boards, aren't you validating the actions of this other player? Aren't you letting him know that he is getting to you? Isn't this potentially encouraging him (and others) to continue such behavior?

Isn't it unsportsmanlike for players to single out others on the board for their style of play? Wouldn't it be better to 'suck it up' and move on with your life?


Once again, this is not meant to be insulting.






*To do so, RHP would have to form a committee or other player driven entity or a computer program that would receive e-mails/messages indicating the moves to be made and that there was no possible way for the opponent to win (once again, please let me point out that just because someone says that they will make certain moves, it doesn't necessarily mean that mistakes will not occur). Then, this committee/program must review the game to determine if the game is actually lost. Then, the committee/program would have to contact both parties explaining the loss and end the game.

Of course, such a system would have to be included in the TOS for the site and this would be a very difficult process to explain.

Originally posted by adramforall
Lets say you are playing a game in a tournament and its the last game in the round.

You need to win the game to progress to the final.

Your opponent, who is rated 100 points lower than you can't progress, you have a rook and three pawns and your opponent is a rook, knight and and two pawns up.

However they are teetering on the brink of a pos ...[text shortened]... to. If I join a 21/21 tournament and move once every 20 days am I holding up the tournament?

You may have a justifiable reason to slow down play such as the one you mention or others (ie critical game to advance in a tournament, hitting a rating landmark,etc). That I can understand and I do not mind. However, some people delay because they are plain unsporstmanlike or crave attention. Is there a rule to prevent this? Maybe not. But letting a person know that it is about time to let go, I think it is fair. If they have a good reason, i would be glad to know.
These are games for fun/entertainment (we are not playing in a FIDE champiosnhip or something). The more reason that behavior should be sportsmanlike.

There are also other considerations here:

By posting on the boards, aren't you validating the actions of this other player? Aren't you letting him know that he is getting to you? Isn't this potentially encouraging him (and others) to continue such behavior?

Isn't it unsportsmanlike for players to single out others on the board for their style of play? Wouldn't it be better to 'suck it up' ...[text shortened]... luded in the TOS for the site and this would be a very difficult process to explain.[/i][/b]

My friend, you are getting a bit too much into reverse psychology issues. I am only saying that if someone delays play beyond what to a normal person (giving as much as leeway as sensible) considers reasonable, one has the right to complain. You would be amazed at the power of simply raising your voice. People generally react.

Originally posted by jalajale
My friend, you are getting a bit too much into reverse psychology issues. I am only saying that if someone delays play beyond what to a normal person (giving as much as leeway as sensible) considers reasonable, one has the right to complain. You would be amazed at the power of simply raising your voice. People generally react.

As I said, the response to complaints concerning infractions of "not moving quickly enough" is not very sympathetic since there is nothing that can be done AND the parties playing the game agreed to such terms when they entered the game.

This is true in both regular and tournament games. When entering a tournament, all players know of the time constraints to that tournament and that the tournament will not progress until ALL groups are decided.

Even if moving at the last possible second was unsportsmanlike, such play is within the rules of the game because of the time limit that all players agreed upon at the outset.

Just think about it, how would RHP enforce a system to punish players for not moving as a normal person (your words - I would suggest, instead, using a reasonable time though semantics makes little difference)? What is the speed that a normal person moves? Who would enforce these rules? How would the site inform players of these rules to move? All these questions have already been answered by the time constraints that already exist.

The current rules are clear, concise, simple and easily followed - each game has time limits. These time limites ARE a reasonable time or the time that a normal person has to move for that game (in fact, these are the time constraints that the players agreed upon). If a player fails to move within those time limits, he forfeits the game. No appeals, no meddling from any outside players, just a clock ticking away.



Though I offered some explanations for why complaints about alleged 'slow' or 'not normal' movement was a bad idea, this was not, and never has been, the main thrust of my argument. Rather, it was simply more reason for not raising such complaints.

I can say that I have personally played several people who suddenly stopped moving or only move at the last possible moment. I find these games rather frustrating but understand that there is nothing that can be done. I agreed to the time limits and now must abide by them.