One funny thing I saw at a tournament was two 6- or 7-year-olds playing. I looked down at the board, and one of them had their King sitting to the side with the rest of their captured pieces!

 

On the other side of that coin, at an informal, unrated game-10 tournament at our club two weeks ago, a 1700+ college student was playing vs. an Expert (who is 42 and has a Ph.D.). Suddenly, as if someone had poured a bucket of ice on his head, the Expert says, "Hey, you've been in check for 5 moves." I'm pretty sure beer was involved (I know it was), but come on! haha

In my youth I was quite a good "lightning chess" player (a buzzer sounds every 10 seconds and one moves on the buzzer). Fresh from a place at the British Lightning Championships (5.5 from 7 playing Board 1 for Hastings Chess Club in the team event), I entered the Sussex Lightning Championship with a car-load of my club-mates. In one of the later rounds, and in with a shout of placing, I had an opponent move his knight diagonally. An illegal move in lightning is instant loss of game, so I immediately called the arbiter to claimed the win, whereupon my opponent brazenly picked up the piece again and put it on a legal square, before the arbiter arrived. No-one on the adjoining boards had seen the incident, and after a bitter discussion the arbiter decided he couldn't rule against my opponent and we should play on. The awkward part was that he was a club-mate of mine and the car driver who had brought us all! He was so unsettled by the furore that he couldn't remember where he had parked the car after the tournament (having dropped us off before the tournament and sought parking by himself). Half an hour later the five of us found the car and settled in for long stony silenced drive back. The incident was never mentioned again, but I never forgot.

next time, you should bring a video camera to prove it

RetGuvvie98 wrote:

ray,

 

      did you win, lose, draw or just create an ugly scene by exhuberant pursuit of the win???

looking back at it, obviously, at the time, you did what you thought right, but from the perspective age and experience brings, would you behave differently now, should you find an opponent doing the same thing???

 

 

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Buzzer chess makes it difficult to do anything but claim a win, because when the opponent picks up the piece again (with your blessing) half your thinking time has now evaporated and you are no longer properly focused on the job in hand. I think 99.9% of chess players, having been called for an illegal move would resign on the spot (I would), rather than cheapen themselve by lying. I therefore don't expect this to occur to me again. If it did happen again, then I would claim. Any game is defined by the rules ...and well, rules are rules (especially when prize money is involved ).

Ray_Brooks wrote: In my youth I was quite a good "lightning chess" player (a buzzer sounds every 10 seconds and one moves on the buzzer). Fresh from a place at the British Lightning Championships (5.5 from 7 playing Board 1 for Hastings Chess Club in the team event), I entered the Sussex Lightning Championship with a car-load of my club-mates. In one of the later rounds, and in with a shout of placing, I had an opponent move his knight diagonally. An illegal move in lightning is instant loss of game, so I immediately called the arbiter to claimed the win, whereupon my opponent brazenly picked up the piece again and put it on a legal square, before the arbiter arrived. No-one on the adjoining boards had seen the incident, and after a bitter discussion the arbiter decided he couldn't rule against my opponent and we should play on. The awkward part was that he was a club-mate of mine and the car driver who had brought us all! He was so unsettled by the furore that he couldn't remember where he had parked the car after the tournament (having dropped us off before the tournament and sought parking by himself). Half an hour later the five of us found the car and settled in for long stony silenced drive back. The incident was never mentioned again, but I never forgot.

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 I would put that story on the table in every chance I have, just to remind him what kind of person he is.

"I would put that story on the table in every chance I have, just to remind him what kind of person he is."

 

The incident occured 25 years ago, and he has since died. He wasn't a bad man, just slightly addled, and seeing as we were going to see each other frequently, it seemed proper to let the matter drop.

Once I was playing in a weekend otb tournament and blundered two pawns early on. My opponent looked very smug. As it turned out the open lines actually helped me get an attack going and I ended up winning after about 20 moves.  The funny bit was he tried to kick the table up in the air by way of resigning (which was strangely gratifying to me) but it was a long fold away table so he disturbed about four game boards with his antics.

Ray_Brooks wrote:

"I would put that story on the table in every chance I have, just to remind him what kind of person he is."

 

The incident occured 25 years ago, and he has since died. He wasn't a bad man, just slightly addled, and seeing as we were going to see each other frequently, it seemed proper to let the matter drop.

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 I'm sorry to hear that. But returning to the issue, I would have done that despite of seeing everyday. At least he should had apologize with you.

There is a little thing called "Honesty" in the middle. 

maybe him apologied all ready ...