Opponent copies your moves in daily chess tournament

But, (and that's if I'm thinking of this correctly) they always have to wait for your next move.  So as long as their game's timer started first (after you move, their clock is running on both games) all you have to do is wait until the last minute to move.  The only problem is automatic vacation right?

It works.

Vacation isn't a problem either, you just keep doing the same thing throughout the game. His vacation won't last.

It really doesn't work.  Your opponent can just to the same thing right back to you.

Well, I guess I have to go read this thread now lol.

Seems like a grey area to me.  Should a player be penalized because she accidentally (coincidentally) mirrored another game?  Maybe all players involved are simply mirroring book.  I'm imagining a TD telling me "you can't play 7.Na3 because someone else already played it!"   

I'm a fan of your past posts, so I'm willing to concede that you're probably correct that the staff would consider it cheating, but I think that they should first somehow find evidence of willful intent on the part of the offender.

As for simultaneous pairs of games, the remedy is simply to have them start at different times, as you pointed out.  I'm in a match where the 2 games with my opponent are played one at a time -- maybe for the reasons we've been discussing (?).

How can they make you wait for their move so that you can copy it? You don't want to copy it. You're being stupid.

In order to make this work you need to get the two games out of synch by longer than the time per move so you can make two moves in a row in one game without having the first move relayed back to you in the other.

Only then can you deviate from the second move you made in the first game by making a different second move in the second one.

It's definitely a grey area, I think it has to be pretty blatant to be enforced.

Sublime.

Don't they only have to be out a sync a little?

I guess I don't understand how they can do it back to you.  I'm imagining it was 4 clocks, only two of which can run at the same time.  So there are 4 states but only 3 will happen.  The 4th state being both of honest player's clocks are running.  Therefore the trickster will always have a little less time (due to the state when both trickster clocks are running).

e.g. I move, and they relay it.

There are two running times, one for me and one for them.  If the time left on my running clock is X isn't it true that the time left on their running clock is [X - time it took to relay] ? 

If this is true then my running clock has more time and I'm wondering why my waiting to the last minute won't cause their vacation to kick in.

If you take them to the very last minute on Game A, they just have to take you to the very last minute on game B when it's their turn and they've unwound any advantage you might have gained.

I play e4 in game 1, my opponent plays e4 in game 2.

If I can force my opponent to make their move in game 1 before I make my move in game 2, I can make a different move in game 2 (for example, my opponent plays e5, I play c5).  We now have two different games. 

The fly in the ointment is vacation.  If my opponent is a basic member, no problem.  They have to make their move before they can go on vacation.  If my opponent is a premium member, I have to be able, and willing, to burn more vacation days than they do.

Yes, but how do you force this?  The only way to do so is to burn more vacation days than they do.  It's not just the fly in the ointment, it's the only method that works.

I'm saying in every state where each player has 1 running clock, the times can be defined by [my time remaining] and [my time remaining subtracted by time it took him to relay] therefore he will always have less time as he waits for my next input.

I don't understand when they will be able to take me to the very last minute.  I'm never waiting on their input.  Furthermore I never have both my clock's running.  At every point I do have a clock running, they have a clock running that has less time.

u can just move in one game and then wait for him to move, then move in ur other game

The "situation" for both players is the same (identical). The copy-cat will mimic every action you make. This takes you to the next "situation" , which again is the same for both. And so on ....

The only "different situation" is the one where YOU have more vacation time than HIM. Then you can out-wait him and force him to move FIRST in a game.

It is just a matter of logic. It is a symmetrical "problem" when vacation-time is the same.

As I said, in order to break the chain you need to get the clocks out of synch by more than the amount of time alotted for a single move, something they can prevent you from doing.

I do it as outlined in Post 17.  However, this only works against basic members, who have to make their moves before going on vacation (That's the key.  A basic member has two choices, move or timeout.  Going on vacation is not an option).

Exactly.