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FIDE allows the laws of chess to be modified every four years, and this happens as of tomorrow, July 1st. Since the CFC rules are based on those of FIDE these changes will also come into effect for CFC events, or at least whenever the CFC Handbook is updated. As of this posting the new laws are not yet in the FIDE handbook, but the approved modifications can be seen in the minutes from the Congress held in Dresden last year: annex 59. Changes are in bold and underlined. Most of the modifications are either cosmetic or minor, but practical players should be aware of changes in the following four areas.
Late arrivals
The most contentious of the new laws concerns the so-called Rubinstein rule, that players have an hour to arrive at the board before they are forfeited. In the new law the default time has been changed from 60 to 0 minutes:
(6.7/6.6) Any player who arrives at the chessboard after the start of the session shall lose the game, unless the arbiter decides otherwise. Thus the default time is 0 minutes. The rules of the competition may specify a different time.
Agreed draws
In the past several years it has been the rule in some events that draws cannot be offered, or can only be agreed to after a certain number of moves have been made. This option has now been formalized in the laws:
(9.1a) The rules of a competition may specify that players cannot agree to a draw in less than a specified number of moves or at all, without the consent of the arbiter.
Cell phones
The new laws are more stringent - in particular, now a player loses if the phone makes any sound, not just rings:
(12.2b) Without the permission of the arbiter a player is forbidden to have a mobile phone or other electronic means of communication in the playing venue. Such devices must be completely switched off. If any such device produces a sound, the player shall lose the game. The opponent shall win. However, if the opponent cannot win the game by any series of legal moves, his score shall be as a draw.
Blitz/active rules
These have been modified, depending upon the amount of supervision available. Adequate supervision is defined as one arbiter for at most three active games, or one arbiter per blitz game. If supervision is inadequate the previous rules still apply. However, if there is a sufficient number of arbiters to supervise the games the regular rules of chess apply - the only change is that players no longer need to record games. This implies, for example, that in blitz games the arbiter may call a flag fall, and article 10.2 applies if the time control is sudden death. To me this changes the nature of such games: one wonders if FIDE have thought the modifications through sufficiently. Yes, it would be nice if the rules were identical for all time controls, but with these laws it depends on whether an arbiter is watching or not. I can only imagine this being implemented in this country for active or blitz playoffs in important competitions.
Late arrivals
The most contentious of the new laws concerns the so-called Rubinstein rule, that players have an hour to arrive at the board before they are forfeited. In the new law the default time has been changed from 60 to 0 minutes:
(6.7/6.6) Any player who arrives at the chessboard after the start of the session shall lose the game, unless the arbiter decides otherwise. Thus the default time is 0 minutes. The rules of the competition may specify a different time.
Agreed draws
In the past several years it has been the rule in some events that draws cannot be offered, or can only be agreed to after a certain number of moves have been made. This option has now been formalized in the laws:
(9.1a) The rules of a competition may specify that players cannot agree to a draw in less than a specified number of moves or at all, without the consent of the arbiter.
Cell phones
The new laws are more stringent - in particular, now a player loses if the phone makes any sound, not just rings:
(12.2b) Without the permission of the arbiter a player is forbidden to have a mobile phone or other electronic means of communication in the playing venue. Such devices must be completely switched off. If any such device produces a sound, the player shall lose the game. The opponent shall win. However, if the opponent cannot win the game by any series of legal moves, his score shall be as a draw.
Blitz/active rules
These have been modified, depending upon the amount of supervision available. Adequate supervision is defined as one arbiter for at most three active games, or one arbiter per blitz game. If supervision is inadequate the previous rules still apply. However, if there is a sufficient number of arbiters to supervise the games the regular rules of chess apply - the only change is that players no longer need to record games. This implies, for example, that in blitz games the arbiter may call a flag fall, and article 10.2 applies if the time control is sudden death. To me this changes the nature of such games: one wonders if FIDE have thought the modifications through sufficiently. Yes, it would be nice if the rules were identical for all time controls, but with these laws it depends on whether an arbiter is watching or not. I can only imagine this being implemented in this country for active or blitz playoffs in important competitions.
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