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BGonline.org Forums
Expert opinion?
Posted By: Daniel Murphy In Response To: Expert opinion? (Tom Keith)
Date: Wednesday, 2 November 2011, at 10:04 p.m.
Earlier, Steve mentioned a lawyerly concept of "ministerial act" -- if Black by his statement has taken the cube, then the rest of his turnful action is merely procedural, so what's the harm in condoning White's ever so slightly premature roll? But there is another sometimes useful concept called a "bright line test," by one definition a "clear division between what is acceptable and what is not from a legal, accounting, or regulatory perspective." Black and White both made procedural errors here, but as Tom points out, if White had simply waited a second or half-second longer to roll, there may have been no controversy whatsoever (although someone might rule that Black's "take it" means he took, even if he subsequently centered both clocks). Our rules take a beating for not being clear or detailed enough, but for simplicity, clarity and ease of uniform and fair enforcement, it's hard to beat this phrase in USBG Clock Rule 3.4: "A player completes his turn by 'hitting' the clock...." and this one in USBG Rule 4.6: "The opponent of a player who rolls prematurely shall complete his turn and then either let the premature roll stand or require a reroll." I'd much rather draw a bright line at "hitting the clock," than be ruling premature rolls not premature because they were only a little premature or because the opponent who had already taken was going to have to perfunctorily hit his clock anyway.
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