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BGonline.org Forums
Die on a Checker Tales
Posted By: Bill Riles
Date: Tuesday, 15 August 2017, at 4:23 a.m.
Were the die on a checker rule not included in the 2016 USBGF Rules I think they would have been accepted (reluctantly by a very few) and we all would have avoided the ongoing rules fiasco which has consumed so much valuable time, energy, and effort and has caused so many disagreements and, yes, even hard feelings and ego attacks.
A year ago I thought the rule so trivial and insignificant that I lobbied it should not be included in the Rules -- I thought it would only serve as a catalyst, ammunition, and a flash point for opposition to the Rules as a whole. That proved true.
I will admit that I like the rule, but it is just not that big of a deal, either way, to have caused all of this turmoil. I've heard all of the arguments against it and, in my opinion, none of them hold water. And it just doesn't take any getting used to -- I'll gladly alternate the rule between matches, or even between games.
Others have, also unilaterally, differently addressed similar time concerns with cocked dice -- which was the genesis of many arguments in favor of the die on a checker rule.
In parts of Europe they now allow players to reset their delays on every instance of cocked dice. This, of course, requires a player to hit his/her clock and then the opponent's clock to reset their delay. I personally find this unnecessary and a bit much.
I played in Monte Carlo last week. In one match, my opponent kept doing this and I found it particularly distracting and annoying -- he cocked his dice often. I didn't say anything. Then he started resetting my clock on the occasions that I cocked my dice. This was too much. I asked him to refrain from doing so as it annoyed and distracted me, I didn't really care if I occasionally lose a couple of seconds of delay.
He informed me that that is the way they play in Europe and that we were in Europe. I told him that was fine but I still did not want him touching the clock on my turn. He complied but was not happy.
During a break late in the match (in which I was taking a beating) I asked Arda about the rule. He said that although in some areas of Europe they play with the reset rule it was not the rule in Monte Carlo. He further stated if someone hit their clock during their turn, they forfeited their turn -- there are a very few exceptions, but cocked dice is not one of them.
I so informed my opponent and we played the remainder of the match without resets. Just to reinforce my point (and because I'm occasionally cocky :-) ) I soon purposely cocked a die by landing it on a checker. I proceeded to make a move. He objected. I smiled and said we've played 90% of the match using the rules you want to use (even though they weren't the rules of the tournament) perhaps we can play the remainder playing the rules I want to use. We finished without resets and without die on a checker.
I don't know the right solution, or the best solution, or if, perhaps, there is a single best, right solution. Both the die on a checker rule and the reset provision allow a player to vigorously roll the dice without time penalty -- and that is a very good thing. That probably should have been the initial selling point rather than focusing on time savings.
The substantial resistance to the die on a checker rule, wholly unjustified in my opinion, nonetheless exists. I've directed and played in a large number of tournaments where it has been used without incident. However, is it worth the battle? I'll use it in my tournaments; however, I can as easily play without it.
Further, I really don't understand or appreciate the need to reset the delay on every occasion of cocked dice. For my nickel it is unnecessary and the many added actions to the game are annoying, distracting, and have the potential for unintended consequences with the clock or otherwise.
Perhaps one day we can all agree there should be a common international rule set and everyone will recognize that some compromise and sacrifice will be required of all to get there.
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