| |
BGonline.org Forums
ruling regarding touching checkers
Posted By: Daniel Murphy In Response To: ruling regarding touching checkers (Bob Koca)
Date: Tuesday, 26 July 2011, at 8:25 a.m.
If you protest and call the director the clock must be stopped. So it goes. For a ruling, there is no specific prohibition, so I see three choices: (1) Yes, he can touch or move any checkers to help him count pips, (2) He can only touch or move his own checkers and (3) No, he can't touch or move any checkers.
Which ruling is most consistent with the rules which (a) prohibit the use of aids (specifically "written, mechanical or electronic"), (b) direct a player to move checkers only (it is, I think, implied) after a valid roll, (c) direct a player to "move the checkers in an unambiguous manner" and (d) the unwritten rule that when it is your turn there are two things you can do, roll/move or double/take/pass. I say no, he can't touch or move any checkers to help him get a pip count. And likewise you were right to object to your doubles opponent moving checkers on the board before deciding whether to take your cube.
I've always thought that "mechanical" should be construed very broadly, prohibiting any tool, device, instrument, etc., which in this case includes checkers. Similarly, I once had an opponent who used extra dice that were in the board to help him remember his counts; I objected, he stopped.
There's also a rule prohibiting moving checkers during one's opponent's turn, which doesn't apply since his clock is running, but nevertheless reinforces the idea that one ought only to be moving checkers during one's own turn, and only after rolling a valid number that can be played.
| |
BGonline.org Forums is maintained by Stick with WebBBS 5.12.