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Touch, Time, and the effect on the tournament population

Posted By: Mark Denihan
Date: Monday, 22 August 2011, at 5:01 p.m.

In Response To: Playing "touch" in tournaments (leobueno)

I've played touch move in speed chess for over 40yrs and like the touch move rules.

I've played backgammon as long and try to make my move without any preliminary touching, but would be uncomfortable with touch move.

But 'touch move' is only one facet of a larger issue:

Top rated players quickly dissect a position and focus on the most important questions to be answered, and therefore spend most of their time effectively, and can play clocked matches at current time settings comfortably.

But most players spend a significant amount of time floundering around trying to determine the salient features of a position - and thus have less time to focus on determining the correct move. I think clocked backgammon is a good thing but that it handicaps players that are less than top flight - so instead of playing in an open section I would play in the advanced - your losing a fish guys, maybe many, maybe your limiting the population to the current elite.

Adding touch move requires more mental diligence = more loss of time, and takes away from the flow of the game and the enjoyment factor. I think these two rules combined will act as a deterrent up and down the line to the growth of a population that is already on the 'endangered species list'.

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