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BGonline.org Forums
Semifactual Ray
Posted By: Steve Mellen In Response To: Semifactual Ray (Joe Russell)
Date: Wednesday, 17 December 2008, at 1:09 a.m.
Lots of facts in this case, but it clearly seems to come down to the question of whether the score was verified after the Crawford game. If Joe scored it incorrectly and then didn't verify the score, I don't think there's much question that Pat's ruling was correct. You can't just stop the clock and then change your action, any more than you can move the cube towards your side and then decide to pass instead. Imagine if we all got to take a free shot by stopping the clock and watching for our opponent's reaction (not that I am suggesting in any way that this occurred here).
On the other hand, if Joe announced the score and Ray intentionally failed to correct him, I think it would be entirely fair to let Joe retract his pass. But what really happened? None of us were there and I certainly would not presume to question the integrity of either of these veteran players.
The only way to reconcile the two accounts, without calling either player a liar, is to assume that Joe did, in fact, announce the score but that Ray didn't hear him. This strikes me as entirely plausible. And if this is what happened, I think Joe still ends up having to bear the brunt of the ruling, because frankly "verifying" the score isn't worth much if you don't at least insist on some kind of acknowledgment from your opponent that he agrees, even if it's just a grunt.
I really regret being absent from the tournament scene of late and missing all the good times. Yeehaw!
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