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BGonline.org Forums
ruling in Madison
Posted By: Phil Simborg In Response To: ruling in Madison (Gregg Cattanach)
Date: Friday, 11 September 2009, at 3:45 a.m.
If either player is not honest and fair, there are ways to abuse the rules and each other whether you play legal moves or not. Those of us who agree to play legal moves only do so with people we trust, and we do so with the idea that we will do our best to be honest and fair, and we respect our opponent for trusting us to live up to our word, and they feel the same way. So if they make an illegal move, we always assume it is accidental and forgive them and correct it. And if we fail to see it and correct it, they always assume it was accidental that we didn't see it.
When we make this agreement, we are making a "gentleman's" agreement to play a gentleman's game...so the issues you raise about taking shots at each other and intentionally not correcting an illegal move simply don't apply. We are assuming that the person across the table will not be unethical with us in any way, be it relative to the moves, the score, the dice, illegal aids or help, or anything else.
Can it be abused if we turn out to be wrong about the guy or gal on the other side of the board? Of course. But that's the risk we take no matter what the rules are. Either way, you keep your eyes open, try to make legal moves, watch your opponent's moves, and if he makes an illegal move and you see it, you simply correct it instead of making a decision whether to correct it or not. You lose nothing by doing this if you are confident your opponent will do the same, and if he does the same.
By "trusting" our opponent to live up to his responsibilities if we make a legal move agreement, I think we are actually taking less of a risk than trusting them to be fair and honest if we make no agreement. The kind of person who would violate this trust probably would also "cheat" by making intentional illegal moves, slipping checkers off the bar, and other shady things.
I am willing to give my opponent the benefit of the doubt, and I take it very seriously if he gives me that courtesy, and I believe MOST players are this way, and I will continue to feel this way until someone shows me they are not that kind of person. Then, if I see they are dishonest, they, and everyone else I know, will hear about it.
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