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BGonline.org Forums
Let's pan back and look at the whole picture (long)
Posted By: Chuck Bower In Response To: I Won Chiva's Tourmant in Portugal (Henrik Bukkjaer)
Date: Friday, 24 June 2011, at 5:15 p.m.
Not meant to be condescending so I hope it's not taken that way. I'm just stating the conditions/parameters as I see them and then interpreting how clocked breaks affect those.
Goal: to ensure that the tournament proceeds at an appropriate pace.
Here "appropriate pace" might be a 2 hour window per match, 2.5 hours, and maybe 3 or more hours for some more relaxed events which last several days. (For weekly club games the times would likely be shorter, but I'm thinking more about multi-day events.)
What fills the window?
The drawsheet pairings must be posted. The players need to check the drawsheet, find the opponent, find a place to play, grab scoresheets and pencils/pens, set up the board, play the match, close the board, and report the scores. Between games the players compare scores and reset the board. All of the above are required, but the only task where the clock runs is while a game is actually in progress.
Other (optional) activities:
Sometimes players make smalltalk, photograph positions and/or set up a camera to record the match, and take breaks. Unfortunately, some of the non-clocked activities can eat up considerable time. The US Rules say something about two 5-minute breaks, but how often are those limits adhered to and who is in charge of policing them? There is usually about one staff member for every 10 to 15 ongoing matches, but those staff members have a lot to do besides policing match interruptions.
There are some players who use most of their reserve clock time on a regular basis. There are also players who use very little of their reserve time, ever. Some players are more prone to take breaks that others.
What is the value of a break in the first place, and can a player's actions affect his/her propensity to take a break? Use the restroom, grab a beverage/snack, stretch, clear ones head, make a phone call, smoke a cigarette, check a sports score/result, check on an acquaintance also in competition -- those are some things I can think of. The answer to the second part (player input/control) is pretty clearly 'yes' in most cases, although there are obvious exceptions.
Are clocked breaks either a way of rewarding some players or punishing others? That's one way to look at it. I prefer the view that 1) it helps the tournament progress in a timely manner (the goal above) and 2) in absolute terms the amount of time a player gets to move is no worse than if breaks weren't timed in the first place. If someone feels he's giving up a relative advantage to the opponent, then plan accordingly.
And just to emphasize, not only am I a slow player (well documented), I also have a condition known as BPH which makes me more likely to need a break than the average player. I don't smoke and I don't live by the cellphone ring, so I'm not as dependent upon breaks as some others, obviously. But these latter are lifestyle decisions (as is pace of play, for that matter). At any rate, I value my 12s/move + 2 minutes/matchpoint setting and if director wants to give me an extra X minutes reserve and give me the choice of using them for breaks or for thinking, I don't think I've been harmed; in fact I think I've been helped.
BTW, what are the alternatives for keeping breaks from causing delays?
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