Country Secondary Schools Competition
Guidelines for Play by Telephone or Internet

These methods of play are suggested options where travel time would be excessive (even with a mid-way venue). Whilst travel time will be eliminated, playing time will be extended considerably due to time taken in transmitting the moves. We recommend a local chess person (e.g. from your nearest adult chess club) be invited to assist and be present throughout the entire match. Such a person could of course be appointed as your umpire (see below).

For internet play it is recommended that one of the standard chess servers be used if this is accessible from the two sites (i.e. not blocked by either school’s firewall). See the NSW Junior Chess League’s website, www.nswjcl.org.au (under “Play Online”), for details of some recommended chess servers. However, the DET has recently blocked access to these chess servers, thereby preventing state schools from using them to play on the internet.

The following guidelines refer specifically to telephone matches. Matches played over the internet without using a chess server will be basically the same, the only difference being that moves will be entered at the computer by the operator rather than spoken. Where a chess server is used some of the guidelines will not apply as the moves will be played directly on the computer display’s chessboard using a mouse and there will be no need for a teller or for using chess notation to relay the moves.

For play by telephone the phone should be in a separate room so that players are not distracted by the transmissions, but the room should ideally be adjacent to the playing area so that time lost conveying moves will be minimized.

OFFICIALS REQUIRED (at both ends)

1.   An umpire to supervise the match, making sure that there is no discussion of games between players or any suspicion of cheating.

2.   A supervisor to organize the team and arrangements with the opposition before the match, to adjust the chess clocks (if used) when necessary, and to ensure the smooth running of the match.    

3.   A teller to take the moves to and from the players for transmission.

4.   A telephone or computer operator to receive and transmit all moves. This person plays a most important role and his/her efficiency will determine to a large extent the speed and accuracy with which the match can be conducted.

PROCEDURE

1.   Names of team members and the boards on which they are playing, plus the name of the umpire, must be exchanged between teams before the match begins.

2.   The players should be clearly identified with the player number displayed next to each board to avoid tellers taking a move to the wrong board.

3.   When the players are ready to start, the players who have the White pieces make their first move (after their chess clocks have been started, if being used).

4.   The player makes his move on the board (and if clocks are being used, stops his clock) and then writes down his move on the score sheet (see “Notation”, below).

5.   The player holds up the scoresheet to attract the attention of the teller, who comes and checks that the move has been correctly recorded on the score sheet, before taking the scoresheet to the phone/computer operator.

6.   The operator reads/transmits the move to the operator at the other end. (See “Notation” below for conventions in reading moves.) The operator should tick that move on the scoresheet to indicate that the move has been sent.

7.   Upon receiving an incoming move, the operator writes it down on the scoresheet, and, if telephone is being used, repeats all the details back to the operator at the other end as confirmation.

8.   The teller then takes the incoming move to the appropriate board and makes the move on the board (then starts the player’s clock if clocks are being used). The player should check that the incoming move has been made correctly according to the scoresheet … and so on.

9.   If a chess clock is being used, the player must record the time on the scoresheet after every five moves. This is relayed by the operator to the opponent with that move.

Any offer of a draw must go with the player’s move (and the time used when the draw is offered must be indicated, if a clock is being used). Draw offers should not be sent in between moves as this will cause delays.

Mistakes in Transmission: If it is found that there has been a mistake in transmission (either by an operator or a teller), the player is not penalized but the position on the board has to be taken back to the move when the mistake was made (and the clocks adjusted accordingly, if used) and the game resumed from there. This should be done by the umpire and the supervisor together.

PLEASE NOTE: If players have agreed to a result, no “backtracking” of transmissions can influence this result; i.e. once a player has resigned or agreed to a draw, the agreement stands.

Duration of Matches: We suggest a minimum of three hours be allowed (time will be lost with transmission). Other conditions such as for adjudication are described in the General Rules. If chess clocks are used, the time limit is the same as for face-to-face matches.

Note: Only the time on the clock for the player who is physically present is significant, as the time on the other clock includes transmission time.

For the first 30 moves, the time TAKEN should be noted on the score sheet after each five moves. After 30 moves, the time REMAINING must be given after every five moves. (It is recommended that boxes next to these moves be pre-drawn on the scoresheets for this purpose.) Clocks are to be reset at the time control by the umpire or the supervisor. The time is adjusted back 15 minutes, thereby adding 15 minutes to the time remaining.

Notation: Each scoresheet must be clearly labelled with the player number, and operators and players should use large letters and figures and write legibly. Unabbreviated algebraic notation should be used. (Most chess reference books use abbreviated algebraic notation as described in the FIDE Laws of Chess, but unabbreviated notation – in which the square from which the piece is moved is specified before the square to which it moves – is recommended for telephone/internet transmission as it helps detect and avoid errors.) For verbal transmission, the standard substitutions for the alphabetic file names a-h should be used. (i.e. “alpha”, “bravo”, “Charlie”, “delta”, “echo”, “foxtrot”, “golf”, “hotel”)

Examples:

     Move on                                                                                                    Keyed by
     Scoresheet   Verbal Transmission by Telephone                                        Internet

     Nb1-c3         “Board 2, White’s move 17, knight bravo 1 to Charlie 3”            (2) 17.Nb1-c3

     Rg5xf5+       “Board 1, Black’s move 21, rook golf 5 takes foxtrot 5 check”   (1) 21…Rg5xf5

     h7-h5           “Board 3, Black’s move 32, hotel 7 to hotel 5”                          (3) 32…h7-h5

     0-0-0            “Board 4, White’s move 25, zero dash zero dash zero –             (4) 25.0-0-0
                         castles queenside”