16-10-2014, 08:45 AM
MarkSanger Wrote:I felt purty hard done by truth be told. I was a bishop up in a rook bishop vs rook. Opponent claimed a draw with less than 2 mins. Arbiter came over. I said I wanted to play on. Opponents king at this point was on the seventh. We played more moves and his flag fell. Arbiter said it was a draw on the grounds I hadn't made progress. I said his king was now on the back rank (which it was) and I felt a had winning chances. I wasn't sure if I could win the position but it certainly looked like it was possible. Some other stronger players made comment that they weren't sure if it was a drawn position or not. My opponent claimed it was a book draw and I was told to demonstrate why it wasn't. I still had a minute on my clock. I was made to feel like I was trying to win the game on time when I genuinely felt I had winning chances and felt it was a bit strange that I had to demonstrate a win when it was my opponent that was short of time and a piece. The reality was that the final position was a book draw, however no-one knew for a fact that it was and I had realistic mating chances. When the king is on the back rank there are many chances to mate. I thought it a bit weird that I was the one having to demonstrate a win. My opponent was never asked to demonstrate the drawing technique (knowledge of one is required to hold the position) and I had made clear progress since the arbiter had come over by putting him on the back rank. If the final position my opponents flag fell on was different even slightly, it's likely to be a forced win in 11 moves.
It's a tough call for the arbiter. I do sympathize. But i'm never setting foot in that tournament again......that's a joke. It was a great tournament and venue. Very enjoyable!
Based on the above circumstances you have detailed Mark I have sympathy with the decision taken. I'd be interested to see the position out of interest if you are able to post it?
Dundee is one of the best tournaments on the circuit. For a few seasons now all the members at my club who have played at Dundee, including myself last season have had a great weekend. Just my opinion but this thread has clearly established it is ridiculously difficult for arbiters to always get it right with the 2 min rule. They are humans and will make mistakes or errors. We need them! Your bad luck was just that and it could have happened at any other tournament. You should go back next year if you think it is a good tournament.
You never know, maybe the 2 min rule will have been removed from Scottish tournaments by the time the next Dundee Congress comes about.