Tournament Rules
EdmondT
I'm not talking about insults or slurs here, but things like:
"Take THAT!"
"What's the pipcount?
"What do you think I should do here?"
These are the types of thinks I say and get said to me in my normal games --
they are not real questions, by the way, and I wonder if they would be annoying
to a player in a tournament.
By the way, suppose the WERE annoying another player. Is there a rule against
saying non-abusive stuff that is annoying?
Edm...@aol.com
Julian Hayward
<edm...@aol.com> writes
I don't remember seeing any rules directly governing conversation, but I
would expect it to fall under the catch-all of the TD's discretion. If
one player finds any behaviour not explicitly sanctioned by the rules
distracting he would have legitimate cause for complaint. I've come
across one case where a player was not being abusive but persistently
commenting on the opponent's play and the 'injustice' of the dice, and
the TD imposed the sanction of playing in silence (under threat of
forfeit) with an observer present. However it's exceptionally rare and
almost all tournament players seem to know the limits of friendly banter
- IME there seems to be an unwritten rule that you talk only between
games, other than to say 'double', 'take' etc.
--
Julian Hayward 'Booles' on FIBS jul...@ratbag.demon.co.uk
+44-1480-210097 http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/
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"A witty saying proves nothing" - Voltaire
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michael.a.crane
catch-all Director's Rule No. 1
There's nothing more annoying than someone commentating the entire game.
Michael
"Julian Hayward" <Jul...@ratbag.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:jYVxVCAD...@ratbag.demon.co.uk...
Julian Haley
>
> "What's the pipcount?
>
do the pipcount, then lie... (no need for a big lie... just alter the pip enough to screw up a cube
decision)
>
> "What do you think I should do here?"
>
suggest he/she resign a backgammon :)
Bob Stringer
>Are there any rules tournament play against talking to your opponent?
>
>I'm not talking about insults or slurs here, but things like:
>
>"Take THAT!"
>"What's the pipcount?
>"What do you think I should do here?"
>
>These are the types of thinks I say and get said to me in my normal games --
>they are not real questions, by the way, and I wonder if they would be annoying
>to a player in a tournament.
I suspect that the seriousness of the tournament makes a
difference. I.e., a small local tournament versus a Las Vegas
type affair.
I've now played in a monthly local tournament about six times,
where I see the same people all the time. You figure out pretty
quickly who you can joke with and who you can't. As long as it's
not overdone (and it's important to realize that it *easily* can
be overdone), and is done in a friendly way, in a small tournament
as I've described I see no problem with any of the comments you've
listed. One of the things I like about backgammon is that it's a
sociable game. (By comparison, any comment at all, other than
"check," "j'adoube," etc., is strictly off limits in chess
tournaments).
On the other hand, such comments should not be persistent or too
frequent, and if the other player doesn't care for them, they
should cease immediately. I'd expect the tournament director to
do something if a player won't stop making annoying comments.
My personal rule is that I only make comments when I already know
the person I'm playing, or unless it's *obvious* that he/she is
the sort that enjoys friendly banter. Discretion definitely is
the better part of valor in such cases.
In short, if people behave like adults there shouldn't be a
problem. Oops! Just noticed a couple other threads on this news
group. I take that back. Unrealistic hypothetical.
Bob Stringer
In order to reply by e-mail, please replace
"NotHere" with "spamcop" in my address
michael.a.crane
players, all of it taken and given in fun.
Of course it is possible to overstep the line but we know each other well
enough to stop before then. Our biggest problem is that new-comers can feel
left out of the clique if we're not too careful. After a while they fit in
. . and then we can start abusing them ;-))
In the nicest possible way, of course.
Michael
"Bob Stringer" <bob...@NotHere.net> wrote in message
news:loj94tgi6pbqpjgu7...@4ax.com...
Julian Hayward
michael.a.crane <michael...@ntlworld.com> writes
>I'd have done that, Julian . . .
You *were* the one who did it... I expect you can guess who you did it
to as well! ;-)
michael.a.crane
Michael
"Julian Hayward" <Jul...@ratbag.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:jDTBzLAb...@ratbag.demon.co.uk...
Daniel Murphy
Most rules sets do not specifically prohibit "talking to your
opponent" or even "saying nonabusive stuff that is annoying." But most
players and directors understand that just because something is not
specifically prohibited doesn't mean it is therefore appropriate or
allowed.
It's not often that a director must admonish a player for being
"annoying" with excessive talking, complaining, slamming checkers and
the like. Few tournament players are annoying. And good tournament
players will not be easily annoyed. But any player under any rules set
may expect opponents to abide by accepted standards of behavior and
may also expect a tournament director to enforce those standards.
Some tournament directors have attempted to anticipate problems by
addressing at greater length what is and is not acceptable and the
possible consequences of unacceptable behavior. For example, the rules
for the upcoming 2nd Paris Open (Feb. 2001) state:
"Any infringement by a player of the accepted standard
of tournament behavior can result in immediate
disqualification and exclusion from the tournament."
and
"Noise, act or attitude which hinder opponent's thought
and concentration is prohibited."
But these Paris rules do no more, really, than verbalize normally
unwritten rules of conduct and a tournament director's normal
discretion and powers of enforcement. And in those rare instances
where an opponent is so annoying as to cross some undefined but
recognizable threshold of unacceptable annoyance, then the remedy is
to ask opponent to stop, or call the director, or both.
Daniel Murphy
rac...@best.com, Raccoon on FIBS, GamesGrid
13th Nordic Open, 12-16 April 2001
http://www.dbgf.dk/nordic/index.html
Vi ses, og tak for alle fiskene!
13th Nordic "Wide" Open, April 12-16, 2001
Marienlyst Hotel and Casino, Helsingør, Denmark
EdmondT
>Few tournament players are annoying. And good tournament
>players will not be easily annoyed
I'm no expert on tournaments, but if very few players do this, I'd guess that
if someone did it would upset a typical player.
Edm...@aol.com