I think we can all agree that the majority of chess players can be considered, in all due fairness and objectivity, a pretty eccentric group of people. And as all competitive players know, some very strange things happen at chess tournaments. It is with great pleasure that I answer today’s Chess Doctor question:
“Crazy things happen at chess tournaments all the time. I myself have seen a little kid pick up the clock and throw it at his opponent! What are the strangest things you have seen go down at OTB tournaments?“
In the nearly five years I’ve been playing competitive chess (at the time I’m writing this), I have encountered quite a few incidents of this nature. I could go on forever, but I will restrain myself and list the top five oddities that I have either been a part of, encountered, or read about in over-the-board tournament chess. I leave the individuals anonymous in each situation.
1. For starters, I have had a somewhat amusing incident repeat itself more than once. The basic setup is: my opponent offers a draw. After some thought I accept and they act as if they never offered the draw at all! In one situation there was a witness, and in the other my opponent did the right thing and resigned himself to a draw.
2. In one tournament my opponent questioned that my clock had the time control set correctly, as my time hadn’t started. In fact, they must not have noticed on the flyer that there is a five second delay added! In the last round he apparently did not learn his lesson. His clock was set without delay, and he ended up winning on time in an unclear endgame.
3. In an over-the-board rated blitz tournament (bliss!), I achieved a lucky win when my opponent left their king in check and I took it. Meanwhile, in a rated tournament game this is not a valid way of claiming an illegal move. In FIDE rated tournaments often one illegal move loses, but in most USCF tournaments one illegal move results in a time penalty and a second results in forfeiture of the game.
In many scholastic tournaments I have seen players capturing their opponent’s king. Ironically, in the majority of cases the opponent accepted that they lost (!). Occasionally a sharp player would say something along the lines of “You can’t capture my king!” This type of incident gives me the impression that scholastic players are playing a very different game of chess than the rest of the world. It could be that coaches taught them the rules incorrectly. I would note that en passant is another big one that some lower players (including me for a time) get wrong.
4. I had another incident during an entirely different over-the-board blitz tournament. This event was held as a side event of one of the largest tournaments in Texas. It was at night-time, and a serious player would have to be crazy to play such an event! The next day there are two more rounds. I ended up losing both of those rounds, though I won a $50 consolation prize from the blitz tournament.
But I digress. It was getting late, and everybody was there to relax and release tension before the final rounds. A few players decided that it would be a good idea to take out a bottle of wine and have a few glasses. This is a terrible idea, as alcohol of any kind will make your chess considerably worse. The amusing part of this story is that a tipsy chess player on the board next to me knocked their glass with their elbow, spilling it on my nice, neat board. Keep in mind that I was only eleven years old at the time! Only at a chess tournament!
5. Finally, for our last oddity, I will share one of the strangest happenings I have ever been a part of, or even read about in my entire chess career. It was halfway through the tournament, I was playing up a section, and I was battling it out in a messy Sveshnikov against a 2150. Just after my opening knowledge ran dry (and evidently my opponent’s too, as he started thinking), I got up from the board to take a little stroll, and check out some friend’s games.
When I got back my opponent was gone and the clock was paused. Why was this? Well, I would soon find out when the TD announced that they were bringing a fan in, sorry for the noise, etc. My opponent had vomited! Each board on the table had to be moved, it was a big hassle.
Of course, I suggested to my opponent that he might not be feeling up to the task of continuing the game? But no such luck. We continued after a short interval and, despite having my chances, I went on to lose.
Well, these are just a few of my strange experiences in the always quirky world of competitive chess. If you have any odd incidents from over-the-board tournaments feel free to share them in the comments. Thanks for reading and as always, you can submit your question through the button below.
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