Welcome to the first edition of The Chess Doctor Is In. My mission with this recurring column is to answer any questions you might have about chess, whether it be about how to improve, rules you’re uncertain about, or anything else that’s on your mind. Just send your questions in to grayson@grandmaster2b.com or use the link at the top menu of every page.
Without further ado, let’s get to our first question:
Chess Doctor:
I have a problem and I need your help. I was recently playing in a chess tournament and saw a curious scene unfold. At the board next to me the white player offered a draw. The black player, after running his clock down to under a minute, decided to accept the offer. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw what happened next. The black player extended his hand out to accept, and the white player acted as if he’d never offered a draw in the first place!
Luckily there were multiple witnesses to the draw offer, so the game (after some debate) ended correctly in a draw. But, my question is this: what do I do if I am in the same situation as the black player in this scenario, but there are no witnesses?
This is a great question, and a situation that has been known to happen! For starters I looked through the the USCF (United States Chess Federation) official rulebook and didn’t find anything of use. In the FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs, or International Chess Federation) rulebook also, it simply states:
“(…)The (draw) offer cannot be withdrawn.”
Clearly this assumes that players are expected to behave in a sportsmanlike way. Would that this were always the case!
In larger FIDE competitions there are often multiple arbiters that keep an eye on things and can be used as witnesses in case of a draw offer. But, if this situation were to arise, I would advise you to do the following:
1. Make sure that your opponent wants to go down this path by saying something to the effect of: “You offered a draw.”
2. If they still object, get a tournament director (or TD) and make the situation clear to them. Of course, if there are no witnesses then the TD can’t know for sure who’s telling the truth, but it can’t hurt to get an official involved.
3. If the TD indeed rules that there is not enough evidence that the opponent offered a draw, then there is little to do but keep on playing, with the newfound knowledge that your opponent is a very unsavory person … which of course should motivate you to secure the victory even more!
That’s all for this edition of The Chess Doctor Is In! I hope my response was helpful, and please keep the questions coming. I look forward to hearing from you.
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