SCCU GENERAL RULES

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4.12.00

REVISED FIDE LAWS

The new version of the Laws, as agreed by the FIDE General Assembly in Istanbul, takes effect on the 1st July 2001. We're not too sure how definitive our copy is. It came from Stewart Reuben, who isn't too sure either. These remarks are based on a very quick reading.
     Most of the changes are just tinkering with the words, and not always to happy effect. The definition of the knight's move, already odd but at least accurate, has been so amended as no longer to make sense. But we are pleased to note that the "false move" of A8 has gone, and that players' etiquette is now their own business.

What real changes are there? We've spotted three.

(1) Draw claims in quickplay finishes. The arbiter's decision is now stated to be final. Appeals committees will cease to exist. We don't think this was meant to happen. It was the Assembly's own idea. Senior arbiters have expressed horror, and suggested that it could mean the end of quickplay finishes. An entertaining controversy is in progress about whether you could sensibly replace QPFs with "added-time" modes in a weekend congress.
     A smaller (and sensible) change, which has aroused no comment we're aware of, is that the arbiter will now be allowed to say "no" and walk away. The current rules give him only two choices. He can say "yes", or he can stay and watch it.

(2) Mating Potential. They threatened to take this out of the Blitz section and make it the regular rule. They haven't. They've taken it out of the Blitz section. Mating Potential is dead, and you can now win if checkmate is legally possible. Even in Blitz.

(3) Penalties for illegal moves. These currently come in two flavours, depending on whether you're in a QPF or not. Outside a QPF, no penalty. Inside one, your opponent gets an extra two minutes (etc). The two-minute penalty now becomes the regular rule.
     This incidentally fixes a bug in the Rapidplay rules. There is no mention of illegal moves in the Rapidplay rules. This means that the (non-Appendix) FIDE rule applies. Which flavour you apply, when there are two of them, is unclear.