How to fix Slow play & long Breaks?

ignomirello

ignomirello

Tony IGGY
Silver Member
How can Tournament directors fix the problem with slow play & long breaks?

I had an experience with a player who took a bathroom break before our match & then took about a 13 minute cigarette break.

I had seen that same player do this for 2 other matches besides mine.

If this person plays 10 matches & does this every match he would waste about (TWO & a Half hours) of tournament time.

Lets say your bracket was the slowest would you be upset if the tournament director shortened the race by one game?
Or maybe not allowed any breaks for those two players? Just some food for thought.
I don't think the tournament directors deserve this type disrespect of everybody's time.

I would love to see shot clocks but in our area I don't think it is feasible because our tournaments are to big.
 
How long are the races?
We play with 1 time out in race to 7, and 2 time-outs in race to 9 or 11. Timeout is maximum 5 minutes, the player that don't get the timeout should stay in his chair.
If you play race to 5, I don't think a timeout is necessary.
Shortening only on game is not the right way to go, a shot clock is the best idea.

The slow player should be warned that his game affects the tournament, if he does that intentional he can be punished according tournament rules.
Slowing the game in my opinion is a unsportsmanlike conduct.

If match is announced the player had 10-15 to start it, if he is late he loses the match.
 
A smoke break in the middle of a match is bullshit.

I think tournaments should limit breaks to one or two per player (depending on how long the race is) and keep them at 5 minutes or so. If you're a smoker and can't get through the match, slap a patch on or gnaw some nicotine gum or something.
 
j_zippel said:
Cigarette breaks are the most annoying thing ever
Click to expand...

I agree.

It used to be a player could smoke and play together.

WAIT!! I know how to eliminate slow play.....













...outlaw 1-Pocket!




It's a joke, please leave the dissing for someone else.

Jeff Livingston
 
The standard procedure is to talk to the tournament director, and they will warn them.
If they ignore the warning or if multiple people complain, he can put them on a clock
or just disqualify them.

Smoke breaks should only be like 5 minutes, 10+ minutes is just taking the time to do some
leisurely chit-chat with friends. That's just rude, nevermind slowing down the whole tournament.

My buddy takes em frequently and it puts me off my feed a little, but he's nice enough
to play in the nonsmoking area for me so I don't complain. But that's for banging 'em around
with buddies. In a match, you finish the match and then you take care of other business.
 
In a tournament or league match, there should be no such thing as a cigarette break. Breaks should be allowed for emergencies only, i.e. bathroom only. Nicotine is not an emergency.

In gambling sessions or just friendly play, it's a little different because they could go on for hours and it's not always clear when they'll end. In that case I don't have a problem with cigarette breaks as long as they're not too frequent (maybe once per hour?) and very brief. 5 minutes should be plenty of time.

-Andrew
 
7 games

AlexandruM said:
How long are the races?
We play with 1 time out in race to 7, and 2 time-outs in race to 9 or 11. Timeout is maximum 5 minutes, the player that don't get the timeout should stay in his chair.
If you play race to 5, I don't think a timeout is necessary.
Shortening only on game is not the right way to go, a shot clock is the best idea.

The slow player should be warned that his game affects the tournament, if he does that intentional he can be punished according tournament rules.
Slowing the game in my opinion is a unsportsmanlike conduct.

If match is announced the player had 10-15 to start it, if he is late he loses the match.
Click to expand...

The race is to 7 unless there is more than a 1 ball spot.

Maybe when a player takes a break the other player should go to the Tournament director so he can start the time clock?
When the player is ready to return he lets the tournament director know he is ready to play.
If nobody informs the TD about a break the tournament Director can give a 1 game loss to each player.
 
Well, sounds to me that a shot clock may be needed.

But with breaks? All male players over 50 should be allowed extra bathroom breaks.
Old dogs just gotta stop at every tree...
 
shot clocks

pwd72s said:
Well, sounds to me that a shot clock may be needed.

But with breaks? All male players over 50 should be allowed extra bathroom breaks.
Old dogs just gotta stop at every tree...
Click to expand...

I guess if a bracket is behind (Time wise) you could get somebody to control a shot clock.

If I'm not playing I would help out with doing that. :-)
 
Idk when it will happen but the future is chess clock apps on our smart phones, tablets or beat up laptops. Tournament director will allow whatever time for a match, say 2hrs max for race to 9 with each player getting 1hr on their side. For every 5mins your clock goes over will cost you 1 game. Smoke your brains out guy, I don't min its your time that is running.
 
You can implement a shot clock rule without having to time every match. If a player feels his opponent is playing slow and going over the time limit on shots, he can ask the TD to have him put on the clock. If he goes over the set time, you can give a warning for the first offence (or two), then call a foul after that.
 
Joe T said:
Idk when it will happen but the future is chess clock apps on our smart phones, tablets or beat up laptops. Tournament director will allow whatever time for a match, say 2hrs max for race to 9 with each player getting 1hr on their side. For every 5mins your clock goes over will cost you 1 game. Smoke your brains out guy, I don't min its your time that is running.
Click to expand...
The chess clock would be my choice and I have used one in league.

My proposal (posted here before) is to end the match if one player's time runs out and to award the other player a game (or point) for each N minutes left on his clock. That way the match can't run over. If you are ahead 6-1 when you run out of time and I only have a minute left on my clock you still win. If I still have 45 minutes at 5 minutes/game, I win.

Modern chess clocks allow a grace period when each turn starts so if there is a safety battle you don't necessarily lose a lot of time.
 
victorl said:
You can implement a shot clock rule without having to time every match. If a player feels his opponent is playing slow and going over the time limit on shots, he can ask the TD to have him put on the clock. If he goes over the set time, you can give a warning for the first offence (or two), then call a foul after that.
Click to expand...

In most tournament situations there are not enough competent timers to have manual shot clocks. A chess clock doesn't require an official to run it.
 
At a tournament saturday a buddy had an opponent who would take 3-4 minutes PER SHOT. A race to 2 took 40 minutes of tournament play. It was by far the slowest i have seen.

A few minutes per shot AND soft breaks really made the match go slow.
 
Time clock?

Bob Jewett said:
The chess clock would be my choice and I have used one in league.

My proposal (posted here before) is to end the match if one player's time runs out and to award the other player a game (or point) for each N minutes left on his clock. That way the match can't run over. If you are ahead 6-1 when you run out of time and I only have a minute left on my clock you still win. If I still have 45 minutes at 5 minutes/game, I win.

Modern chess clocks allow a grace period when each turn starts so if there is a safety battle you don't necessarily lose a lot of time.
Click to expand...

Wow Bob that sounds like a great idea!!!

So lets say it's a race to seven & we are given an hour and 5 minutes to complete.

So 13 divided by 65 minutes is 5 minutes per game.

If we reach 65 minutes & we are not finished & score is 6-4.

The person with 6 would be the winner unless the player with 4 has more than 15

minutes left on the clock more than the other player.

Bob is this correct?
 
That's an interesting idea... but I just can't see players willing to play by rules where the winner can be decided by the number of minutes left on a clock.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top