What if a spectator tells a move in a chess tournament?
A spectator who tells moves in a tournament will face either a fine, ejection from the event, or banning from future competitions at the discretion of the attending arbiter.
Spectators are the audience in a tournament that has the privilege to observe the games of the players. This audience however occasionally pushes their luck and does something beyond observation.
What if this people actually told a move that can be played by a participant? what happens then? Well, I will provide a whole explanation here.
I know this annoys individuals who play informally, so they may have wonder if it happens in tournaments. I will provide a complete explanation of the correct procedure for such cases, let’s begin.
Who in a tournament is a spectator that can tell the moves?
Two spectators that can tell a move is either an audience who paid to observe or a spectating player who just finished their game.
When I tell spectators it is really a term that has no exclusivity on those who just are only present to observe. There are two types of spectators in tournaments, the player who finished their game and the one who paid for the fee (so they can observe).
Both of this group of people are able to tell the moves and is eligible for punishments. They can both be penalized although with differences due to the nature of their involvement in the tournament.
The punishment will be different depending if the spectator is also a player since they have a personal affiliation with the results. A pure spectator would not be impacted all that much by the outcome of the tourney since they are not participating.
A spectating player who tries to manipulate some aspect of the event by telling moves to another player will face some modified punishments. They would after all benefit more from the results of this act than any pure spectator who is just there to observe.
What is the penalty for a spectator who told a move in a tournament?
The punishment for a spectator who told a move is either a fine, a ban from being involved in future tournaments, or ejection from the venue.
Spectators are not treated any higher than the players, unlike in a business setting for example (customers are always right). This means that if a player claims that a spectator is influencing the game in some way, the allegation will take precedence.
You see, the player will always have a priority when concerning a spectator’s behavior to the tournament. Even if the claim is questionable and may not be true, the spectator would just have to oblige.
There’s a wide variety of penalties that can be incurred on the one who told a move including ejection from the game, fines, time penalty, loss of the round, etc.
The time penalty and loss of a round are only applicable for spectating players, not the ones who are there to observe. A pure spectator’s punishment would be a fine, a ban, or an ejection from the game.
A combination of these punishments is reasonable and can happen if the arbiter deemed it to be appropriate. The arbiter will be tasked to deal with the situation yet still need to be reasonable for the competition at large.
The most likely penalty for someone who is a real spectator is ejection from the game. In fact it is the most common approach that by default it should be done in these cases.
A fine is a really rare punishment that I’ve never seen, though some claim that it can happen. The actual number of the fine will differ depending on the place/federation.
If you are ejected from the tournament the organizers can actually give you a refund. Though do not expect much since some tournaments outright reject you without giving anything.
Though I got to say, there is no clear-cut answer for the penalty of someone who told a move, it really just depends on the judgment of the arbiter. And the arbiter I’m talking about is not just one person but rather a collective group of multiple people, these things can be discussed for better decision-making.
What is the punishment for a spectating player that told a move in a tournament game?
A spectating player who told a move can have a time penalty during his/her game, forfeit of round/tournament, or a ban from playing rated games in the future.
If this is a player the punishment would fall on the current or future games that they can participate in. After all there is a case that telling someone a move is a form of cheating, and that may cause them to be banned from future tournaments.
Banning through the acts of cheating is usually within similar rated games the tournament belongs to. So if a player is caught cheating in Fide-rated tournaments, then they will be banned from engaging in Fide-rated games.
This is certainly possible especially if the nature of the occurrence is blunt, planned, or direct. But really, the severity of the punishment will depend on the nature of the offense.
If a spectating player has subconsciously told a move due to analytical tendencies then it might be more acceptable. If it’s really forced and intentional then a ban might be feasible.
Another punishment is a forced forfeit of a round or a time penalty. Either the one who told the move would be forfeiting the next round as a sort of a warning, or the event entirely.
Both outcomes will just depend on the choices of the arbiter and the details surrounding the case. A complete forfeit after all is a serious consideration that needs a ton of review and clarifications.
What if the claim of telling a move (in a tournament) is dubious?
If the claim of someone telling a move is questionable, the spectator is only asked to distance from the players. Though repeated complaints from the same player can be ignored by the arbiter.
If the claim is dubious, a warning will be set forth before ejecting someone from the event. After all a participating player may take advantage of the rule to eject someone they don’t like in the venue.
If this is a player they have the right to observe the game and have the opportunity to tell the moves, more investigation is required then. The arbiters can’t just believe everything that is claimed here and there, things need to be fair.
Otherwise, it can be a form of lapse that could be exploited to cause some disruption. Consequently, if the player repeatedly complains about someone telling a move, the arbiter can disregard their concerns and let the spectators remain.
The players will take priority over a spectator yes, but being reasonable is another thing. There needs to be some defense for unwarranted allegations just to throw someone out.
Is a spectator telling a move in a tournament game really helpful?
The helpfulness of a spectator telling a move is dubious since the player is likely to have already considered it, and the quality of the move is still in question.
Telling someone a move is not as reprehensible as you think in tournaments where everyone is a skilled thinker. The participants will naturally be skeptical of messages that are being brought to them.
Individuals in tournaments can usually see most of the ideas just from looking at the position. They don’t need someone to tell them which is the sound-looking move from the one that is not.
They can receive the moves yes, but is it the right option to be played anyway? that is the question. They are likely to have already considered any move that can be told, the calculation is the actual problem.
Even if someone did tell a move the quality of such a move is still questionable, especially if it comes from a spectator. The one who’s playing on the board is likely to be the one prepared for this event and is well-conditioned.
Someone who’s just decided to observe in a chess tournament one day can’t possibly be in a more good spot than the player. And if this is a spectating player then it doesn’t make sense since it is a competition.
The only sensible explanation (for a spectating player) is they are trying to beat the opponent by telling the moves, yet the player would still be doubtful about it. After everything is said and done, it is just a form of distraction that should be eliminated, I mean it does not even work.
Would you tell someone a move in a chess tournament?
Being a spectator in a tournament can be really tricky on how you are going to receive the rules. But I personally believe that you don’t even need a lot of knowledge in order to behave properly.
Telling someone a move in a chess tournament is forbidden obviously, you don’t even need this article. But I get it, you came for the specifics which I have tried to provide.
I hope you’ve learned everything you need to know about a spectator that tells moves in a tournament, sleep well and play chess.
