Forum Archive : Tournaments

Making notes during play From:   Randy Pals Address:   rjpals@comcast.net Date:   4 August 2008 Subject:   Rules question - notes Forum:   BGonline Although I've played online extensively, I haven't yet played in many tournaments so I'm not very familiar with rules and etiquette. One thing you gotta do OTB is count pips occasionally. Is it against the rules or a faux pas to do a little scribbling on the back of the scoresheet as you do this? I'm not talking about making a long list of numbers to add up, or taking a long time to do it. I'm talking about scribbling maybe a few numbers, for example your half-crossover count and your opponents -- something like that. BTW, in chess, where I have escaped from, this is forbidden by the rules. Players are not allowed to write things except for keeping score. Bill Riles  writes: No writing except the score -- and maybe occasionally scratching down a position for later study. Stick  writes: US Rules (http://www.chicagopoint.com/usrules.html): 1.5 AIDS. Once a match is in progress, players shall not use written, mechanical or electronic aids except to keep score. I've never heard of anyone not allowing you to write down a position on a position card if you like. I'm also pretty sure if someone tried to deny you that the tournament director would tell them to go to hell. A couple things you should do when playing live is make sure to wait until your opponent's dice are completely off the board and in his cup. You're in no hurry, don't rush. This will make sure you don't roll early and help keep you at a methodic pace. Use only one hand when moving the checkers. This is not only a rule, but it should also help you visualize long term. A large number of players use both hands to move the checkers, this can cause confusion and lead to positions where neither play know what the *original* position was. I'm sure there are more things to remember for live play, but those are the two biggest that come to my mind. Jason Lee  writes: > I've never heard of anyone not allowing you to write down a position on a > position card if you like. I wouldn't object, but if a person was using a lot of position cards, I might suggest to them that a digital camera is in order. Evan  writes: With regards to writing down positions in a way that it doesn't provide the appearance of impropriety, I tell my opponent that I'd like to jot down this position, but I first announce my play or cube decision. This ensures that I'm not using the note card in anyway to calculate pip count or otherwise provide me with some sort of mechanical feedback. I have had trouble with finding a good system for using a digital camera that captures all relevant data legibly. The problem is that the score card is sometimes not dark enough to be readable. Gregg Cattanach  writes: Regarding knowing the score when using a digital camera: I do a thing in the corner of the board with dice and a 'Rummi-Cube' tile. The Rummi-Cube tile has a number on it that tells me the length of the match. To the left of the tile, I use a die or dice to show my score and to the right of the tile the die or dice show the opponent's score. This works quite well and I don't have to put my score sheet on the board to take the picture. You just have to remember to rotate the dice after each game is complete.   Did you find the information in this article useful?           Do you have any comments you'd like to add?

 

Tournaments

Adjusting to face-to-face play  (Paul Epstein+, Feb 2006) 

Adjusting to face-to-face play  (Daniel Murphy, June 1999) 

Avoiding disputes  (Kit Woolsey+, Oct 2007) 

Baffle box to roll dice  (Ken Bame, Mar 2012) 

Calcutta auctions  (David Moeser, Nov 2001) 

Calcutta auctions  (Roland Scheicher+, Dec 1998) 

Calcutta auctions  (Anthony R Wuersch, Oct 1994) 

Calcutta problems  (Marty Storer, Dec 2002) 

Clock ethics  (Patrick Gibson+, Mar 2009) 

Clock rules--Digital clocks  (Chuck Bower+, Oct 2003) 

Clock rules--End of turn  (Carlo Melzi+, July 2001) 

Clock rules--How do they work?  (Gregg Cattanach, Oct 2002) 

Clock rules--Illegal move  (Brendan Burgess+, Feb 2000) 

Clock rules--Why forfeit instead of penalty points?  (neilkaz, Sept 2010) 

Clocks and older players  (Stick+, July 2010) 

Clocks--Arguments against them  (Timothy Chow, Jan 2011) 

Clocks--Common arguments against  (Chuck Bower, Feb 2006) 

Clocks--Losing on time  (Jason Lee+, Mar 2004) 

Clocks--Pros and cons  (Michael Strato+, Jan 2004) 

Clocks--Should they be part of the game?  (Kit Woolsey, June 1995) 

Clocks--Why use them  (Stick, Jan 2011) 

Compensating for byes  (Hank Youngerman+, Dec 1998) 

Factors that affect attendance  (Stick, Oct 2009) 

"Fighter's bracket"  (Chuck Bower+, Sept 2010) 

First backgammon tournament  (Mislav Radica+, May 2007) 

First backgammon tournament  (Ed Collins+, Dec 2006) 

Hedging  (Jason Lee+, Apr 2009) 

Hedging  (Marv Porten+, Feb 2009) 

Hedging  (Tad Bright+, Jan 2003) 

Hitting clock instead of rolling  (Bob Glass+, Mar 2010) 

Keeping score during a match  (Gregg Cattanach, June 2007) 

Links to tournament rules  (Daniel Murphy, Oct 2009) 

Major tournament attendance 1998-2008  (Daniel Murphy, July 2008) 

Making notes during play  (Randy Pals+, Aug 2008) 

Manually recording a match  (Kevin P+, Apr 2007) 

Manually recording a match  (gammonus+, Feb 2006) 

Manually recording a match  (Daniel Murphy, Aug 1999) 

New U.S. Rules  (Gregg Cattanach+, Dec 2007) 

Newbie questions  (Donald Kahn, Oct 1999) 

Playing at Monte Carlo  (Achim, July 2007) 

Playing-off 3 remaining players  (Gregg Cattanach+, Apr 2007) 

Recording matches  (Robert Maier, May 2009) 

Recording matches  (Chuck Bower+, Sept 2003) 

Recording matches  (Sean Dakin+, Aug 1999) 

Round robins  (Hank Youngerman, Nov 2001) 

Rules for doubles play (with a partner)  (steve+, May 2012) 

Seeding  (Roland Scheicher+, Dec 1998) 

Skill level  (Kirk J. Rupnik+, Nov 1998) 

Skill levels  (Leonardo Jerkovic, Aug 2012) 

"Stop pots"  (Chuck Bower+, Sept 2010) 

Swiss format  (Osman Guner+, May 2001) 

Swiss format  (Osman Guner, Oct 1998) 

Swiss format  (Hank Youngerman+, Mar 1998) 

Tournament formats  (MikeMadMonk+, May 2003) 

Tournament rules  (Daniel Murphy, Apr 2001) 

Tournament rules links  (Daniel Murphy, Oct 2009) 

Types of events  (Daniel Murphy, Nov 1997) 

Uniform rules and procedures?  (Michael Crane+, Mar 2003) 

Variable side pools  (Art Grater+, July 2011) 

Vegas trip report (fall 2004)  (Gregg Cattanach, Nov 2004) 

Vegas trip report (spring 2005)  (Gregg Cattanach, May 2005) 

Videotaping matches  (André Nicoulin+, Nov 2000) 

What is a "Monrad format"?  (Daniel Murphy, Sept 2000) 

What is a "side pool"?  (Daniel Murphy, Nov 1997) 

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