Blitz Chess

Rules of the Arnold Blitz Chess Tournament

The Arnold Blitz Chess Tournament will be conducted in accordance with the FIDE Rules of Blitz Chess. It is noted that the ratio of arbiters to players will be low, and accordingly the Competition Rules in Articles 6 to 12 will not apply, and Rule B4 will apply for the entire event. This means that play will be governed by the Rapid Laws of Chess as in Article A2 and A4.

Some of the significant rules are specified below, and some of these Rules may differ from those applied by Kids Unlimited/Chess Kids in Junior events:

Clocks and Time limits

The clocks will be set to 3 minutes per player plus 2 additional seconds per move played.
The clock will initially be set up to the right hand side of Black. The Black player may choose to move the clock to the other side prior to the commencement of the game and must notify White that they are doing so.
Each move must be made with one hand only and this includes the pressing of the clock. A player may not leave a hand hovering over the clock

Touch Move and the completion of a player's turn

Touch move and touch take apply, where there is a legal such move available.
Touch take applies when an opponent's piece is touched either the player's hand or by the piece which the player is holding and moving.
Touch move and touch take shall not be used as a justification to compel a player to make an illegal move.
Castling is a King move. Castling is only permitted if the King is touched first.
If a player touches their king and then a rook, then they must castle with that rook if it is legal to do so. If it is not legal to do so they must still move their king (if legal)
Clearly accidental contact with a piece does not constitute touch move
A player may touch one or more pieces, only on their own turn to move, in order to adjust the position of a piece misplaced on its square. Prior to doing this, they should clearly signify to their opponent that they are touching the piece with the intention to adjust it. The standard communications for this are the French "j'adoube" or simply "adjust". If the adjustment is clearly communicated, then it does not constitute touch move.

Illegal Moves

An illegal move played by one player on the board, and completed by pressing the clock, will lose the game, if the other player claims the illegal move prior to making a move of their own.
If the other player continues the game by making a move then the game will continue.
An arbiter who observes an illegal move being completed may, prior to any more moves being played, declare the game over and lost by the player who made the illegal move.
Notwithstanding the above rules, after an illegal move the game will be declared drawn if there exists no sequence of legal moves whereby the other player could possibly checkmate the king of the player who made the illegal move
If a player makes an illegal move, but then identifies this fact prior to pressing their clock, they may withdraw the illegal move and play a legal move. The touch move and touch take rules still apply, unless no legal move exists involving the touched piece.
If the initial illegal move (by Player 1) has resulted in an illegal position (such as placing their own king in check), and Player 2 makes a move that (whilst otherwise legal) does not correct the pre-existing illegality of the position, then that does not constitute an illegal move by Player 2. Furthermore, any subsequent move by Player 1 that continues to fail to correct the pre-existing illegality of the position (eg their King remains in check) will also be deemed an illegal move for which Player 2 will have an opportunity to claim a win.

Winning the game
The game will be won by a player if:

They deliver a checkmate with a legal move. If there is a checkmate on the board at the point at which an otherwise valid claim is made for a win on time by the other player, the win will be awarded to the player who delivered the checkmate
Their opponent declares that they resign.
An illegal move is played by their opponent, and this is claimed prior to the claimant making a further move. If a further move is played, the right to claim is forfeited and the game will continue.
Their opponent runs out of time. In this circumstance the claimant should claim a win by stopping the clock to demonstrate their opponent's flag fall. For such a claim to be valid, there must also be time left on the claimant's clock. If both flags have fallen, the game shall be declared a draw. In addition, the game will be declared drawn if there is no sequence of legal moves whereby the claimant could possibly deliver a checkmate. It is noted that if an arbiter notices that one player has run out of time, the arbiter may declare the game won by the other player.

Drawing the game
The game is drawn if:

As described above, if one player runs out of time, and their opponent does not have a sequence of legal moves by which they could possibly deliver a checkmate.
As described above, if both players run out of time before a claim is made by either for a win on time.
As described above, if a player claims (otherwise validly) a win by an illegal move, but the claimant does not have a sequence of legal moves by which they could possibly deliver a checkmate.
The players agree to a draw. A draw offer (by Player 1) should be made after making their own move, and before pressing the clock. In order to be valid, the acceptance of a draw should be made (by Player 2) without playing any further moves. The playing of a move by player 2 rescinds the prior draw offer by Player 1. The valid acceptance of a draw by Player 2 is binding upon Player 1 (ie Player 1, having offered a draw, cannot change their mind if Player 2 has not played a further move).
There is a stalemate, meaning that a legal move played has delivered a position in which one player has no legal move at their disposal, and their king is not in check. If there is a stalemate on the board at the point at which an otherwise valid claim is made for a win on time, the game will be declared a draw by stalemate.
A position is reached in which there is no possible legal sequence of moves whereby either player can achieve a checkmate

It is noted that the players will not be recording their moves. There are a number of other ways in which a game may be drawn, all of which depend to some degree on the demonstrability of a past portion of the game. In Blitz games without scoresheets, players do not lose the right to claim a draw under these rules, but it needs to be understood that proving these draws is inevitably much more difficult than in longer recorded games. A player who wishes to make a claim is entitled to pause the clock and request an arbiter to observe the game or indeed record some moves. Claims under all of these drawing methods need to be made before any valid claim by the other player for a win on time

Perpetual check - it is quite likely that a perpetual check can be successfully demonstrated if the arbiter comes and observes a number of moves of the game, especially in cases in which the king being checked has limited mobility. It is possible that the claimant (generally the player delivering the checks) may have only a very small amount of time left on the clock, and the Arbiter will need to be satisfied not only that a perpetual check definitely exists, but also that the claimant has played a sufficient number of checks in the circumstances, and has demonstrated during the game a proper understanding that the perpetual check exists.
The 50 move rule, whereby the last 50 moves have been played without any piece being captured or any pawn being moved - with moves not being recorded, a player may count their moves out loud one by one for their opponent to hear and in so doing demonstrate a 50 move draw to their opponent's or to the arbiter's satisfaction. Note that in accordance with FIDE Rules the count re-sets to zero in the event that any piece is captured or any pawn moved (unlike in many Junior tournaments where we frequently simplify the rule to "50 moves with only your King left")
3-Time repetition of position. This does not have to be 3 times in a row, but in an unscored Blitz game it is likely to be difficult to prove past instances of the same position. A draw by this method will usually only be awarded by consensus between the two players, or if the arbiter is able to observe the repetition with certainty

Spectators

Anybody spectating an unfinished game must not speak or in any way communicate their thoughts on that game to one or both of the players.
Spectators (apart from authorised event arbiters) must not draw attention to a loss on time. It is up to the players to make any claim for a win on time.
Spectators (apart from authorised event arbiters) must not draw attention to an illegal move. It is up to the players to make any claim for a win by an illegal move.
It is noted that, in the event that the outcome of a game is affected by the actions of spectators, the arbiter, having taken representations from both players as to what exactly took place, has the discretion to exercise their reasonable judgement to alter the result of the game in accordance with the principle of equity.

Conduct
Article 11 of the FIDE handbook, dealing with conduct of the players, is part of the "Competition Rules" that, as noted at the outset, do not officially apply to this event, but they still provide a .framework for the recommended way for players to conduct themselves at a Chess Tournament. In particular please bear in mind the following:

As part of a large open-plan Exhibition of Sports, we are not in control of creating a noise-free environment, but can players please do their best to contribute to as quiet a playing environment as we are able to achieve on the day, both during your game and after you finish your game.
Please behave in a courteous manner towards each opponent, and not distract or annoy your opponent or make continual unreasonable draw offers
Please do not wear headphones or touch a mobile phone or other electronic device during your game
Please accept the decisions of the arbiter
This event is open to people of all ages, and we ask all players please to refrain from the use of coarse language
And please think about the spirit of the occasion and enjoy being a part of a most inspiring and significant Sports Festival

BLITZ CHESS RULES