Taking advantage with clocks…

Jennifer · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 17

I was playing in a tournament using clocks. Neither my opponent nor I were very confident with using the clocks (we had never played with them before), although I think my opponent was a little less confident than me. At one point in the game he rolled the dice and made his move and then picked up the dice and held them, forgetting that we were playing with only one set of dice. I told him I needed the dice and he handed them over, forgetting to press the clock. I noticed but I didn’t say anything. I continued to roll the dice and take my turn. I took a bit longer, analyzing every little thing before I made my move and thought it was a bit funny because he didn’t realize that I was playing on his time. Would anyone else have done this or do you just think I was a jerk?

Stack · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 24

Personally, I think that it was a bit rude of you. In this situation I usually tell my opponent the first time they forget to stop their clock. If they forget a second time I usually don’t tell them (I already warned them once), but I make my move in the normal amount of time I would take. The third time, however, I will start doing what you did—spending a lot of time making my move in order to waste my opponent’s time. After all, once they have made this mistake three times they deserve it! However, I do give my opponent the chance to fix his mistake and I think maybe you should have too.

I’m not sure that what you did is even legal. It isn’t officially your turn until your opponent has stopped his clock. If he had realized that you were playing on his time he could have stopped the clock and made you roll again, starting your turn from scratch. This could be to your disadvantage if you had rolled a play. Just be careful next time…

Jade · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 27

I like to live by the principal that if your opponent makes a mistake you should cash out on it as well as you can. If your opponent forgot to stop his clock then you should make him pay, just like if your opponent accidentally makes an illegal move because he misread the dice but the move is worse than what he could have done with the true roll you should let it slide. Backgammon can be a brutal game but that’s what makes it fun!