How Not To Lose By Phone

BEFORE the first round of the Amateur Chess Organization's Super Senior (65+) event in Kos, players were strongly admonished not to have phones on their persons and to ensure any phones in the tournament room were turned off.

About 30 minutes later a phone rang, probably giving three rings, but there was no arbiter present and games carried on.

A further hour or so passed and the same ringtone went off, this time for what seemed the best part of a minute.

Again there was no arbiter in the room, and I did not see the upshot, but I was later told the phone-culprit's opponent claimed the game.

I play quite a bit of chess, but I have avoided such a loss, although I have been lucky on a couple of occasions.

To try to ensure I keep a clean sheet I have come up with a routine before every game.

First, while usually still in my hotel room, or at least outside the playing area, I put my phone on mute, and only then turn it off.

There are two points to putting a phone on mute.

The first is to reduce the chance of a loss should the phone somehow get turned on, or if I fail to turn it off properly.

The second point is that some phones have a feature that enables them, even when turned off, to activate and give a low-battery warning.

In addition to these precautions, and even when I am not playing chess, I keep my pen in the same pocket as my phone.

That way it is almost impossible for me to fill out a scoresheet without realising I have failed to put my phone away.

So far, my system has worked.