Forum Archive : Rules

Illegal plays that can't be condoned From:   Matt Cohn-Geier Address:   atrifix@hotmail.com Date:   22 February 2011 Subject:   Legal/Illegal/Impossible moves/positions Forum:   BGonline.org Forums Say I roll 2-1 in this position: 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +---+ | | | X X X X | | 2 | | | | X X X X | +---+ | | | X X X X | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | O | | | | O | | | | O O O O | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 X rolls 2-1. And make the illegal play of placing my own checker from the 3pt on the bar, resulting in this position: 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +---+ | | | X X X X | | 2 | | | | X X X X | +---+ | | | X X X X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | | | O | | | | O | | | | O O O O | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 X plays 3/bar(!). My opponent rolls. Does the play stand? Robert Maier  writes: If called to the table in this situation, I would ask X if he intended to bear the checker off. If the answer is yes, then the checker must be placed off the board, where it belongs. O's roll stands and we move on. A checker that clearly is meant to be borne off, and carelessly placed on the bar, I deem to be borne off, at whatever point it is noticed. I base that ruling on the second sentence of US Rule 4.4. "Checkers which have been borne off must be kept off the entire playing surface for the rest of the game. " Stick  writes: So what would you have ruled if you would have been called over in the Ray/Bill situation? Semi-Final match between Ray Fogerlund and Bill Calton. 11-point match, Bill leads 6-2. Bill (X) rolls a joker. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | O | | X X X X | | | | X X X X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | O | | | | O O | | | | O O | | | | O O | | | | O O | | | | O O X | +---+ | X X X | | O O O X | | 4 | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +---+ 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 X rolls 4-4. X puts his own checker on the bar, leaving the blot exposed, 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | X X X X | | | | X X X X | | | | | | | | | | | O | | | | | O | | | | O O | | | | O O | | | X | O O | | | | O O | | | | O O X | +---+ | X X | | O O O X | | 4 | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +---+ 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 instead of the safe legal play that left him to clear the 5, 3, and 2 points vs. an ace-point game. 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | X X X X | | | | X X X X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | O | | | | O O | | | | O O | | | X | O O | | | | O O | | | | O O O X | +---+ | X X | | O O O X | | 4 | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +---+ 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Ray condoned the illegal play. Robert Maier  writes: You mean after I stuck my head through a plate glass window? Without the crutch of "bearing off" to lean on, I would have ruled that it was up to Ray to decide whether or not he wanted to condone the illegal play. That is the rule as I understand it. That is the ruling I have seen made in more than one previous instance, by experienced directors. I see no rationale to make new case law on my own. However, I am in favor of an amending the US Rules to state: - That a player may not put their own checker on the bar. - That if they notice they have placed their checker on the bar, the checker should be placed where it belongs. - That if the opponent notices the checker has been placed on the bar, they should inform of such and have the checker replaced in the correct position. Daniel Murphy  writes: If I were directing an ABT tournament with current ABT rules, my pre- tourney announcement would be something like this: A word about "illegal moves": You cannot put yourself on the bar. You cannot bear off your opponent's checker. You cannot bring your opponent's checker in from the bar. If you hit your opponent's checker, it must go to the bar. In fact, you cannot move your opponent's checkers at all, except by hitting, in which case the hit checker must go to to the bar. Infractions are not condonable "illegal moves." They must be corrected.   Did you find the information in this article useful?           Do you have any comments you'd like to add?

 

Rules

Bearing off question  (Colin Wiel+, July 2000) 

Can a beaver be dropped?  (Robert-Jan Veldhuizen+, Mar 2006) 

Can a beaver be dropped?  (Stein Kulseth, May 2000) 

Changing dice  (Julian Hayward, Feb 1998) 

Checker shuffling  (James Johnson+, June 2000) 

Gentleman's previlege  (Daniel+, Sept 2005) 

Hit and run  (Rich+, Jan 2000) 

"Illegal moves" rule  (Chuck Bower+, May 2004) 

Illegal plays  (Bob+, Aug 2002) 

Illegal plays  (Marc Gray, Nov 1995) 

Illegal plays that can't be condoned  (Matt Cohn-Geier+, Feb 2011) 

Is stalemate possible?  (Jan Andrew Bloxham+, July 1995) 

Jacoby rule  (Daniel Murphy, Dec 1997) 

Jacoby rule ambiguity?  (Chuck Bower+, Mar 2011) 

Jacoby rule--Good or bad?  (neilkaz+, May 2006) 

Legal roll  (Sture Lifh+, July 2004) 

Legal roll  (Gregg Cattanach, Oct 2001) 

Moving checkers unambiguously  (Timothy Chow+, Oct 2009) 

Moving checkers with two hands  (Michael Strato+, June 2000) 

Must a hit checker be placed on the bar?  (Dani+, May 2006) 

Pick and pass and bearing off  (SimonW+, Jan 2005) 

Play cubeless at 2away/2away?  (Raccoon+, Oct 2005) 

Repairing an illegal play  (Michael J. Zehr, Apr 1995) 

Resigning  (Bob Lang+, Aug 2002) 

Rolling on wrong side of board  (Ian Shaw+, Aug 2004) 

Rolling on wrong side of board  (Kit Woolsey, Jan 1999) 

Rolling on wrong side of board  (Kit Woolsey, Sept 1998) 

Rolling on wrong side of board  (Bob Hoey, Apr 1998) 

Rolling too soon  (TonyM+, Feb 2007) 

Rolling too soon  (Stephen Turner, Feb 1998) 

Rolling too soon  (James Grenier+, Sept 1996) 

Talking during play  (EdmondT+, Dec 2000) 

Touch-move rule in backgammon?  (Ken Bame+, Nov 2006) 

Touch-move rule in backgammon?  (Austefjord+, May 2002) 

U.S. backgammon tournament rules  (Butch Meese, Nov 1997) 

When do you give up your chance to double?  (Paul Epstein+, July 2005) 

When is a move over?  (JP White, May 2000) 

Overview  (Daniel Murphy, Apr 2001) 

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