March 2010 : TEMPO

TEMPO

The Laws state that ‘It is desirable, though not always required, for players to maintain steady tempo and unvarying manner’. Consequently players who are consistently slow are complying with the letter of the Law. However, because everyone else wishes to finish the session in a reasonable time, they may not be complying with the spirit of the Club. We all know that some hands require more thought than others but I wish to ask those who are seen to be slow for more than one round to make a positive effort to speed up their play in subsequent rounds and enable everyone else to go home at a reasonable time.

In practice, some club members have complained about late finishing as they wish to be home at a reasonable time. Consequently TDs will be using the following procedure.

a) Slow players will be told that they are playing slowly and be asked to play more quickly.

b) If they do not speed up they will be told about item c).

c) If they remain slow the next board will be removed and their opponents given a score of 60% or their session average, whichever is the greater.