Guidelines III. Games without Increment including Quickplay Finishes

III.1    A ‘quickplay finish’ is the phase of a game when all the remaining moves must be completed in a finite time.

III.2.1     The Guidelines below concerning the final period of the game including Quickplay Finishes, shall only be used at an event if their use has been announced beforehand.

III.2.2     These Guidelines shall apply only to standard chess and rapid chess games without increment and not to blitz games.

III.3.1     If both flags have fallen and it is impossible to establish which flag fell first then:

III.3.1.1     the game shall continue if this occurs in any period of the game except the last period.

III.3.1.2     the game is drawn if this occurs in the period of a game in which all remaining moves must be completed.

III.4    If the player having the move has less than two minutes left on his/her clock, he/she may request that an increment extra five seconds be introduced for both players. This constitutes the offer of a draw. If the offer refused, and the arbiter agrees to the request, the clocks shall then be set with the extra time; the opponent shall be awarded two extra minutes and the game shall continue.

III.5    If Article III.4 does not apply and the player having the move has less than two minutes left on his/her clock, he/she may claim a draw before his/her flag falls (see also Article 6.12.2). He/She shall summon the arbiter and may pause the chessclock. He/She may claim on the basis that his/her opponent cannot win by normal means, and/or that his/her opponent has been making no effort to win by normal means:

III.5.1     If the arbiter agrees that the opponent cannot win by normal means, or that the opponent has been making no effort to win the game by normal means, he/she shall declare the game drawn. Otherwise he/she shall postpone his/her decision or reject the claim.

III.5.2     If the arbiter postpones his/her decision, the opponent may be awarded two extra minutes and the game shall continue, if possible, in the presence of an arbiter. The arbiter shall declare the final result later in the game or as soon as possible after the flag of either player has fallen. He/She shall declare the game drawn if he/she agrees that the opponent of the player whose flag has fallen cannot win by normal means, or that he/she was not making sufficient attempts to win by normal means.

III.5.3     If the arbiter has rejected the claim, the opponent shall be awarded two extra minutes.

III.6    The following shall apply when the competition is not supervised by an arbiter:

III.6.1     A player may claim a draw when he/she has less than two minutes left on his/her clock and before his/her flag falls. This concludes the game. He/She may claim on the basis:

III.6.1.1     that his/her opponent cannot win by normal means, and/or

III.6.1.2     that his/her opponent has been making no effort to win by normal means. In III.6.1.1 the player must write down the final position and his/her opponent must verify it. In III.6.1.2 the player must write down the final position and submit an up-to-date scoresheet. The opponent shall verify both the scoresheet and the final position.

III.6.2     The claim shall be referred to the designated arbiter.