FALL OF THE FLAG AND PERPETUAL CHECK

  In chess many situations cause a dilemma to players and arbiters as well. As FIDE Laws of chess (further Laws) like anything else in life are not perfect, arbiters frequently have “hot potato” in their hands, i.e. they have to make a logical, just and fair decision in few moments.

   One of these situations is when player have perpetual check but in that moment his flag fells. For example possible position is illustrated by diagram:

   The white checked his opponent but after he put his piece down (rook on h7) his flag fell, and black immediately claims the victory. White said that perpetual check is on the board and that black have no means to avoid it, so he claims a draw. What is the score of this game?

   I think that arbiter should rule: DRAW.

   These are the reasons for this decision:

1. Formally black have enough pieces on the board to checkmate his opponent but only if they could be moved. Only piece of black player which is movable is king, so his position must be looked like hi only have king. And with a king you cannot checkmate opponent’s king!
2. Article 5.2 b said that a game is draw “The game is drawn when a position has arisen in which neither player can checkmate the opponent’s king with any series of legal moves. The game is said to end in a ‘dead position’. This immediately ends the game, provided that the move producing the position was legal.” White cannot checkmate because his flag fell (and he has no time) and black cannot checkmate because only his king is movable although he have other pieces on the board, i.e. as we said in paragraph 1. we consider that he have only king.
3. Although his flag fell, this position qualifies as the case when player checkmate his opponent and after that his flag fell. It is without consequences if the move was legal (article 6.7). Here the whites` move Th7 which begins the perpetual check is legal but after that his time runs out.

If white have no time to make at least one check, surely he would lose the game.

This situation is not regulated by the Laws but using assumptions from Preface (which is official guide) about the necessary competence, sound reasoning and absolute objectivity of judges, I think that this decision is just and logical. And what is important for this situation, under paragraphs 1-3 are offered certain strongholds in the Laws, using analogy which is the main method of interpretation.

Finally, personally I expect that most players will be happy to accept this interpretation no matter that sometimes they will have black pieces.

     After publishing of my text in SAH MAT LISTA (internet newspaper about chess) under title Fall of the flag and perpetual check, occurred a discussion about that with international arbiter Bogoljub Dankovic which we print in full for the readers of my book  Commentary on the Laws of chess.

      Also, this will be one of my proposals for changes to the FIDE Laws of chess for the next Congress.