My Chess Life

THE DATELINE STORY

The characters in this story are imaginary and not to be mistaken with any particular real characters in the real world.

The Day Before the Tournament

Player A: Do you want to participate in tomorrow's tournament? The dateline is today and I have confirmed my participation several days ago. It was so easy; I just have to SMS my name and send to the contact person as per advertised in the local blogs weeks ago.

Player B: I don't know yet. I will see tomorrow whether I am free or not. Besides, the dateline is not conclusive; the organizers will accept my registration. I just have to be at the tournament venue tomorrow to register. This is only a small matter.

Organizer A: The dateline is today. So far there are only 15 names registered after the dateline at 5 p.m. This is not good. We will incur some losses if we continue with the tournament. Is it hard to call or SMS their names to us to confirm their participation? I have to key in the names in the pairing program so that we will start the tournament on schedule at 9 a.m.

Organizer B: Let us wait tomorrow. Surely there will be participants who will come and register. The program is very easy. We will be able to accept several participants more and key in their names before the first round starts. Don't worry.

The Day of the Tournament

Player A: I am on my way to the tournament. I will be on time for the scheduled first round at 9 a.m.

Player B: I am free today. I can go and play in the tournament. But first, let us have a breakfast. You can't play with your stomach empty, right? Don't worry, there is still time.

Organizer A: There is only an hour left for the first round to start. I should get ready with the chess pieces and clocks so that the tournament will be smooth.

Organizer B: Wait! I'm still accepting these players registration. I will key in their names in the pairing program. There is plenty of time. After all, everybody knows that chess tournaments in this country starts rather late; it is a custom! We will get as many number of participants as we can before we start the first round.

The Day After the Tournament

Player A: Yesterday's tournament started 2 hours late. My winning mood vanished completely. That's why I lost the games.

Player B: They should have not accepted my late registration. I was caught in the traffic jam and arrived an hour late but still they accepted me.

Organizer A: I don't think this tournament was a success. There were so many complaints that the tournament started very late. Consequently we had to cut the time of play for each round. Many were not happy.

Organizer B: I think it was a success. We got so many participants and recovered our money. The players had to blame themselves for not registering before the dateline and caused this delay.

And that is what usually happens in our local chess scenes. Who is to be blamed? The players or the organizers?