Wesley So resigned after 6 moves

Agreed

Lol, a GM who needs to write down that he has to double check. Sounds like a funny lie.

I think So is simply frustrated because of his poor results. He doesn't want to play anymore in this tournament. We will see what happens tomorrow.... faking a heart atttack would be a nice idea.

not cheating.

Breaking rules

I cannot understand So in this.  Even after being warned twice, he didn't check with the TD to see what is acceptable and what isn't?  He was told that next time is a forfeit, so he knew that a full point could hang on this, and yet he doesn't clarify between rounds what he can or cannot do?  I cannot understand this.

I don't have a problem with what Akopian did, but if he played the "oh I'm shocked" routine, then I'm sure he's not being honest.  He should have come out and admitted it--his opponent put himself in a position to lose the game, and Akopian took advantage of it.  If my opponent were to hand me a win at move 6, I'd take it, too.

I agree that the punishment did not fit the crime here, but So was told twice and knew that a full point was hanging in the balance, so why did he do this?  Why did he put himself into such a weak position?

We are seeing rich brats acting like brats.  This is what you get when you import players from other countries and send them to a University which has the tuition of $24,500.

Sevian was also warned last year of his behavior.

Are players allowed to talk to each other during the game? If so, Akobian (who said he's a good friend of So) could have warned So before going to the ref.

No, players are not allowed to talk to each other. It has the potential to be abused and distract the opponent's concentration

Is probably through habit. How many times does a doctor have to tell their patients to stop smoking before they die from it ?

I don't blame Akobian at all. Actually, I would find it distracting if my opponent were writing random things down during a game. It would seem suspicious and I would really want to read it. And I know it's against the rules. Akobian just pointed out to an arbiter that his opponent was breaking the rules of the game. I have no problem with that.

BREAKING NEWS

Another Filipino has been caught taking notes during his playing.  Manny Pacquaio has also been writing words of encouragement to himself, like "Use all rounds, you have the time.", "Sit instead of fall when hit", and "Momma said knock you out!"

We are not sure yet if the "!" at the end of "out" will incur an additional infraction or not.  It seems this might be a misunderstanding of cultural differences.

Here you go TigerProwl an offical Breaking news picture lol

Another Player has been caught taking notes during his playing.  Manny Pacquaio has also been writing words of encouragement to himself, like "Use all rounds, you have the time.", "Sit instead of fall when hit", and "Momma said knock you out!"

We are not sure yet if the "!" at the end of "out" will incur an additional infraction or not.  It seems this might be a misunderstanding of cultural differences.

This is a real shame.  So certainly should have done a better job of disciplining himself not to take notes after having been warned, although there is a question as to whether he thought he was warned about writing on his scoresheet.  The arbiter should have applied a bit more common sense here and imposed a penalty that allowed him to make the point without putting a cloud over the event (such as a time penalty). To forfeit this way seems like an embarrasment for the event.  The arbiter painted himself into a corner by threatening forfeit in the first place.  Seems this could have been handled better.  Someone makes an illegal move they get a time penalty.  So writes nothing of any import as a nervous doodle and gets forfeited.  Of course we were not there so easy to armchair quarterback - but this seems like it was inappropriate.

From the FIDE rules posted in this thread it seems to me that things are pretty unclear.

It prohibits one from writing on one's scoresheet, which Wesley So was not doing (he was writing on another sheet of paper).

Ir prohibits one from using notes during a game, which Wesley So was not doing (writing notes is not using notes).

Wesley So believes that he was warned not to write notes on his actual scoresheet, and he stopped doing this. It may be the case that the arbiter did warn him not to write notes on his scoresheet and NOT not to write notes at all.

It is not clear from the FIDE rules posted that one is not allowed to write on another sheet of paper. Maybe there are other rules that can shed light on this.

Alejandro Ramirez said that he has seen people writing notes during a game many times and did not seem to think it was unusual; he said he had only never seen a penalty for it before. Other top players have apparently seen ppl writing notes.

So I think that Wesley So has more than adequate grounds for an appeal.

Please understand the real reason for the forfeiture! There was no cheating done. That will not in anyway affects the outcome of the game. The rule was misintetpreted!

SilentKnighte5 wrote:

He got caught cheating and was forfeited.  

After further reading on the relevant FIDE rules, I don't believe there was a violation at all. The rules clearly state that one is not allowed to read notes. Writing notes is clearly not the same as reading notes. I believe the arbiter was in error and would imagine that the decision would be overturned. Based on the FIDE rules, I do not see how one could justify the forfeiture.

"Wesley So believes that he was warned not to write notes on his actual scoresheet, and he stopped doing this. It may be the case that the arbiter did warn him not to write notes on his scoresheet and NOT not to write notes at all."

Red herring, when you play blitz or get under 5 minutes as with the Women's World Championship, they have a third person writing the moves.  Neither player writes anything.  If So really didn't understand the rule he would then also expect to be allowed to take notes on a piece of paper during blitz.

He put a piece under the scoresheet and not on it to hide it.  This shows he knows right from wrong and is testing the system.  He is a rich sellout brat and got burned. 

I agree with mr Ed Collins and Idoun.In my opinion,it is unclear if So broke the rules.Besides,So stopped writing notes on the official scoresheet and was using another piece of paper instead,which shows that he did comply.Was he forfeited for cheating?that would be rather wrong as it is clear he was not.Was he forfeited for distracting his opponent?what about fidgeting,would a top player be forfeited for fidgeting?I doubt it.My hope is that So's appeal will be successful..

"was using another piece of paper instead,which shows that he did comply."

So, if I smoke a cigarette in a public place and a cop tells me it is prohibited, I can pull out a cigar instead?