16-05-2012, 09:17 PM
Heather,
It's a draw. The rule is ambiguous, mainly because the person who wrote it (in English) was not a native speaker of English - what it is trying to say is that the flag fell the instant before one of the players or the arbiter said it was down, in other words that there is no measurable time lapse between the flag falling and the comment that it is down.
So in the case you quote, the flag, in the eyes of the law, did not fall until after the white queen had been taken. It may, in reality, have fallen long before that, but until somebody comments on the fact (which is the meaning of "observed" in this context) it is considered not to have fallen.
In a rapidplay game, no evidence from spectators can be considered where flagfall is concerned - even the arbiter is not allowed to comment until one of the players has pointed out that the flag is down, and even then the arbiter cannot say when the flag fell, only that it is down and what the consequence of that is.
It's a draw. The rule is ambiguous, mainly because the person who wrote it (in English) was not a native speaker of English - what it is trying to say is that the flag fell the instant before one of the players or the arbiter said it was down, in other words that there is no measurable time lapse between the flag falling and the comment that it is down.
So in the case you quote, the flag, in the eyes of the law, did not fall until after the white queen had been taken. It may, in reality, have fallen long before that, but until somebody comments on the fact (which is the meaning of "observed" in this context) it is considered not to have fallen.
In a rapidplay game, no evidence from spectators can be considered where flagfall is concerned - even the arbiter is not allowed to comment until one of the players has pointed out that the flag is down, and even then the arbiter cannot say when the flag fell, only that it is down and what the consequence of that is.