FIDE Arbiters ´ Magazine – February 2016
changes, that the Time Control had also changed, to the internationally well-known 90 minutes for 40 moves + 30 minutes after that + 30 seconds per move from the first move.
In the very first round, IM Tania Sachdev fell victim to misunderstanding the actual time control, which was only 90 minutes + 30 seconds per move. At this point, there was an opportunity to revisit communications about time control, to reduce the risk of another needless loss on time. It is not clear from various reports whether this was done or not. Then in the fourth round, with a perfect 3-0 record so far, GM Koneru Humpy built a winning position, made her strong 44th move, and went to the bathroom. She simply expected upon her return to have had added to her time an extra 30 minutes, as they had passed 40 moves.
IM Tania Sachdev
GM Koneru Humpy
Of course, when she returned, she had lost on time, a very unfortunate turn of events. GM Humpy had won all of her first three games in less than 40 moves each, and she had not heard of how IM Sachdev had lost on time in the first round. Therefore, she was still genuinely shocked, and filed an appeal, against the Organizers, and especially the Arbiter( s) regarding“ poor communication skills”. In addition, GM Humpy’ s reference to withdrawing from the event was considered by some to be a“ threat”. Following is her last letter to the event:
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