EXAMINATION FOR CHESS SUPERVISORS
Examples of questions
Compiled by Elise Steenkamp (SACAA)
Tel 012-6543495
info@chessconnection.co.za
Questions will be set on the following:
1. FIDE Laws & Appendices (latest version 1.7.2004)= 80%
(a) General knowledge about the application of FIDE laws in
the school league and team match situation.
(b) Practical chess move questions on the basic chess moves,
e.g. difference between mate and stalemate, promotion and ‘en
passant’. All practical “moves” questions to be answered in the
Algebraic notation.
(c) Practical knowledge of the clock and setting of times on an
analogue chess clock.
2. Swiss Paring rules (SACAA issue) and tie-breaking methods
(10%)
3. Round Robin and tie-breaking methods (4%) (Berger tables)
4. General knowledge about the conditions for team matches
played in schools. (2%)
5. Bonus points for knowledge about chess in SA and in the
World. (2%)
6. Generally accepted chess terminology. (2%)
1
A. FIDE Laws and general knowledge of pairing
systems
1. How many points do you allocate to a player that has stalemated his
opponent?
2. How many points do you allocate to a player that has checkmated his
opponent?
3. How many points do you allocate to a player that did not finish his game,
but simply walked away and did not return to the board?
4. How many points do you allocate for a draw by repetition of position?
5. How many points do you allocate to a player whose opponent failed to
arrive?
6. How many points do you allocate to a player whose opponent’s cell phone
rang during the game?
7. What is the most powerful move in chess?
8. How can a player win a game? (name five ways)
9. How can a player lose a game? (name four ways)
10. How can a player draw a game (name six of the ten ways)
11. Describe a stalemate / Set up a stalemate position, indicate which colour
has the move.
12. Give the symbol for a draw offer/queenside castling/kingside castling/win
for white/bad move/good move/capturing/
13. How many matches will each of the teams play with a single round robin
pairing system in a group of eight/four/five/ten/twelve teams?
14. What is the cumulative score of a player that obtained the following
results:
Rnd 1 + Rnd 2 = Rnd 3 + Rnd 4 = Rnd 5 + Rnd 6 + Rnd 7 -
15. Name the penalties an arbiter may apply. (six types of penalties)
16. What information do you write on a Swiss paring card when doing manual
pairing?
17. When is castling illegal/ temporarily prevented /possible?
18. Give the three fundamental laws of the Swiss paring system
19. What characteristics does FIDE require of an Arbiter?
20. FIDE grants the arbiter some freedom in decision-making, describe two
typical situations in which the arbiter will make the rules.
B Examples of True or False questions
1.. In a stalemate situation the player with the white pieces wins.
2. The touch-move rule applies only when you move with your left hand.
3. Notation is necessary to claim a win.
4. Notation is necessary to claim a draw by repetition of position.
5. In a Blitz games all moves must be made in less than 20 minutes
6. In a Rapid game all moves must be made in less than 10 minutes
7. You do not have to say ‘check’ when placing your opponent’s King in
check.
8. You have to warn your opponent when in check.
9. The Swiss pairing is used to pair groups of players with numbers less
than 10.
10. The Swiss paring is a system by which Swiss clocks are used to end the
game.
11. A player may, when he has no alternative, ask his opponent to pass his
turn.
12.. If a player touches one of his opponent’s pieces, he must capture it if
it is legal to do so.
13. Before the start of the game, the player with the black pieces can
choose where to place the clock.
14... A player arriving more than one hour late after the starting time of a
game will loose that game.
15. Demonstration boards present in the playing hall may not be used as
evidence in a dispute.
16. Players who have finished their games shall be considered to be
spectators.
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17. The arbiter may award either or both players additional time in the event
of external disturbance of the game.
18. During a rapid play game, players must record their moves
19. In a blitz game, an illegal move is completed once the opponent’s clock
has been started.
20. During a “Quickplay finish” a player may claim a win if his opponent
makes an illegal move.
21. In SA Jewish players may record their games in Hebrew.
22. In SA Greek players may record their games in Greek.
23. In SA Afrikaans players may record their games in Afrikaans.
24. Internationally all games are recorded in Russian
25. If a player cannot checkmate his opponent, even with the most unskilled
play, the game shall be declared drawn.
26. If a game has begun with colours reversed (players playing with the
wrong colours), the game shall be cancelled and a new game played.
27. If a player touches a piece but the touched pieces cannot be moved or
captured legally, the game will be declared lost for the player.
28. If a player checkmates his opponent with “fools mate”, the game must
be replayed.
29. The arbiter may indicate to a player that his opponent has moved.
30. Both players must record the offer of a draw on the notation sheet.
31. When both flags are down and nobody noticed it, the game shall be
replayed.
32. Both players shall write up the moves until one of them has less than
five minutes on his clock.
33. Unless the arbiter specifies otherwise the player with the black pieces
may choose on which side of the board he wants the clock to be placed.
34. If it is found during a game that the initial position of the pieces was
incorrect the game shall be cancelled and a new game played.
35. A player may stop the clock in order to go to the toilet.
36. A player may stop the clock in order to call the Arbiter.
37. A player, who stops the clock without good reason shall be penalised
by the Arbiter.
38. A player may play by using his wristwatch if no clock is available.
39. A player must make his move with one hand only.
40. .If neither player is present when the round starts, the player who
has the white pieces shall lose all the time that elapses until he arrives.
41. There are two different ways of moving a king.
42. It is forbidden to record chess moves in advance
 43. The score sheets of the players shall be visible to the arbiter at all
times.
44. For a third illegal move by the same player the arbiter shall declare
the game lost by this player.
45. If a game had begun with colours reversed the game shall
continue unless the arbiter decides otherwise.
46. When an arbiter rejects a claim made in terms of Article 10.2 , the
opponent shall be awarded two extra minutes of time.
47. No appeals may be made on the decision of an arbiter in terms of
Article 10.2 a, b, or c .
48. The arbiter shall determine the score of the opponent of a player
whose cell phone rang during the game.
49. If announced beforehand the player who wins a game may be
awarded three points.
50. A player may offer a draw only three times during the game.
51. Players who have finished their games shall be considered to be
spectators.
52. Persistent refusal of a player to accept a draw shall be penalised
by the loss of the game.
53. If both players are found guilty of persistently breaking the Laws
of Chess, the player with the Black pieces shall lose the game.
54. The arbiter may expel a spectator using his cell phone in the hall
from the playing venue.
55. In a Blitz game the King may be captured.
56. An arbiter who observes a player using a notation system other
than the algebraic should expel the player on the spot.
57. On the visually handicapped player’s board a piece shall be
considered “touched” when it has been taken out of the securing
aperture.
58. A player may promote only two pawns to Queens.
59. To claim a win on time the player must stop both clocks and notify
the arbiter.
60. In a Blitz game an illegal move is completed once the opponent’s
clock had been started.
C Case studies – for application of the FIDE
Laws
1. Player A wins player B by mating the king on the back rank. Player B
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analyses his game afterwards and after about 30 minutes lodges an appeal
that the score is incorrect because player A had castled illegally and he could
prove it with his notation. Your decision?
2. During a league match player A claims a draw because the same position
occurred three times during the game. No one recorded the moves. Your
decision?
3.During a league match player A claims the game because his opponent
made a move leaving his king in check. Your decision?
4. Player A touched a piece, but then realised that he would lose his queen if
he moved that piece. He asks his opponent very decently if he could make
another move. The opponent is unsure and calls you the supervisor. Your
decision?
5. Player X promotes a pawn and picks up the queen standing on the table
next to his opponent, which had been captured earlier in the game. However,
he realises that the queen on the promotion square would create an instant
stalemate so he exchanges the queen for a rook and places the rook on the
promotion square and presses the clock. His opponent, player Z is unhappy
and claims that X must use the queen because he touched that first. Your
decision?
6. Two players, both in serious time trouble, rushes to complete the game.
Player X does not see that his opponent’s flag has fallen; he extends his hand
and says loudly “I resign”. The spectators and his opponent then show him
that he could in fact have claimed a win on time. Your decision?
7. Player A reaches out and touches a Knight, but then sees his mistake and
quickly says: “I adjust”. His opponent claims that he must move the touches
piece. Your decision?
8. Player A moves his rook and let go of it on a square next to the one he
meant to place it. He quickly moves it further to the desired square. His
opponent objects and says he must place it on the first square, where he
briefly let go of it. Your decision?
9. A player is about to promote a pawn. He asks you the supervisor for
another bishop, since both his bishops are still on the board. Is this allowed?
What colour will the promoted bishop be?
10. During a league match a player complains that his opponent is mirroring
all his moves and it is intimidating him, he has notation to show the moves.
Your response?
11. Two players, after finishing their game hand you the result card. It clearly
indicated a win for player A. Glancing at the board where they played, still
untouched after the game, you notice that the position is stalemate. What do
you do?
17. You notice that a player has recorded twenty moves on his score sheet,
but his opponent only twelve. Should you investigate? Motivate your answer
in terms of the rules.
18. Player A stops recording the moves because he has only four minutes on
his clock before the first time control. His opponent, who has ten minutes on
his clock also stops recording. Should you interfere? Motivate your answer.
19. In a blitz game the player calls “time!” to indicate that his opponents’ flag
has fallen, but at the same moment the opponent checkmated his king. Your
decision?

12. During a match player A promotes a pawn and says he is promoting to a
queen. However, since they were both in time trouble they continued playing.
After four moves the players start to argue about which of the pawns were
the promoted queen. How did you settle this dispute?
13. Player A claims a draw because his opponent has been moving the same
piece three times in a row. Your response?
20. At a primary school tournament the father of one of the players approach
you and tell you that 50 moves had been made on his child’s board and they
will go on forever if you do not do something about it. The players did notate
the game and without interrupting you notice that the players had made 57
moves in total, from the beginning of the game. What do you say to the
parent?

14. Player A castles and his opponent points out that is was illegal since the
king was in check. Player A then puts back the king and rook on their original
squares and moves a knight to block the attack on his king. His opponent
insists that he move his king and not the knight. Do you agree? Motivate in Elise Steenkamp
terms of the rules. May 2005

15. In a championship match a player checkmates his opponent in four

moves. The opponent insists that that was a “fools mate” and illegal and the
game should be replayed. Your decision?

16. Player X promotes a pawn and picks up the queen standing on the table
next to his opponent, which had been captured earlier in the game. He
places the queen on the promotion square and still holding it in his hand and
then realises that the queen would create an instant stalemate so he then
exchanges the queen for a rook and places the rook on the promotion square,
let it go and presses the clock. His opponent, player Z is unhappy and claims
that X must use the queen because he touched that first. Your decision?