Tha= nks for the comments on draws. Larry-san made some insightful = comments, and I have some questions about them. >A rule that is often used in amateur shogi events, which I personal= ly >favor, is to have all jishogi games decided by whoever is ahead on = >points, regardless of how much, with white winning in case of a tie= >score (27-27) and white getting credit for his removed pieces in a = >handicap game. =A0So the only draws are repetition, which are more = >practical to replay than jishogi games (since they already take >forever). =A0 Good points, Larry-san. You know, I've heard that you need to get= 28 points. Then I heard you need 24 points. Gosh, I guess I'd = better take notes so there's no confusion in the future! Now, as for repetition, I'm of course confused. Many times I've b= een in discussions on this matter. From what Japanese people have tol= d me, the ruling in this situation very much depends on where you're = playing and who is running the tournament. Most TDs, I've heard, = score a 4-time repetition as a LOSS for the "attacker," but t= hen there can be much controversy over who is actually the "attacker&q= uot; and who's the "defender," and do these names encompass the ENTIRE= position, or just the situation involving someone's king in perpetual <= BR> check. UGH!! How confusing!! >Whether repetition games are replayed or scored as 1/2 varies from = >event to event; in elimination tournaments they must of course be <= BR> >replayed, but in Swiss system events I see no need for this. =A0 An interesting situation. I vote for replays, but then, that's consistent with my world view of "no draws, no ties, no discussion= ." >USSF policy has been not to rate draws. =A0Draws by agreement shoul= d >only be allowed if the two players are agreeing that the >game will end in a jishogi draw, but if the above rule is adopted <= BR> >then this situation will not exist. That's deep.

Doug Dysart Ohio Shogi Club founder
Great chess, great e-mail: http://www.KasparovChess.com