Your referee isn’t socially distanced from either player. In addition, when a capture is made that will usually be a piece that has been touched by the referee. That is a bit better for the time scrambles, though. Rather labor intensive
Ok How about this. Still one table but 1 set set up normally. Doesn’t matter who’s. Players stand six feet back with masks etc. Player steps forward makes his move, presses the clock, applies hand sanitizer to his hands and steps back. The other player than does the same. Just requires extra space.
It also requires a lot of hand sanitizer, and might result in extremely dry chapped hands for both players. As long as players aren’t touching their faces, hand sanitizer after every move seems extreme.
Hand sanitizer would be optional for the player.
I would think that at some point someone would look at whether two people 3-4 feet apart, wearing masks and not talking pose any particular risk to each other. Perhaps something akin to bridge’s bidding boxes with preprinted common questions/answers/claims could eliminate most of the talking chess players might do during rounds.
There’s not a lot of good research on mask effectiveness (especially the reusable cloth ones), and most of what I see seems to focus on a distance of under 8 inches, not the 2-3 feet that would be between chess players. Both players leaning over a board would cut the distance some, and breathing over the pieces might have some cumulative effect over a game.
I would feel reasonably safe playing OTB chess at a normal distance with both players wearing masks, as long as I was confident that the pieces and the opponent’s hands (and the clock) were clean.
However, I don’t know that I would be willing to wear a mask for 4 hours at a stretch. At work, we are required to wear masks when walking around (on the way to and from breaks or the bathrooms, etc.) but not when sitting at our workbenches – so it’s only for short stretches. Other than that, I put a mask on when I go into a store, but that’s about it. In general, I dislike wearing them, primarily because they make my glasses fog up and then I can’t see. I could see well enough to play chess without my glasses, but keeping score might be a problem (it’s been years since I could read anything but very large print without my glasses). Consequently, I may not be playing any chess until it’s safe to do so without masks (if that day ever comes).
For events held in hotels: Hotels are going to have the same problems we are having–distancing at all kinds of events, not just chess. Perhaps one of their solutions might be adapted (when they have one) to our needs?
If the pieces, clock, and pens are “properly” sanitized before play and all persons within board range (typically 6 feet but 8 feet may be better) feet are surgical masked (not N95 masked) and have properly washed/sanitized their hands (handwashing with soap is always better) it should not be necessary to sanitize hands on each move. For where are the droplets that would contaminate the pieces?
(SARS-CoV-2 - the technical name for COVID-19 - is technically a droplet-precautions disease.* Airborne precautions have generally been used in the early days because of extended range when someone coughs and might aerosolize some particles and some healthcare procedures might aerosolize droplets also. Current CDC guidance for healthcare indicates patients with the disease do not have to be placed in negative-airflow rooms (an airborne precaution) unless they are expected to undergo such procedures).
I say properly in quotes above because of the mitre line cut into bishops and the often fine details in the ears/mouths of the horsey make sanitization of some piece sets difficult. Alcohol spray/mist would likely be the agent of choice, not just a surface wipe which lets the virus stay inside the smooth surfaces a contact wipe can miss.
In fact, in such an environment players might (might) be safe to sit in close range. Again, where will the droplets be? Caught inside the masks of any infected player. The problem is it’s not easy to do this correctly for an extended period of time. Even as a health professional one must give conscious thought to it when caring for patients. Where are your hands? On the table? Is the table clean? On your jeans? Where were you before coming to the board and could they have gotten contaminated? Those masks get hot, too. It took awhile for me to be able to work a shift in them. Which is why my school took extraordinary lengths to physically separate us during our exams - even professionals make mistakes.
Maybe players should touch only their own color pieces. If captures are made the taking player announces the capture and the captured piece player removes the captured piece.
- There are four levels of precautions: Standard, contact, droplet, and airborne. Airborne is when the particles are small enough (under 5 micron) to float on air and for clients require negative-pressure airflow and N95 or better respirators plus gown/glove and likely eye protection. Measles, tuberculosis, and chickenpox are examples. Droplet is over 5 microns and typically attach to respiratory droplets to disseminate. Standard mask/gown/glove and sometimes eye protection are the norm in client care. And contact diseases are typically not airmobile at all and require physical contact; gloves and gowns are required and sometimes masks just to avoid accidental mouth-touch. Fecal-oral transmissions like polio and non-nasal MRSA are examples. Standard precautions are just that you shouldn’t touch body fluids or secretions ungloved. And there are oddities: Ebola Virus Disease is actually “just” a contact disease but is often treated with airborne precautions for health care workers because of its mortality rate.
I’ve noticed that Mr. Antonucci has been chief TD for at least a couple of “In the Park” events this month Perhaps he’d like to share any precautions that are being taken in Columbus?
Alex Relyea
I’ve merged wzim’s topic “A low Tech Idea for OTB Social Distancing” with this one.
Could NTDs, MDs, and folks with public health knowledge form an ad hoc committee to give us guidance?
I think face-to-face play is essential. It’s possible to do this responsibly. (Opening ceremonies aside, the Candidates were run well—the event was halted because the players faced being marooned in Russia for the duration.) But if your opponent has COVID-19, you’re not unlikely to catch it. So resuming play will be a calculated risk.
One size does not fit all. In late May 2020, Cook County IL has already surpassed deaths for all of 2019. There may be regions of the country that can responsibly contemplate Grand Prix events this summer.
Please. I am paranoid enough.
I start to get uncomfortable wearing a mask in a store for a half hour, a 2+ hour chess game would seem interminable.
I guess medical people get used to them, or maybe theirs are just designed for wearing for hours and are more comfortable. My glasses fog over after a few minutes and I can hardly see.
There are probably a dozen high-tech solutions, affordable lower-tech ones may take some ingenuity and possibly even rule changes.
I believe N95’s are less comfortable and have a very tight fit. During the pandemic, there have been many pictures of front-line workers with faces heavily marked by masks.
While I don’t believe you are recommending chess players wear N95s, I think its is important to note:
N95s have a one way exhaust valve on the front of the mask. They are intended to be worn by those who are safe and uninfected. For the general populace, whose condition is unknown (i.e. they may be an asymptomatic carrier of the virus), wearing N95 masks defeats the purpose of wearing a mask at all. Their exhales go through the valve and expose others to a significantly greater amount of their breath which may contain the infection.
If I had to wear a mask during a game, no matter what the duration, I believe I could do it. Over the last few days have been wearing masks when going out to the grocery store, gas station, bank, and Home Depot. Not perfect, but not that uncomfortable to wear. Breathing normally, it is not a problem.
Distancing between opponents, even when they wear masks, is an issue that is going to require an assessment by the medical community to give guidance whether we can do this safely while playing a game. So far, I have not seen any information specifically related to chess play in a tournament setting. If Dr. Fauci, Dr. Birks, and the CDC gave us a little data on all forms of competition, that would be good. It would allay fears.
It is not clear how long that the virus sticks to surfaces like plastic, vinyl, tables. Sanitizing may help, but is not foolproof. There is likely to be at least a minimal risk. I think this will be a big sticking point for players. They can and will wash hands and/or use sanitizer. Organizers will likely provide sanitizer and paper towels for players going forward. The question will be will that be enough? We need a medical judgment about this.
We have always been in a situation where we can get sick when playing in tournaments. Packed crowds, elbow to elbow. Lots of coughing, sneezing, and poor general hygiene by some players. Sticky fingers. Eating food at the board. People coming to tournaments when sick with colds and flu. This pandemic is a wake up call for us to rethink how we need to reshape our behaviors to help ourselves and keep others safe. Having fewer boards per table, more space between rows, making sure things are clean, social distancing, wearing a mask are the easiest and minimal things we can do. Changing personal behaviors and using common sense when sick are harder things to do.
We will all be paying close attention to what the National Open is doing. I don’t think it will be anywhere near what people are talking about in this thread.
I thought the National Open had been cancelled.
Looks like it is rescheduled to September
chess.vegas/national-open/