2009 Chinese Chess Championships

Whoa! Earlier today I read at Mig's Daily Dirt Chess Blog that Hou Yifan was forfeited a game because she wasn't at her place when the round began, although she was in the room and on her way to the table: Wang Hao was running away with the powerful Chinese Championship, racking up win after win. The only competitor to even keep him in view was teenager Ding Liren, but even he was 1.5 points behind with two rounds to play. Then something interesting happened on the way to the celestial city. Ding Liren beat Wang Hao in their 10th-round game, which had the additional plus of giving him better tiebreaks, if my interpretation of the google translation of the official site is to be trusted. So a Wang Hao loss or draw and Ding Liren win (or WH loss and DL draw) in the final round would give the title to the 16-year-old. As it turned out, tiebreaks weren't necessary. Ding Liren's final-round opponent, Zhou Jianchao, became the second player of the event to be forfeited under the new FIDE "zero tolerance" rule because he wasn't at his board when the games began. Supposedly he overslept. (A few days earlier Hou Yifan was forfeited even though she was apparently in the room at the time and headed to her board.) What a joke to have this happen in the final round of a national championship. Then something almost as odd happened. Wang Hao lost with white to the tournament tailender Liang Chong (who was the recipient of the free point against Hou Yifan). The leader missed a trivial draw in a knight endgame with 59.Nxa5, though to be fair, and again assuming my understanding of the tiebreaks is correct, he knew from the start that he needed to win to take the title because Ding Liren reached 8.5/11 without a fight. Well, that's really adding salt to my pepper statement a day or two ago that Hou had a lousy tournament (earning her lumps, to so speak). But to be forfeited - and - get this - according to what else I read at Mig's, those new-fangled FIDE rules about zero tolerance for showing up late to play don't go into effect until July 1st of this year! But the Chinese organizer, or Chinese Chess Federation - or who the hell knows who? - decided to enforce those new rules anyway: Oscar June 6, 2009 3:54 PM Reply All new FIDE-rules will be effective only from the 1st of July; see e.g. http://www.chesscafe.com/text/geurt128.pdf It seems that the Chinese are ahead of that. Now, it's possible that Hou would have lost that forfeited game; on the other hand, she might have drawn it or won it. In such a fiercely-fought contest as these Championships were, it might have made all the difference in the world. In hypothetical terms, I think this is a good rules. Players should be on time, no excuses. So what if your car breaks down, your husband goes into labor, your teeth all fell out while you were brushing that morning - so what? Right?