International Arbiter 🇺🇸 Chris Bird explained why 🇮🇳 Praggnanandhaa R should have been ruled a loss for pausing the clock on one second in an X post on January 8. Bird referenced an article from the FIDE Laws of Chess regarding the permitted case for clock stoppage.

Christopher Bird

Christopher Bird

FIDE Arbiter

“Should have been ruled a loss. “6.11.2 A player may pause the chessclock only in order to seek the arbiter’s assistance, for example when promotion has taken place and the piece required is not available.” No promotion actually took place so this is not relevant here.”

🇮🇳 Praggnanandhaa R attempted to promote a pawn to a queen, but with only one second left, he paused the clock. The arbiter, called by opponent 🇺🇸 Wesley So, declared the game a draw by a mutual agreement. This situation happened at the end of game 6 in the Tata Steel Chess India 2026 - Open Rapid tournament.

The Tata Steel Chess India 2026 — Open Rapid takes place in Kolkata, India from January 7 to 9. The event features a $24,000 prize pool and uses 15+10 time control over one Round-Robin round between 10 players. 🇮🇳 Nihal Sarin won the tournament while 🇺🇸 Wesley So finished in fourth place and 🇮🇳 Praggnanandhaa R finished sixth.

Credit: Vivek Sohani