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UK Edition • 3rd August 2026

Boards not played

This question was asked to: David Stevenson

Question

Hi David, Playing at a local club and unfortunately one player was unwell during the session and had to go home. The boards that they did not play (8 of the 24 boards) were scored as ‘not played’. It’s not a major issue but wondered what the correct procedure was? I thought that if the board was in the movement a score should be allocated by the director?

David Stevenson's Answer

It is well known that directors have a habit of using Not Played illegally. When a player misses eight boards out of the twenty-four, the laws require that those boards should be averaged. Giving Not Played is not legal and a common mistake. Those eight boards should be scored as average minus to the pair that had to go home and average plus for their opponents.

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