Answers.Body: <p>When this question was asked in April 2014 the question to be answered in deciding whether or not to allow this would have been "Can other people also hear the music?" If "Yes" then it is disturbing and not allowed. If "No" then no problem.</p>
  
  <p>However, events, technology and the rules have moved on.</p>
  
  <p>The <a href="http://arbiters.fide.com/" rel="noreferrer">FIDE Arbiters Commission</a> publishes the <a href="http://arbiters.fide.com/fide-arbiters-magazine.html" rel="noreferrer">FIDE Arbiters' Magazine</a> twice a year. In the <a href="http://arbiters.fide.com/images/stories/downloads/2016/FIDE_Arbiters_Magazine_No_3_-_August_2016.pdf" rel="noreferrer">August 2016 edition</a> it related the story of a visually handicapped player who used an earphone to relay moves. It reported:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>The cheating method was simply an electronic earpiece that was
    actually a Bluetooth device. This was not noticed until the player had
    posted consecutive tournament results that were astronomically better
    than before. He scored only 50% at novice level, but then within a
    year, while still unrated he won a rated section 8/9, and then again
    scored 8/9 with a performance rating near FM-level.</p>
    
    <p>These 18 games were fully analyzed, and he was caught with
    continuously high correlations to chess engines, especially Rybka.
    Therefore, he was asked to take chess testing. At first, he accepted,
    “naked if necessary”, but then he eventually declined, saying that he
    has stopped studying, and that his abilities have thus dropped off
    dramatically. All of these games have since been adjudged lost.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>Now the FIDE Laws of Chess say this:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>11.3.2.1 During a game, a player is <strong>forbidden to have any electronic device</strong> not specifically approved by the arbiter in the playing venue.</p>
    
    <p>However, the regulations of an event may allow such devices to be
    stored in a player’s bag, provided the device is completely switched
    off. This bag must be placed as agreed with the arbiter. Both players
    are forbidden to use this bag without permission of the arbiter.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>As arbiters we are warned to look out for these devices. Smart watches are usually banned. Old fashioned digital watches are still mostly OK. Earpieces are not. Of course all of these things may be permitted in certain lower level competitions with the arbiter's permission. But if you wear an earpiece because you have hearing problems you should first get permission from the arbiter or remove it during the game.</p>
  
  <p>Wearing an earpiece to listen to music is definitely not allowed.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2019-11-07T11:33:09.573Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2019-11-07T11:33:09.573Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Brian Towers
Answers.Body: <p>I think it's covered by 12.3b as it does make a sound, even though it may only be audible to the person using it.</p>
  
  <p>12.3 b. Without the permission of the arbiter a player is forbidden to have a mobile phone or other electronic means of communication in the playing venue, unless they are completely switched off. <strong>If any such device produces a sound, the player shall lose the game</strong>. The opponent shall win. However, if the opponent cannot win the game by any series of legal moves, his score shall be a draw.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-05-26T22:16:25.707Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2018-05-26T22:16:25.707Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: George Miller
Answers.Body: <p>The closest thing which I could find in the <a href="http://www.fide.com/component/handbook/?id=124&amp;view=article" rel="noreferrer">FIDE Laws of Chess</a> is</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>12.3 a. During play the players are forbidden to make use of any notes, sources of information or advice, or analyse on another chessboard</p>
  <p>12.3 b. Without the permission of the arbiter a player is forbidden to have a mobile phone or other electronic means of communication in the playing venue, unless they are completely switched off. If any such device produces a sound, the player shall lose the game. The opponent shall win. However, if the opponent cannot win the game by any series of legal moves, his score shall be a draw.</p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>However, I'm not sure if music from earphones would be considered as &quot;source of information&quot; or an &quot;electronic means of communication&quot;. The competition rules may specify that any kind of electronic equipment is disallowed, and the arbiters have the right to arbitrate things like these as long as their decisions are not unfair or contradictory to the laws of chess.</p>
  <p>But the arbiter cannot know whether it is music or someone reciting a chess book, so I understand if some people strongly object to arbiters allowing players to have earphones. At least I've never been to a tournament where using earphones was allowed.</p>
  <p>Note that if other players can hear the sound from the headphones, it violates this rule:</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>12.6 It is forbidden to distract or annoy the opponent in any manner whatsoever. This includes unreasonable claims, unreasonable offers of a draw or the introduction of a source of noise into the playing area.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-05-31T09:30:56.680Z
Answers.Text: Also, **any** electronic device can conceal a receiver. Being electronics purpose almost "invisible" to any human being, must be forbidden.
Answers.UserDisplayName: djnavas
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2022-04-05T06:14:50.350Z
Answers.Text: This answer quotes from the [FIDE Laws of Chesss effective until 1 July 2014](https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E01pre2014). By the time @djnavas had posted their comment, these laws had been updated three times. The most recent of these updates, [effective 1 January 2018](https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012018), addresses this issue. See [Brian Towers’s excellent answer](https://chess.stackexchange.com/a/26866/25131) for details.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Brian Drake
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-04-02T17:27:33.743Z
Answers.Text: I agree. The same question was asked to International Arbiter Geurt Gijssen in his January 2014 column (http://www.chesscafe.com/text/geurt187.pdf), and he responded it was forbidden due to article 12.6. I have also never been to a tournament where this has been allowed, I have seen people try/ask about this many times and it has always been disallowed by the arbiter (and by myself when I have been the arbiter).
Answers.UserDisplayName: GrizzlyRawrz
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Answers.UserDisplayName: JiK
Body: <p>I played a FIDE tournament recently and was surprised to see that some players had earphones on and were listening to music (or that's what it seemed like they were doing) while playing their games. One of my own opponents did this. </p>
  
  <p>Is this allowed as per FIDE rules? </p>
  
Tags: <rules><fide>
Title: Do FIDE rules allow listening to music while playing a tournament game?
ThreadText: # Do FIDE rules allow listening to music while playing a tournament game?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2014-04-02)
  
  I played a FIDE tournament recently and was surprised to see that some players had earphones on and were listening to music (or that's what it seemed like they were doing) while playing their games. One of my own opponents did this.
  
  Is this allowed as per FIDE rules?
  
  **Tags:** rules, fide
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 3 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2014-04-02. Score: 13 | Accepted answer
  
  The closest thing which I could find in the [FIDE Laws of Chess](http://www.fide.com/component/handbook/?id=124&view=article) is
  
  > 12.3 a. During play the players are forbidden to make use of any notes, sources of information or advice, or analyse on another chessboard
  >
  > 12.3 b. Without the permission of the arbiter a player is forbidden to have a mobile phone or other electronic means of communication in the playing venue, unless they are completely switched off. If any such device produces a sound, the player shall lose the game. The opponent shall win. However, if the opponent cannot win the game by any series of legal moves, his score shall be a draw.
  
  However, I'm not sure if music from earphones would be considered as "source of information" or an "electronic means of communication". The competition rules may specify that any kind of electronic equipment is disallowed, and the arbiters have the right to arbitrate things like these as long as their decisions are not unfair or contradictory to the laws of chess.
  
  But the arbiter cannot know whether it is music or someone reciting a chess book, so I understand if some people strongly object to arbiters allowing players to have earphones. At least I've never been to a tournament where using earphones was allowed.
  
  Note that if other players can hear the sound from the headphones, it violates this rule:
  
  > 12.6 It is forbidden to distract or annoy the opponent in any manner whatsoever. This includes unreasonable claims, unreasonable offers of a draw or the introduction of a source of noise into the playing area.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_6**: I agree. The same question was asked to International Arbiter Geurt Gijssen in his January 2014 column (http://www.chesscafe.com/text/geurt187.pdf), and he responded it was forbidden due to article 12.6. I have also never been to a tournament where this has been allowed, I have seen people try/ask about this many times and it has always been disallowed by the arbiter (and by myself when I have been the arbiter).  
  > **username_4**: Also, **any** electronic device can conceal a receiver. Being electronics purpose almost "invisible" to any human being, must be forbidden.  
  > **username_5**: This answer quotes from the [FIDE Laws of Chesss effective until 1 July 2014](https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E01pre2014). By the time @username_4 had posted their comment, these laws had been updated three times. The most recent of these updates, [effective 1 January 2018](https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012018), addresses this issue. See [username_1 username_1’s excellent answer](https://chess.stackexchange.com/a/26866/25131) for details.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2019-11-07. Score: 6
  
  When this question was asked in April 2014 the question to be answered in deciding whether or not to allow this would have been "Can other people also hear the music?" If "Yes" then it is disturbing and not allowed. If "No" then no problem.
  
  However, events, technology and the rules have moved on.
  
  The [FIDE Arbiters Commission](http://arbiters.fide.com/) publishes the [FIDE Arbiters' Magazine](http://arbiters.fide.com/fide-arbiters-magazine.html) twice a year. In the [August 2016 edition](http://arbiters.fide.com/images/stories/downloads/2016/FIDE_Arbiters_Magazine_No_3_-_August_2016.pdf) it related the story of a visually handicapped player who used an earphone to relay moves. It reported:
  
  > The cheating method was simply an electronic earpiece that was
  > actually a Bluetooth device. This was not noticed until the player had
  > posted consecutive tournament results that were astronomically better
  > than before. He scored only 50% at novice level, but then within a
  > year, while still unrated he won a rated section 8/9, and then again
  > scored 8/9 with a performance rating near FM-level.
  >
  > These 18 games were fully analyzed, and he was caught with
  > continuously high correlations to chess engines, especially Rybka.
  > Therefore, he was asked to take chess testing. At first, he accepted,
  > “naked if necessary”, but then he eventually declined, saying that he
  > has stopped studying, and that his abilities have thus dropped off
  > dramatically. All of these games have since been adjudged lost.
  
  Now the FIDE Laws of Chess say this:
  
  > 11.3.2.1 During a game, a player is **forbidden to have any electronic device** not specifically approved by the arbiter in the playing venue.
  >
  > However, the regulations of an event may allow such devices to be
  > stored in a player’s bag, provided the device is completely switched
  > off. This bag must be placed as agreed with the arbiter. Both players
  > are forbidden to use this bag without permission of the arbiter.
  
  As arbiters we are warned to look out for these devices. Smart watches are usually banned. Old fashioned digital watches are still mostly OK. Earpieces are not. Of course all of these things may be permitted in certain lower level competitions with the arbiter's permission. But if you wear an earpiece because you have hearing problems you should first get permission from the arbiter or remove it during the game.
  
  Wearing an earpiece to listen to music is definitely not allowed.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2018-05-26. Score: 5
  
  I think it's covered by 12.3b as it does make a sound, even though it may only be audible to the person using it.
  
  12.3 b. Without the permission of the arbiter a player is forbidden to have a mobile phone or other electronic means of communication in the playing venue, unless they are completely switched off. **If any such device produces a sound, the player shall lose the game**. The opponent shall win. However, if the opponent cannot win the game by any series of legal moves, his score shall be a draw.
  
  
  ---
  
  