Rules of Backgammon tourneys - Touching the cube

[puzzle_t0rico]

Hi there

I have just read a post of Simborg in the Worls Backgammon Association site (http://www.world-backgammon-association.com/) about the rules on backgammon tournaments.
It is quite surprising for me that the current tournments' rules do not cover almost all the possible situations during a match or a money game.
In any other board game (chess, scrabble, go...) the rules are quite well defined but it seems that it is not the case in BG.
Though, BG is not a game that has just arrived (people say it is the oldest game on Earth) and tournaments are played since enough long time ago to not be surprised for situations like those Simborg describes: the player who picks the cube while considering if he doucles or not, has to double or not?
I mean, I can not believe that never before any tournament director has not been put face to this decision.
And even if this has never happened before, anyone can imagine that this can happen.
I agree with Simborg that this situation should be described in the rules.
Maybe the best is to apply the chess rule that forces the player to move the piece he has touched.
Personally I think that nothing on the board should be touched before the dice are rolled if the player on play is not going to change the current state of the game. Why does he touch the cube if he is finally rolling his dice?
I mean, if the player on play is not doubling, he should not touch, pick or play with the cube even if he owns it.
More, if he doubles, his opponent should not touch the cube before he takes a decision.
We are all big enough to take a decision without playing with the elements that make part of the board.
Indeed, the rules should cover how a game is played. It is not too difficult to make a flow chart of a BG game, specially for those of you who have been playing BG for 30 years.

Well, those were my 2 cents about this awkward situation.
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