DISCUSSIONS on “Rules for online games in HoMM3 and formulas for calculating player rating.”

During a game with Oldboy, some questions arose regarding the Balance template:
1) I have an exit to a neighboring zone through a guard post, but below it, approximately 1.5 turns away, a mine was generated, which allows me to pass into the same zone (bugged passage), and there are no guards nearby.
Looking at the rules, we see:

2.6.5. In the absence of a passage guard, free movement between zones is permitted.

So, am I correct in understanding that I can freely pass through this passage regardless of whether I defeated the guard above or not?Yes, if this is not a passage to a treasure zone.

- It is forbidden to enter treasure zones (10 on the Balance template, 6, 9, 12 on the Panic template) through bugged passages until the corresponding guard posts according to the template scheme have been cleared.

According to the Balance template scheme, you can reach the treasure zone via several paths. You must definitely clear the last guard post (between zone 5 and 10). After that, you can use bugged passages to access the treasure zone.
If there are doubts about which zone the passage leads to, you need to send the save file and passwords to the tournament judges.

Bugged passage - a passage between zones that should not exist according to the template scheme. It differs by having weaker guards (or no guards at all), inconsistent with the template scheme. Often occurs when generating a mine, village, etc., on the border of two zones.

Here are a couple of screenshots:
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2) How should I understand:

1.4. Restart is allowed for the player whose only road leads to GO (for templates 2SM4d(3), Jebus cross, Balance, Nostalgia). It is taken on the day this fact is discovered, but no later than day 115.

Very often, only 2 roads are generated: 1 to GO, the other to a dead-end native village. And the rest of the exits from the respawn lead through impassable terrain. Is this a restart situation or not?
And if there is only 1 road to GO, and the remaining exits, including the native village, are through impassable terrain?
Answer:

2) In cases where there are roads to GO and to the native village, restarts are not allowed. If there is only one road to GO, then a restart can be taken (111, if there are subjective reasons; additional, if there aren't any).

I have nothing to add to this answer; it is correct. However, two days later, similar questions arise again from Oldboy, and for some reason in the Rules topic.

...We played a tournament at night, with no judges present, and a disagreement arose regarding this point.

Firstly, questions and comments should not be posted in the "Rules" topic but in the "Discussion of rules" topic.
Secondly, if you encounter a problem when the judges are asleep, there is nothing you can do; you need to postpone it or try to agree among yourselves and come to a consensus, even if it does not comply with the rules.
Thirdly, such questions are best asked privately to the judges rather than on the forum; you will get an answer faster, and the judge is responsible for their words.

1.4. Restart is allowed for the player whose only road leads to GO (for templates 2SM4d(3), Jebus cross, Balance, Nostalgia). It is taken on the day this fact is discovered, but no later than day 115.

And accordingly, if there are two roads from the starting city:
one leading to a dead-end village on the respawn, the second to GO.
Is this situation a restart situation according to this rule?It seems that the question contains the answer itself.
No, it is not. By "only one road," we mean a situation where only ONE road exits the starting castle and, without branching out or passing through portals or underground gates, ends up at GO. 1 does not equal 2.
For such cases, you have subjective restarts, which are taken after you assess the specific game setup.

In general, restarting due to having only one road to GO is a discretionary restart, not a mandatory one (or tech restart, as some call it). Don't rush into taking it. Evaluate your game setup.