Our team at Chess67 recently became a US Chess affiliate, and we are trying to clarify how affiliation works when supporting tournaments run by other clubs or organizers.
Here is the scenario:
A local club wants to run a US Chess-rated tournament but is not itself a US Chess affiliate. The club has a certified tournament director, while Chess67 provides the registration and tournament-management platform.
Could Chess67 serve as the sponsoring affiliate and submit the tournament results under our affiliate ID, even though the local club is the primary organizer and host?
More specifically:
Is this allowed, provided the tournament is supervised and submitted by a properly certified TD?
Would Chess67 need to formally authorize each tournament or be directly involved in its operation?
Which party would be responsible for rating fees, player eligibility, US Chess membership verification, recordkeeping, disputes, and reporting errors?
Could Chess67 face disciplinary, financial, or other liability for problems arising from a tournament operated by the local club?
Should the event publicly identify Chess67 as the sponsoring affiliate, even if the local club remains the primary organizer?
Is there a limit on how frequently an affiliate may sponsor events for otherwise non-affiliated clubs?
Is the cleaner or required approach for each club to obtain its own affiliate membership?
We recognize this is a fairly niche situation that may not be addressed directly in the rulebook. We would appreciate any guidance from US Chess staff or others who have experience with a similar arrangement.
If you want to be an Affiliate for a nearby club tournament, the directing TD who submits the tournament needs to be an authorized tournament director of your Affiliate. Your Affiliate Manager can make the related TD an authorized TD of your Affiliate. The submitting TD can pay for the tournament fee out of a personal credit card. The submitting TD is responsible for the tournament’s validity. The lead TD, if different, is also responsible for the tournament being valid. If the submitter is different than the directing TD, then do not list the submitter as a TD in the tournament.
Also, if there are irregularities or failures to pay prizes then the sponsoring affiliate is the one to deal with Rules, Ethics, States and Affiliates, etc.
You would need a pre-existing level of trust with the club and TDs.
My understanding is that Chess67 could allow an event to be submitted under our affiliate, provided the submitting TD is formally authorized under our affiliate. In that case, Chess67 would also be the affiliate responsible for the event if issues were to arise.
With that in mind, we would likely only do this for organizers and TDs we know and trust, through a formal approval process, rather than making our affiliate available more broadly.
As I understand it, if your affiliate ID is used on the event, then your affiliate is responsible for any issues in it. Chess67 should probably have its own affiliate ID for what you’re talking about.