If you look at USCF crosstables, their are just too many forfeits. How can we limit the number of forfeits in the future?
What crosstables in particular are you looking at? How many is too many?
Alex Relyea
Crosstables in general. One forfeit is too many! However, I’m sure we can never get the number of forfeits down to zero which is why I asked how we can try to limit the number of forfeits that are occurring.
Forfeiting shows a very poor attitude and disregard for the organizers (who are often volunteering a lot of their time) and other players (who end up not getting a game unless the are able to play an ‘extra game’). Forfeiting also has effects on prizes as it can give a player an extra point that they wouldn’t have otherwise gotten and effects tiebreaks.
Simple Answer: Require a significant deposit (10xentry fee?) that is returned upon completing the schedule without forfeiting.
Practical Answer: None that I can think of.
Sometimes forfeits are the TD’s fault (like putting a player in the 3-day section instead of the correct 2-day section). Sometime it is a miscommunication, I once told a friend to tell the president of the club that I was going to be late that week. The reason why is so that he would stick around so that I could talk to him about an upcoming event but I had no intention of playing. My friend interpreted this that I wanted to be paired that week but would be arriving late. As a result I was paired and forfeited well before I arrived. Sometimes a player simply cannot help but to forfeit, (car trouble, medical emergency, etc).
Of course, if it is the player’s fault and they are a no-call, no-show, I fully endorse requiring a deposit from that player in the future (although maybe not 10x the EF). But you don’t know the full story just looking at the crosstable isn’t enough to make a decision.
Unfortunately, this is a pretty big windmill.
I have tried requiring players to check in before pairing the first round, but chess players have been trained for too many years that they can show up in some cases nearly an hour late, without any notice to the organizer.
Requiring players check in seems to work somewhat better in scholastic events.
The rules support assessing a fine against players who forfeit, payable before they can enter your next event, but enforcement is difficult, especially if there are multiple organizers in one city.
The ones that really drove me nuts were the ones who were present for the first round or two but then just disappeared without notice, creating a forfeit in the next round.
This is silly. What it amounts to is that Mr. Smith has noticed that on some crosstable somewhere there was a forfeit, and I’m supposed to get worked up about that? If he said that a certain organizer had, say, five forfeits per tournament, then that might be an issue. Therefore, I just need to find one forfeit and justify it, and Mr. Smith’s whole argument goes “Poof!”
I choose to site the 2001 Oklahoma State Championship, during which Mr. Jenson went home after the third round and promptly died, thereby forfeiting his fourth round game. http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200107011170.2 No further problem exists.
Alex Relyea
[Note that I take this topic exactly as seriously as the OP appears to.]
It’s probably best to leave the USCF out of regulating forfeits any further than it currently does.
In smaller local events, it is easier to discourage forfeits. Usually, the imposition of a fine which must be paid before the player is allowed to enter another event by the organizer, or the use of a refundable deposit (I’ve mainly seen these in round-robin events), is enough.
In larger events, fines and deposits just aren’t practical, and will likely cost an organizer entries. Also, there are many possible reasons for forfeits - some of which aren’t the player’s fault, and even if the player is at fault, the organizer might decide not to take any punitive action, depending on the circumstances.
Tracking down the reasons for forfeits in large events can take some time, especially when the players involved aren’t local.
You mention USCF crosstables. How do USCF crosstables compare to crosstables of other federations? If they differ, consider what rules other federations have in place to deal with forfeits. It’s true that a forfeit deprives an opponent of a game but in these competitive days I think there is a lack of civility and caring about another person’s feelings. Then again some chessplayers are a combination of absentminded, brilliant and sensitive…Maybe they just forgot to notify the director properly before withdrawing from an event.
I myself have been guilty of forfeiting games on a couple of occasions. Once, when my opponent thought so little of my ability that he purposely showed up nearly an hour late I decided that he could have the whole point for free. Another time I just didn’t feel like playing the opponent I was paired with. Was I a jerk? Yes! Perhaps fining players who forfeit games may limit this activity but then again when there seems to be unlimited money for re-entries and re-re-entries I doubt seriously if this will help. Excellent topic!
The Pittsburgh Chess League has a sliding scale of fines for forfeits. Teams pay a returnable escrow along with their entry fee at the beginning of the season. Forfeit fees are deducted from the escrow. It the fees exceed the escrow, the team will have an additional charge the following year if/when they send in their roster. On several occasions, no member of a team has show up to play. Just as annoying is when only one or two member of each team shows. Then it is possible for both teams to lose the match.
In individual tournaments, it used to be the custom that if you forfeited a game, especially a last round no show, you could expect to pay a fine to the organizer at your next tournament. Forfeits often inconvenience the other player who wants to play a rated game, not just get a free point.
Sometimes things just happen, and there is nothing that can be done. I had to forfeit a game once because a car hit my house. Needless to say, I was a little busy that morning dealing with the police, insurance company, and picking shards of glass out of the drapes. I did, however, call the TD later in the day. On another occasion, I forfeited a game because I thought it was more important to stay with a friend in a hospital when she was feeling scared and alone than to play my 4th round game. Chess was low on my priority list that day.
Now this is a great practical idea! I would feel like I won a huge prize and it would get me in; however, it would be a disaster for the director who tries to implement such a requirement insofar as turnout is concerned. What about GM’s? 10 X 0 = 0.
Not all tournaments have free entry for GMs. And those that do usually have some deduction taken from any prize. That deduction amount could be used for the “Simple Answer” calculation above.
Another great suggestion! This may seem simplistic but is it possible that a lot of forfeits occur because beginners assume that chess tournaments are elimination events? This thought could persist into the second round as the player is under the impression that they are competing in a “consolation” game. Perhaps an announcement instilling a sense of duty into the competitors by the organizer/ director would go a long way to reducing forfeits. Would an appeal to “honor” trump monetary fines?
How generally known is it that players who forfeit are withdrawn and must re-enter to continue playing? Perhaps requiring players returning after a forfeit to pay their entry fees again, or at least entry fees prorated over the remaining number of rounds, would be sufficient to deter players from casually skipping rounds without telling anyone. Of course, there’s nothing you can (or should) do about players who forfeit because of some unexpected crisis, and as for players who simply leave early out of pique, well, you still have their entry fees, and you’re not giving them back. Beyond that, any harsher measure seems more like spite than an effective corrective.
The problem with forfeits is that the forfeiting player usually has no intention of coming back for the later rounds. A few years ago in Illinois there were a couple of players that you could almost count on not showing up on Sunday morning in a two-day event.
Habitual forfeiters can be told they can play only if they leave a hefty forfeit deposit, to be returned only if they show up every round or tell the TD they are leaving. If they still forfeit, “return” the forfeit deposit to the player they forfeited to.
Bill Smythe