How do you submit a tournament by hand?

[vbeaman]

Hi everyone, I am a club TD from North Carolina and getting ready to host my first tournament in January. I question that I would like to ask is how can you summit a tournament by hand? That is if you still can now?

Victor Beaman

[rfeditor]

@vbeaman

Hi everyone, I am a club TD from North Carolina and getting ready to host my first tournament in January. I question that I would like to ask is how can you summit a tournament by hand? That is if you still can now?

Victor Beaman

Certainly, although it costs $.40 a game instead of $.20. Send the USCF a crosstable with the necessary information and payment. Simplest is to download the “tournament report form” at uschess.org/about/forms/00tmtrep.PDF, which walks you through it. (Note that you do not have to use the crosstable form bundled with it; almost everyone just xeroxes the wallchart.)

[nolan]

You can also create rating reports online using the form in the TD/Affiliate Support Area, in which case the fee is 18 cents per game.

Earlier today I entered an 8 player 3 round event in just a few minutes.

Here’s the steps I used:

1. Click on ‘Enter New Tournament’ (towards the bottom of the ‘Upload/Edit Tournament Files’ page.)

2. Fill in the three fields and click on ‘Create Tournament’.

(I gave it the event name of ‘My Small Test’, 1 section, with the tournament id of ‘small2’.)

3. Fill in the event and section fields and click on ‘Save Changes’

(I gave it event and section dates of 2004-12-01 to 2004-12-01, our state affiliate’s ID, myself as chief TD and section Chief TD, 3 rounds, 8 players, dual rating, Swiss format, time control: game/30.)

4. Fill in the USCF IDs of the 8 players and click on ‘Save Changes’

(I gave it the IDs 12923001-12923008. One of those IDs has been flagged as a duplicate ID which will create an error when the event is checked, but that’s not important to the process here.)

5. Fill in the round data and click on ‘Save Changes’.

(I did it one round at a time, clicking on ‘Save Changes’ after each round. Use W/L/D and the pairing ID of the opponent, ie ‘W8’ or ‘L1’).

6. Click on ‘Check Event’.

For more information on the TD/Affiliate Support Area, go to the TD/A home page, secure.uschess.org/TD_Affil

[Localtdforsythe]

Hi everyone, I am a club TD from North Carolina and getting ready to host my first tournament in January. I question that I would like to ask is how can you summit a tournament by hand? That is if you still can now.

Victor, yes you can!

uschess.org/about/forms/

There you will find everything you need to print.

[Steve_Coladonato]

@nolan

You can also create rating reports online using the form in the TD/Affiliate Support Area, in which case the fee is 18 cents per game.

Earlier today I entered an 8 player 3 round event in just a few minutes.

Here’s the steps I used:

Mike,

Would it be possible to submit a file that is compatible with the file(s) that is produced when you submit a report online? If so, can you send me a copy of the file(s) that is produced when you submit a report online?

Regards,

Steve

[nolan]

The only file format we currently accept are the three dBase files that the pairing programs create.

George John has what appears to be the specfications for that file on his website, the link is :

georgejohn.bcentralhost.com/ … _files.htm

We’re in the process of adding a few fields to those files.

Now that I have a copy of the original file description I need to find a few hours to make sure it’s complete and accurate and to add the additional fields.

[Steve_Coladonato]

Mike,

But if all the information you need is in the file that get’s generated from the on-line form, why can’t that file format (assuming it is not a dBase file, please say it isn’t so) be used as the basis for electronic submissions of reports?
Basically, you already have a file format available that you use to process the results. I think it is something that you might want to consider since any additional work would be greatly minimized.

Steve

[nolan]

Steve, the information that is entered in the online data entry form goes into our PostgreSQL database. There is no way to import records directly into that database other than through the upload process, and at this time the only upload format that is supported is the dBase one.

[Gyr49]

Steve,

Are you trying to have an application that stores your tournament information write a file that can be submitted to USCF, without re-entering the data by hand on the web forms? If that’s close to a statement of the problem, and if your application has a scripting capability, then maybe something like this will work (if it doesn’t have that capability, we’re back to square one):

Have the script write out the HTML for the web page that submits the data to USCF. For each input field, have the script substitute your data for the relevant value=’ ’ statement. Save the whole long text string to a file. Load that file into your web browser, and click on the submit button to send it off to USCF.

Does that make any sense?

[Steve_Coladonato]

@nolan

Steve, the information that is entered in the online data entry form goes into our PostgreSQL database. …

Thanks Mike. That wasn’t what I was hoping to hear but it makes sense with the “saves” from your description of how to do it. See my response to Gyr49 for additional information.

Regards.

Steve

[Steve_Coladonato]

@Gyr49

Steve,

Are you trying to have an application that stores your tournament information write a file that can be submitted to USCF, without re-entering the data by hand on the web forms?

Ned,

Yes, but also to avoid getting into writing a dBase format file. The new reporting system was supposed to support both the current dBase format files and also plain ASCII files in tab-delimiited, csv, text or some other currently undetermind format. I am sure Mike will eventually add this functionality but right now the pairing software I am using doesn’t generate a compatible USCF report file(s).

I use Linux and am running Vega (also runs on windows) as the pairing software and the author, Luigi Forlano, incorporated the USCF rules, latest edition, into his code. He even added the capability to connect to the tab-delimited player files that are available from the USCF so now all that is missing is the capability to submit the tournament results. He saw the capability to do on-line reports and sent to me the following in an email concerning what we thought was a file generated by the on-line submission:

@Luigi Forlano

“if USCF could process this file the existing vega could be used free of charge to generate this file: via the manual pairing you can generate the appropriate cross table irrispective of the pairing system used and save money using the online submission. By using an external software to generate the file could be more suitable than inserting the cross table online by hand game by game (think about 9 rounds with 100 players!). I’m ready to release even a free crossplatform tool just for this task (in this case I must simply remove part of the Vega modules) to collaborate with USCF… if they believe this could be useful, of course.”

So, as you can see, Luigi is willing to expend some time and effort to get the software to the point where it can generate files suitable for electronic submission. He already has just incorporating the USCF rules and the player interface.

Steve

[A_Jorge_Garcia]

I think the intent of the original poster was to submit a tournament for rating without resorting to ANY technology - no online forms, no dBase files, no pairing software, etc.

You know, that’s a good question. I’ve always submitted disks by snailmail and am about to graduate to using the online forms. So, can you just fill out the rating form and snailmail it in without disks?

TIA,
AJG

[Localtdforsythe]

@A. Jorge Garcia

I think the intent of the original poster was to submit a tournament for rating without resorting to ANY technology - no online forms, no dBase files, no pairing software, etc.

You know, that’s a good question. I’ve always submitted disks by snailmail and am about to graduate to using the online forms. So, can you just fill out the rating form and snailmail it in without disks?

Garcia:

Up to my last two tournaments, did send in paper reports by hand. Still have one last (as of 1.21.05) paper report needing to be rated.

The problem of any paper report, is the long time to get rated; the long time to be received for rating; the human error of reading the handwritten report.

Just take the printed crosstables (handwritten if no printer) of the final round, with the filled out form of the tournament report, and the check and that is all you would need to do.

Learning the difference of a paper report and a online report, would be like having a two week vacation. Could use you’re two week vacation to going cross country on a greyhound bus (paper report) or just rent a car (oneline report).

[Steve_Coladonato]

@Localtdforsythe

[

Just take the printed crosstables (handwritten if no printer) of the final round, with the filled out form of the tournament report, and the check and that is all you would need to do.

If the pairing software could generate a file that is acceptable to the USCF for submission of results, then all the handwritten stuff can be eliminated. Right now, the USCF only supports the obsolete dBase file formats and can’t even provide the latest file definition for same.

The new system being developed by Mike and others was supposed to elimate that restriction and open up the supported file formats to the more common ASCII files. Once that is provided, it will be very easy to generate the supported file format. Right now, you are pretty much locked in into running Swiss Sys which only runs on Windows. If they would provided a Linux/Unix/Mac version then perhaps the dBase issue would go away. But right now, the only way to reduce your cost of submitting a tournament result is through the use of that software, which is forcing you to use Windows.

Steve

[Localtdforsythe]

Just take the printed crosstables (handwritten if no printer) of the final round, with the filled out form of the tournament report, and the check and that is all you would need to do.

If the pairing software could generate a file that is acceptable to the USCF for submission of results, then all the handwritten stuff can be eliminated.

The handwritten reporting is still legal, its just so 1970’s and 1980’s. There will be still be very small tournaments, with a very inactive director, sending in paper reporting. With the TD/A, with a online by hand reporting Tournament Reporting Reports (Upload/Check/Edit/Submit), with the Enter New Tournament. The form is much faster to type, then print and copy the form by hand. From time to time save the information, and time to time email it to be check for errors. The director will need to use a debit card or a credit card.

With the online reporting of the tournament, with the online membership join or renewal. Small size tournaments can be received for rating on the same day of the event. If the director has a online computer at the site of the tournament, the tournament could be received for rating before the tournament site is cleaned up.

The only directors, that still will use a paper tournament report. Are the ones that do not have a computer, or have not been authorized by a affiliate. It would be best, if the information of the TD/A is published, in the pages of Chess Life itself. As not all the membership, or in fact all the directors or the people that run the affiliates, read any of the topics of this forum.

[Smythe_Dakota]

@Steve Coladonato

… Right now, the USCF only supports the obsolete dBase file formats and can’t even provide the latest file definition for same. …

Near the end of the conversation “File Formats” Mike posted some hex dumps, and I posted an explanation of what dBase3 format appears to be. By looking at these and doing a little PROGRAMMING (ooh – doesn’t anybody do that anymore?) you should be able to convert your files to dBase format.

To be sure, Mike plans to add a few new fields to the dBase format – probably name, state, a recent rating, and maybe expiration date. If you can just get him to lay out the details, maybe you can do the necessary programming, and be done with it once and for all. “Details” for each field would include the field name, field size, and the order in which it would appear compared to the existing fields. (Actually, the order probably wouldn’t even matter, as the USCF software could probably pick that up from the dBase header records.)

How about it? GW-BASIC, anyone?

Bill Smythe

[Localtdforsythe]

Is it me, or have we gone off the topic. The director asked how to send in a tournament report by hand. Anyone, has anyone on this topic talked of how to deal with a tournament report by hand. Is there anyone out there that still use pen and paper with pairing cards?

[Steve_Coladonato]

@Localtdforsythe

The handwritten reporting is still legal, its just so 1970’s and 1980’s. There will be still be very small tournaments, with a very inactive director, sending in paper reporting.

Douglas,

I am sure that the need for manual submissions will be required for quite some time to come.

The point I am trying to make is that I have a perfectly good pairing program but without the approved ASCII file formats available we must resort to either manual submissions or redoing everything on a Windows PC. I’m not going back to Windows so option 2 is not available to me. All I need is the ASCII file formats. You’re the wrong guy to be harping on but I hope Mike doesn’t just put the ASCII formats at the bottom ot the list never to be attended to. Right now, I don’t have that warm fuzzy feeling. It’s almost like if Swiss Sys, et al, can’t handle it then don’t worry about it.

Mike,

I would be more than willing to enter into a testing period to get the ASCII file formats available.

Steve