I know you’ve been following this since I first posted, but to refresh your memory, go back to my first post. There you’ll see that my son did ask for and get another set.
But that’s beside the point I was making. The TD shouldn’t have allowed it in the first place because the set didn’t follow USCF rules on standard equipment. Given that, and given that it didn’t affect the actual game since the game hadn’t even started, I should be allowed to point out to the TD, who apparently hasn’t read the rulebook, that such sets aren’t allowed.
The rule you cited said I can point out such things, but the intent of the rule, as it says in the second sentence, is to prevent a spectator from interfering if “a problem arises during play” which in my case hadn’t even started.
He had played one game on a glass set and lost. He complained after the game, then when faced with another glass set in his next game, rejected it and got another one before the game started. However, the TD should have forbidden their use entirely based on the board not being opaqe, as stated in the rules.
When going too give a statement, want anyone able too use the information with both sides of the issue. Making the terms used for both parties, that would be used for yourself, any other parent or scholastic player, or the director not knowing the spirit of the rules.
If myself having a scholastic tournament, would have looked at the boards before the start of the first round. As would know that some sets and boards, the parents would bring into the tournament hall would be non-standard. This is the reason why I have 10 full sets and boards, and have 30 extra sets of club specials. My personal goal is have 40 full sets and boards and if I can 40 clocks. My personal goal is have my scholastic tournaments have set and board provided by the organizer / director being myself. There are other use for these sets and boards, like the use at the chess club and other functions.
The problem at your sons tournament being it was a non-USCF tournament, re-check rule 39A3. That rule does make any tournament director able to use almost any set the director wants, even the ‘glass set’ your son did use during the first round. If it was a rated USCF tournament, the director would have to pull the set and board. If it was myself as the director, would have pulled the ‘glass sets’ from the boards and replaced them with standard equipment. As your sons director did not during the first game and only did so during the second game: the director could have used rule 39A3 and said the ‘glass chess set’ stands.
There are a number of personal reasons for not going to a non-USCF scholastic tournaments; 1) the director or the parents would not have any chess clocks; 2) the sets and boards are whatever the parents have; 3) the director would not object to any non-standard equipment, if there is a objection is not bound to replace the non-standard equipment as rule 39A3 give the director this right; 4) in most case studies the director is not a certified tournament director, or even if so does not have a affiliate to back the tournament; 5) the director wish to make a huge profit for the tournament, as the profit is greater in a non-USCF scholastic tournaments, as the director can pocket what the cost of the rating fees and the cost of sending out the tournament report; 6) cheaper trophies are given in non-USCF scholastic tournaments, then the rated USCF scholastic tournament; 7) having directors that have little or poor understanding of a tournament, or in fact a director that never been too a USCF tournament.
You get what you pay for, if you want a better director then go to a USCF tournament. If you want to go to a non-USCF tournament when the director is looking at the profits more then the spirits of the rules, then you get what you pay for.
But would you rather have 75 or more students at your tournaments, or 15?
Last year, I mostly avoided the USCF scholastic tournaments because I had many students who couldn’t afford the cost of membership or didn’t want to join, yet wanted to play. Since there were non-USCF tourneys in the area, we went to those instead of patronizing the tourneys of one TD that ran top-grade events.
Now he’s convinced that running non-USCF tournaments is better because it does allow the greatest number of students to play and get used to being in tournaments, while enouraging them to join USCF.
You see, not everyone wants to be a member of USCF and yet still wants to play in tournaments. And besides, when a TD announces they are running the tournament by USCF rules, then it makes no difference if the tournament itself is rated or not, because the TD has made a commitment to a set of established standards. Therefore, there is a cause for making the complaint of non-standard sets and boards, since the TD has said he would be following those rules.
Would love too have 75 scholastic players then 15 scholastic players. Being a local director, can be a director up to 100 players for paper or 120 players on computer software. The directors even if they are certified, would be the “Scholastic Chess Coach” or a “Club director” performing non-rated scholastic tournaments then the higher certified levels. Not going to say that higher certified directors then club do not perform these tournaments, as they do, there is a senior director that is a friend that performs such tournament from time too time. Having a club director being the director for a rated tournament of 75 players – would not have the expierence to run a tournament, as the amount they can do is 50 players for paper and if I’m right – up to 60 on computer software.
Any director that is certified, would know what there limits on expierence is. Having a director, even for a non-rated scholastic tournament will have the same problems even if it was rated. The problem of the rating fee is after the tournament. The rating fee is just simple math, not even High School math. Going to a non-rated scholastic tournament with that number of players, with just a coach that never ran a rated tournament before. Then you will see more problems then the glass set.
If someone has a tournament with 4 rounds with the time controls of G/90. The entry fee of $20, the prize fund being a total of $500 based on 75 players. But the director has a copy of the rules book and not even a certified director, and its a non-rated tournament. Would any adult go too this tournament. Anyone knows there is going to be errors with this director, but why do we accept them for our children.
Frankly, yes, as long as the director not only has a copy of the rulebook, but has directed previous tournaments. In fact, I’d be just as happy with a noncertified TD who had a firm grasp of the rules and is willing to listen to appeals if something comes up and abides by the rulebook.
The fact is, there are a lot of rules in the book, like the one about boards having to be opaque, that usually don’t come up at all. I don’t expect a TD, certified or not, to know this off the top of his head. Do you?
I’d rather have a noncertified TD running an unrated scholastic tournament who had a good grasp of the rules and the rulebook with him, plus some experience, than to not have a tournament at all. I believe that a coach or the president of a scholastic chess club should also have a rulebook, just to help catch any errors and make sure they get corrected. But the most important thing is having a TD who is willing to listen and admit to being wrong when shown the rulebook.
Granted, there are a number of good scholastic chess coaches in the nation. Knowing that parents and adult players like myself: understand there are a number of fudging of the important rules. Like having the very young in the K-3 section not use any chess clock even for a rated tournament. That might be what type of director you had for your son.
My idea is this, if you start to waiver one type of rule (like a chess clock), then it is so easy to start to waiver others. After a few tournaments it has nothing too do with what is right or wrong in the rule book, it would be whatever the director feels is right and wrong.
As it was, this tournament was an unrated scholastic one, and the ad for it advertised that it would be run following the USCF rule book.
If you want to be specific, this was one of the many AmericInn tournaments held at those hotels throughout the country that are still going on. You probably know someone who’s been to them. And the TD directing it was using WinTD for the first time. There were only 15-16 players at any one time, so he could have done the whole thing by hand and saved some time!
Anyway, of course there was no way he could supply sets to them, and since many of us had brought our own, that’s why there were the glass sets. Luckily, there were also many standard sets that were available.
Of course, this brings up the crazy idea that the person who brought the glass set pobably wasn’t used to playing on a regular set, and when my son swapped the sets, it might have given my son a slight advantage! And he did win it, by the way.
Do know what you are talking about, as they did send me a form letter a few years back asking too be a director. There are a number of non-rated scholastic tournaments that run great, and there are others that break down into a mad house. What you had as a director, was someone that never had any one on one talk with the parents or the scholastic player. Then you had parents that never had a one on one talk with other parents, with how you’re child and there child should interact with each other.
My idea for you as a parent, or a parent with a scholastic chess student. If you do go too a non-rated scholastic tournament. The only one you should go would be the one at the school. Sure, the director goal is to weed out the players: for the final cut for the scholastic team going to the state tournament. Even that would not be the goal of the director, it is one of the many goals the scholastic chess coach is looking at.
Then there are other non-rated scholastic tournaments that become a mad house. One time had a director ask me to be a director for his non-rated tournaments. He did own a chess store, and during the tournament he was less then 20 feet from me in the other room. He did have the same players come one week after the next, and after a few events understood why he did not want to be the director. Feeling it was a cash cow he did not want too manage the actions of the kids. It was a mob of children of 10 to 20 players on sugar and Mountain Dew. During the tournament he was keeping away as best he could till after the tournament, then only to hand the trophies away. The last tournament, had two fathers I thought were going to get into a fist fight right infront of there kids. Even one made the claim he was going too his car and get his hand-gun. It was not hard for me to quit my job.
If you are a parent of a scholastic player, make sure you can get feedback with other parents; make sure you can get feedback with the director – before, during and after the tournament.