Rating Issue from a Tournament I Did Not Attend

Running Chess Tournaments
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How does making a claim that you didn’t play in an event prove that you didn’t play in it? (We have had reports from players claiming they didn’t play in an event when it turns out they just didn’t REMEMBER playing in it, though usually that’s from events that were held years ago.)

I don’ think it is unreasonable to check with the TD before updating the event.

Would an incorrect ID have been used in the first place if the TD had done a thorough job of checking IDs at the event? (How many TDs ask to see a player’s USCF card for players they don’t recognize?)

It’s always better to catch ID errors BEFORE they get into the rating system, and that’s the TD’s responsibility.

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Creating a new ID (there is no such thing as a ‘temporary’ ID), assigning it an appropriate rating (Unrated is often adequate) and then inserting it into the event is something the office can already do (and something they have done on several occasions), but I think in cases like this we should wait a few days to see if the TD can find the RIGHT ID before creating a new one.

Whether the name on that ID should be ‘player unknown’ or some other name may need to be determined on a case-by-case basis after checking with the TD. (If the TD comes back with “I’m pretty sure the name we were given and used was XXX”, then that’s probably the name we should use, even if it is the same name.)

If a tournament is being paired on a computer, then presumably the pairings as posted during the event had the right name, or one close enough that the player recognized it as his during the event.

Unless the TD doesn’t enter the USCF ID into the computer until AFTER the event, I think both WinTD and SwisSys would use the name associated with that ID in the ratings database. (I haven’t tested this theory.)

Unfortunately, one of the weaknesses in the tournament upload format (designed in 1991) is that there is no place for the NAME of the player, just the ID. If that ID is keyed wrong, we have nothing to double-check it against at the office.

Hopefully most TDs have reasonable manual records of their recent events, though earlier this week we contacted a TD about an event he directed in 1997 to try to resolve another wrong ID issue. He had the computer printout, but all it does is confirm what we already knew, ie, what ID was used when we rated the event in 1997. That event is outside of the rerate window, making it a little harder to fix even if we can find the right ID, which at this point seems unlikely.

Based on information in USCF records and communication with the TD, I think I know what the right ID should be for the event that started this thread, but I’m still hoping to get that confirmed before tomorrow evening.

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I just heard back from my friend in Champaign and he says I had the correct USCF number all along. More details coming via email to both Mike and Walter (don’t want to post some things publicly).

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Do you guys need anything from me?

Greg

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This is taking an interesting turn…

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As in the old curse: May you live in interesting times.

At this point I’ve moved that event to a new ID.

Doggoned if I know what the right ID is yet, but I’m convinced that the poster who started this thread is NOT the player who competed in that event, though his ID was used.

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This whole thing reminds me of something that I saw at another tournament a few years ago, though perhaps this story belongs in the poor sportsmanship thread instead.

There was a player who had a class B rating (maybe 1700ish). He stopped playing in tournaments at one point, but he still played a lot, coached kids, attended tournies to play skittles even though he didn’t play the rated games, and probably continued to improve as a player over a period of several years.

His son, Same Name, Jr, eventually took up the game and started playing in scholastic tournaments. At one point, some TD mixed the two up and one of those scholastic tournaments, in which Junior both won and lost games against other kids with 3 digit ratings, ended up getting rated against Senior’s USCF ID #. Rather than complaining, Senior noted that this had dropped his rating like a stone, bringing it down below 1600, and took the opportunity to play his first tournament in years - in the class C section of a pretty big tournament with a $500+ first place prize. I believe he and another guy who probably belonged in a higher section both ended up winning their first few games and took a GM draw against each other in the final round to split the cash.

I don’t remember that guy’s name, but I remember thinking that this is why I’m glad I often “play up” at big tournaments, trying to improve rather than trying to win money. I’ve never seen anyone who really is near the upper edge of a section limit go into a tournament thinking they “should” get first place and actually do it. There’s always either a sandbagger or someone rated a little lower who is improving, or maybe just playing well that weekend, who gets in the way.

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Emails sent to both Mike and my friend from Champaign with the information I received today. Trying to get things squared away…
EDIT: I am now 99.9% sure of what happened.
Gregory Thompson, a college student, submitted the ID number of another man of the same name when he came to play. He gave the same number when I asked my friend from Champaign to check on it. This second person is the one who said “Hey wait a minute, I didn’t play!”
As for why he used the wrong ID number, I don’t know. Perhaps it was just carelessness on his part.
Emails sent to Mike about it; the ratings guys should now be able to make the necessary corrections.