There is a time to say NO.....

Running Chess Tournaments
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As an avid supporter of the growth of USCF chess, in particular scholastic USCF rated play, it pains me to say no to those who would like youth tournaments run, and are looking for a
suitable director. As a younger TD, (also as one without the incredible demand I now have for my services), I seldom said no, if ever. Heck, I ran a great many events as a total volunteer.
So while I really cannot personally afford to do it now, I do appreciate greatly those who can be total volunteers. And i guess that in a true pinch, I could be open to do so once again.
However, I have learned that we MUST have an absolute insistence on USCF standards. Several of the tournaments (out of the thousands I have now been a part of) that were absolute
disasters were do do a lack of proper quality control checks going in. As in I had no control over elements with the facility, organization, or selection of staff. Facility/organizational issue
have played a part in a few tournaments in which the organizer came to me and said “we have to be out of here by______ or we have a huge fine to pay”. Well, gee, I wish I had been
informed of this requirement from the start. Adjudicating games or cutting the time controls short is certainly not a desired course of action. Selection of staff for the chief td is also
absolutely essential. Or rather full confidence, at least, in whomever is selecting staff. I have seen very few tournament directors truly able to competently run the computers AND floor
for tournaments of 100+ participants. Filling in in an emergency situation, with a tournament of over 200 players many years ago (I am getting old) I found out that the computer operatorwas not a USCF certified TD, had never run Swiss Sys before, but as a computer professional thought such would be a snap. Let me assure you it was not, at least for her. It was a nightmare tournament and I do not think we left the building after the awards ceremony until 7pm after starting at 9am. A very long day, indeed. In addition, I was informed upon arrival that all of my floor help would be non chess playing parental help. A bad situation made worse by the fact we had several major non-connected playing areas.
So based upon these earlier experiences, I did say no to a major cultural youth chess championship, recently. One of the parents told me about the event. “I do not understand
my son checkmated all of his opponents, yet was recorded as the loser for all three of the games he played.” I asked her how this was possible, and she said “well, at the end of the game, once someone ends the game with checkmate or stalemate, whoever has the most points in opponents pieces captured wins the game, with the king counting zero.” And looking
at her son’s notations, he was down in material in all three games at the time he checkmated his opponent, so he lost all three. Further, she told me that they decided tiebreaks on who
could solve puzzles on a piece of paper the best. My response to her was “mam, now I think you might understand why I insist on USCF standards and quality. Further, it is important
that a qualified, certified, USCF tournament director be retained to enforce these standards. You went into the tournament thinking how much money you would save by not having to
purchase USCF memberships, pay rating fees, or a USCF certified TD to run the event for you. But the question I have is this " upon reflection, given the outcome, was the event worth
having??”
I have also seen youth tournaments run on basketball pairing software, with single elimination, with the players re-entered if the parents were obnoxious enough. One of the things
I tell my chess parents is this - investigate events before you go. Check to make sure you know who the director is, at least whether the director is USCF certified, what the special
on-site published variations are, climate of the tournament, etc. I have had parents scream at me after round one, " I hate game 30" " i hate no delay". " I hate_______" Well, I
tell them, ALL of these details were CLEARLY published beforehand. There are no surprises. We have dozens who love our current format. We have many other formats in this area,
and I suggest you either find one of those to your personal preferences, or start a new tournament, yourself, or hire a USCF Td to run one according to your tastes.
It is difficult to please everyone all the time. What is more important is to run consistent quality tournaments by USCF standards in which those attending know without question
what to expect.

Rob Jones
Senior TD/Organizer
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Where’s that darn LIKE button?

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Man, Rob, when you’re right, you’re right. And as much as I hate d0, I’d take it in a heartbeat over some of the stuff you describe here.

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Yes, there are times when you do have to walk away from an event – say “no thanks” to directing it.

Rob, while I do feel your pain, we are fortunate in Illinois to have a bunch of decent-quality non-USCF-rated scholastic tournaments that are run pretty darned close to USCF-standards. They are quality events, by all accounts, and they are doing good for the game.

It can be done. Much of it is leadership. Give a competent TD control over playing conditions, back room operation and floor rules. Take a small amount of effort to select and train non-USCF floor and backroom staff; yes, I’ve done this to good effect. Heck, this is how I came up, myself. My first TD work was back room pairing on WinTD of 140-player scholastic events with five rounds and five sections. I had never played a rated OTB game, but I was trained by a USCF TD, and I was trained to do things right.

When we’re hired as chief TDs we absolutely have say over how an event is structured. Insist on that, up front, before the announcement is even published or distributed. I’d argue that for non-rated events, you as chief TD even have the option to insist an organizer change and re-publicize the conditions if you think the organizer set up an event badly.

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Very good reply, thank you. And one thing I have certainly observed is this – Being an accomplished player does not necessarily mean great knowledge of USCF rules.

Rob

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AMEN

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If a certified TD is asked to direct a tournament established by somebody else, certainly the TD should investigate the tournament details before accepting the assignment. If the conditions, round times, rule set, etc are unacceptable, then turn down the assignment. If you don’t turn it down, you likely will damage your own reputation as a TD as well.

Bill Smythe

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The only times I have said “NO” to an organizer or school is when they did not want to pay any money for directing and rating the tournament. They expected to get the time, expertise, and the USCF rating of the kids for free. I explained to them that it did not work that way. One school wanted me to provide 20 chess sets and boards. No problem, I can do that easily. All of the kids had USCF memberships. Good, that would allow us to USCF rate the event. But then they wanted me to run the tournament for six+ hours for free, to be a “volunteer for the good of the kids”. Nope, not gonna do it for free. Not a babysitter. If you want a tournament professionally run, you should expect to pay for the level of experience and expertise that a good TD will bring to the tournament. Oh, to top it off, they also wanted me to find and bring them twenty trophies. They would pay me for what they would use, thinking I could return the rest. Argh!

When I was asked to run a large scholastic event one time, the organizer was a little skeptical that we could do it the way I explained it to her. The assistant I trained was also a little skeptical at first. We were pressed for time to get the kids out to buses by 2 pm to take them back to their respective schools. Across the day, the organizer/administrator was amazed by how we bustled about, explaining things to kids and teachers, and getting the pairings, results, and prizes figured out. She told me that what we did was a little close to “magical”. We finished with some time to spare. My assistant shook her head in disbelief that we had really done it. The administrator asked me to come the next year, the year after that, etc. When you do a good job, it must seem like “magic” to the uninitiated. The good organizers are willing to pay for that. They are not only relieved, but able to build their own events and brand into future bigger tournaments which makes them look good.

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I’m less concerned with what, or even if I get paid than I am with the ability of the organizers. I have been known to volunteer my services for a good cause. I worked pro bono as Chief TD of a 500 kid scholastic last MLK Holiday (well, I did get food), and will do so again for the same tournament in 2017. I have also turned down good paying TD gigs when I had reason to question the competence of those putting the thing on. I TD because it’s fun, which it is if the organizers have everything lined up right, and isn’t if they don’t.