I refer specifically to Continental Chess tournament directors. Having played in 19 CCA tournaments I originally assumed the brashness and arrogance of Goichberg’s TD’s was par for the course - part of the underlying aggressiveness in American society.
At the most recent North American Open Randy Hough could have done with improving his interpersonal skills. A few years ago I witnessed a TD being abrupt with a chess player who was merely seeking confirmation of a particular rule. Goichberg was a witness to this so he knows what goes on.
The attitude of TD’s at other (non CCA) tournaments is noticeably much more pleasant. A particular highlight was Maurice Ashley’s HB Global in Minneapolis.
Have other chess players a view on this?
Being a TD is really a thankless job, and what I usually do at tournaments is to thank the TD staff after the event is over, because without TD’s
there would be no tournaments. Without players, there would be no TD’s, so it works both ways. Perhaps the CCA TD’s may be losing
patience, since a bunch of them having been doing it for many years, and maybe experiencing “Burn Out” from travel and normal,
everyday stresses in their lives, but it is hard to say, as other variables could be at play here.
David A. Cole, USCF Life Member, Franklin, NJ
For the most part I agree that TDs do a thankless job. It shouldn’t be so, but it’s hardly surprising since the interaction between the players and the TDs is limited. (Many TDs are volunteers, and they especially should be thanked often.)
I was also at the North American, and while I don’t wish to generalize about CCA tournaments, I will say that I share some of the original poster’s observations about this particular tournament. Pairings were extremely late for more than one round, and I accept that without much comment. The lateness, however, caused large crowds to form around the pairing boards and some of the TDs were poor ambassadors of the USCF in the way that they handled the crowds. I’ve seen TDs handle large groups with skill and without. There was a general absence of skill in Vegas (excepting the director handling the playing floor). In the TDs’ defense, I’ll note that the escalators on the first three floors were almost all out of order, which made the crowding at the elevators and in the pairing hall much worse than it would have otherwise been.
The escalator issues at the NAO, unfortunately, are not new. They happened the only year I worked there, too.
WRT the OP’s observation: there is, of course, no acceptable defense for poor TD behavior. I know Randy Hough, though, and I have worked with him before. I see him as a genial person. My guess is that, if he had a problem with a player, there are underlying reasons of which the OP may not be aware.
It should also be noted that, because CCA events are generally for the largest prizes, there tend to be more - and more serious - player issues. Here is an especially egregious example.
CCA events are particularly tense for me as a director, because I know there’s a heightened chance of conflict solely due to the circumstances of the event. Therefore, I come in expecting to resolve at least one serious dispute. (The last two Pittsburgh Opens, I must say, have left me “disappointed” in that regard.)
However, the truth is that the vast majority of players are very well behaved. There are only a very few bad apples - and most of them can be identified by name by CCA’s more veteran directors. 
Again, though, if a player has a problem with a CCA director, the thing to do is report it to Bill. He takes the complaints (along with all feedback he receives) very seriously.
I think it’s just a fact, that people tend to be nicer to volunteers than people who are paid to do something, even if that pay is a drastic underpayment.
In the case of CCA events, they are run for money, with more money at stake than your local quad.
People have higher hopes and maybe expectations, and expect more from the people who are “professional” tds, and might not cut the slack that they would to someone running an event out of the goodness of their heart and might be running a local club at a 3 or 4 figure loss.
I’m not saying it’s right, I’m just saying it is .
I just played at my first CCA event (the Boston Chess Congress) and I thought it was exceptionally well run. It was probably a pretty small tournament by CCA standards though (around 170 entrants). I didn’t detect any attitude from the TDs and when I had an idle question that didn’t even concern me (I noticed that a player with 1/2 points had a bye while another player with 0 points had a game) they answered it cheerfully.
Some people act well under constant stress, some do not. Some people are arrogant, some are not. Some people are kind, some are not. Most people are one way, but sometimes act another way. Some people act consistently, some do not. Most people are a mixed bag of positive and negative behavior. One snapshot moment of a person’s life often does not define that person. So it goes with TDs.
Also, there is the possibility the TD is on the verge of burnout. It happens when “the challenge becomes a chore”, rewards seem smaller and minor irritations become bigger.
Not having been to a CCA tournament, I cannot personally comment on any of quality of
tournament direction. However, a tournament director I know well, who has directed a
number of events herself, participated as a player in the recent National Chess Congress
in Philadelphia. She certainly knows and recognizes what makes for a quality chess tournament. And in every regard, she was thrilled with both the quality and direction of
this event. On viewing the sections on MSA, I could help but notice the relatively small
chass sections offered. This provides a true test for players nearly every round.
And it is appreciated.
Rob Jones
As a CCA director I can state that a few of my fellow TDs vowed never to direct at the World Open again because of the way a minority of players have a habit of blaming the directors for by-the-book rulings that went against them and then yelling at the TDs, including those who weren’t even part of the ruling. We understand that players are playing for prizes over $10,000 and that adds pressure which very few tournaments present.
When my rulings are questioned I often offer the player the option of going to the chief TD or agreeing to reverse my ruling if the player can find documentation in the rule book I will provide that I got it wrong. Some players will take a supporting ruling by the chief as some TD code to support each other rather than confirmation that we know our rules. When I offer the rule book as evidence that I’m ruling correctly, the majority of complainants don’t even bother to look for support that their claim was valid.
Even though I believe that the overwhelming majority of rulings are correct, if one listened only to the comments made by players about those rulings, one could get the impression that our rulings were made by flipping a coin.
There is another factor at large events which most players don’t see. There are often attempts to cheat to win a prize. We hope we catch every one of them but most don’t see the behind the scenes work we do to catch these cheaters because we don’t advertise who we caught doing what. There has been computer assistance, falsifying scoresheets, throwing games, looking in chess books during the game, playing under an alias, sandbagging prior to the big event, receiving advice, and more.
It is true that sometimes directors can appear arrogant although that is not our intent. Sometimes when someone asks a question we’ve heard a hundred times before and it was mention in the pre round announcements and printed and posted in dozens of places, it can be frustrating. There’s no advantage to being arrogant and we want players to come back or there will be less work for us.
Just one thing to add. Handing the rulebook to the player and letting him look through it is far better than looking through it yourself to find justification for your ruling. In big tournaments, there just isn’t time for the latter. Making the player find the rule puts the pressure exactly where it belongs.
The best response to a player demand like “Show me in the rulebook where it says that” is “I’m not required to do that. Here’s the rulebook. Find it yourself.”
Bill Smythe
I have done the same thing. The player gets much quieter then.
I know it can be boring to answer the same questions over and over again. (“When does the next round start?” “What is the time control?” “Where is the bathroom?”…etc.) Sometimes it is just easier to answer the question and move on, rather than point to the sign with the round times, roll your eyes, or sigh. Players are under stress. They forget their hotel room numbers! New players are not familiar with how things are set up; they are hyper-excited. Do not forget that the TD has a PR role, not just a role as an arbiter of rules.
That being said, I want to add one more thing to the mix. One of the dirty little secrets of big time US tournament chess is the aggressive quality of some of what I would call “the usual suspects” who show up to many of the tournaments, especially on the east coast. These characters look for an edge in any way they can. They will bend or break the rules wherever possible. They will argue just for the sake of it to rattle opponents. Money is their goal and the means to get it are not always savory. They are a scraggly bunch who are action junkies, gamblers, or hustlers. A few try intimidation games until they are slapped down. Oh, there is an occasional one in the top section, but most of them are in the class sections. They make the tournament experience feel gritty and ugly for the rest of the guys and kids who just want to play chess. After a couple of experiences of the nonsense that goes on, some class players get disgusted and stop going to the big events. Several of my friends will not go to CCA events anymore because of what they experienced from playing some of these guys. They also will not expose their kids to it. So, you can complain about the TDs all you like. They have their hands full watching over the “usual suspects.”