Ok, first let’s clear the deck. I am a 65 year old , cranky, old white guy. I was raised in an era where children were taught how to behave in public, where children were taught what a Kleenex is, and where helicopter parents were few and far between. Before you jump to conclusions, however, be advised that I spent 30 years coaching youth soccer and baseball, I am involved in mentoring and by no stretch of the imagination am I “anti-children”. Now to the issue.
It is readily apparent that the USCF has become obsessed with children. An examination of the Tournament Life postings shows virtually nothing in the way of adult events and an overwhelming number of “scholastic” events. Why is this upsetting?
I just participated in a tournament that was supposed to be separate and apart from a simultaneous “scholastic” event. The tournament hall accommodated both regular and scholastic games. An examination of the hall revealed adult players seated at the tables, studying the boards. Meanwhile, the children were running around the hall as though it was recess at the elementary school. They were up-and-down, in and out of their chairs. As they ran up and down the rows they were constantly bumping, elbowing or kicking the chairs of other players. The majority of them seemed to have colds, since they were (grossly) making snot-sucking noises and sneezing (without handkerchiefs) , and the wiping their snot on the chess pieces. The kids formed little groups, and roamed around as such examining each others’ games and whispering and pointing. One of my young opponents repeatedly left the board, only to have his pals sit down in the chair opposite me pending his return. He always returned with the correct move despite being rated under 1200 (playing “up”).
The noise and disruptions finally reached a crescendo, so I got up, left the hall, and reported the problem to the TD. The TD asked the children into the hallway outside the playing room, at which time he and I were attacked by screaming “helicopter parents” who called me a liar, accused me of swearing at their children, and screamed that the purpose of t he tournament was to encourage children and not to accommodate “old white people”. (A racist term I am frankly sick of hearing.) These same helicopter parents, of course, hogged the “pairings board” so players could not see their board assignments, actually photographing the board while charting their child and every other player in the section. The TD was besieged with irate parents who screamed at him and actually threatened lawsuits when their little darling was, in their opinion, matched with an “unfair” opponent or had the black pieces too many times. All of this clamor, again, surrounded kids age 7-12 playing in the oh-so-important U-1200 and U-1400 sections.
I was feeling threatened by some little-league dads who were angry at me for objecting, and I withdrew from the tournament . I went to play chess, not get screamed at, hit or clawed by some “chess mom”, or assaulted by little-league dad. One person smiled wryly at me and said “It’s kids, just accept it.”
I will not . I am a dues paying USCF Member and I pay the same tournament entry fee (or more) than these children. Kids have rights but so do I. Too many adults refuse to speak up out of fear of ridicule or being branded. I am not afraid, but I am angry. I have written to Chess Life on this topic several times, but the letters are never published and there is no response.
Perhaps it is time for the USCF to change its name to the “UNITED STATES CHILDREN’S CHESS FEDERATION” and stop soliciting dues and contributions from anyone over the age of 30. When it becomes physically dangerous to go to a chess tournament it is time to spend my money elsewhere.
I have heard accounts of this particular event already from others who were present, and Mr. Menser does not appear to be exaggerating. I was not present, so I cannot comment based on my own knowledge, but the report I got was that the event was understaffed. This observation came not from an aggrieved party but a very well respected TD (not party to this event). I was told the organizer said he will never hold a scholastic event in conjunction with an open event.
Since I have no knowledge of my own I’ll not add any editorial commentary, but no one should dismiss Mr. Menser’s complaints lightly.
Understaffing can of course be an issue but it is also necessary that, as a matter of policy, scholastic sections are never held in the same room as the open sections. There simply is no level of staffing that can control the behavior of very young children enough for them to play in the same rooms as the adults. Around here (New England) big tournaments frequently have attached scholastic events but they are always in completely different rooms well away from the main event and they have their own separate TDs.
That increasing numbers of children are playing in open events - and passing through the lower class sections like rockets - is another issue entirely. We all must either just adapt to that or stop playing altogether. I don’t plan to stop.
– Hal Terrie
In this case my understanding is that there were multiple rooms (more than two), but only two TDs.
Since I know of a few events this weekend that had scholastic sections to help support their state championship financially, I think it will be interesting to hear from other people how their events went. If better, or worse, it would be good to understand why.
How did the Illinois Open do?
Just a few thoughts regarding the issue:
- Please do not think that I am faulting the TDs, who did an excellent job under the conditions.
- A player at the event made the excellent point that young children , emotionally, have difficulty playing in a weekend Swiss. I agree that it is very hard to expect an 8 year old to put in a 2 or 3 game day at a chess board. That being said, however, the rights of all chess players must be respected.
- Again, not all of the children acted up. Parents ought to instruct their children on proper conduct, and if the child is too young or immature to behave, the child should not be entered into these events until appropriate maturity is attained. Participation should , for children, be a privilege, not a right.
- Responsible parents would remove a screaming baby from a theatre of a restaurant, and there is no reason for parents not to control t heir children at tournaments. The USCF cannot perform parenting functions.
- The USCF can, and must, stop helicopter parents.
When I was coaching soccer I recall a problem with helicopter parents abusing coaches and referees, including physical violence. At one point we considered closing the park to parents . We tried it one weekend and the one amazing result was how the behavior of the children improved once the parents were gone. But I digress.
Parents have a moral responsibility to teach proper conduct to their children, and not push their young children into tournaments when the children are not emotionally ready.
By the way…at my age and rating I pose no threat to Carlson or Anand , so ratings points do not bother me. The issue of children skyrocketing through the lower sections is not a matter of concern . It is not their job to lose, it is my job to play better. Frankly, I am in awe of the processing and calculating ability of many of the kids I’ve seen.
One final thought. maybe the USCF should balance the “scholastic chess” movement with a “Senior Tour” . (Doesn’t the PGA do this?) I have played in 3 tournaments this year and enjoyed seeing many old friends, but never got the chance to compete with them.
Much like a teacher on the first day of a new school year, a TD can set a tone at the beginning of an event regarding what behavior is expected and the consequences for anyone not behaving properly. As to parents, they can and should be barred from the playing hall. Might I suggest posting pairings and cross-tables/results in the playing hall?
If the pairings are in the playing room then there is increased noise in the room. Parents will NOT depend on young players to understand their pairings when they may not yet know how to read, so they will go to the pairings board regardless of where it is.
At Supernationals III the playing hall was in the concrete-floored convention center and there were pairing boards at the side of the hall. Before the start of each round they were spread out overlapping into the playing area. Once the round started there were always parents that were still going into the playing area to look at the pairings. My section was not that far from those boards, so I would draft such parents to help me move the boards they were looking at out of the playing area and into the spectating area, followed by letting them know where the playing area was delineated to be and that they should not be in the playing area during the round. Strangely enough, I never had a second chance to draft the same parent. 
In scholastic events a certain amount of “kids will be kids” is acceptable. When parents enter their kids in open events, they need to understand that their kids have the same responsibilities as the adults as well as the same rights. “Kids will be kids” cannot be acceptable in open events.
Organizers need to realize that if they are going to be able to keep the helicopter parents in check they need to have enough TDs to handle it. If you don’t have enough staff, the best TDs will be overwhelmed.
I agree with this in general; as a coach I see it as part of the appropriate growth of the student.
I’ve moved this topic from “All Things Chess” to “Running Chess Tournaments”.
I can answer about the Illinois Open. I thought it went very well and pretty smoothly. I was one of the TDs at this event. The kids, in general, were pretty well behaved. The only incident I can think of offhand was where a couple kids thought it was appropriate to have a semi-noisy skittles game in the smaller playing room. We kicked them out and it was back to normal.
Fortunately even with the one-day scholastic that was on Saturday, the kids were pretty well behaved. Occasionally we’d have to tell them (and a few parents) to keep it down when in the hallway, but that was about it.
Actually the worst behavior I saw at the event was from a pretty strong adult (who happened to be playing a young teenager), but I won’t get into that here.
Let me clear the air as well. I’m a 61 year old who has been playing rated chess since 1968. I’ve also coached youth soccer and, on a fill-in basis, little league. I’m the father of three children.
The OP’s complaints are real and troubling. I have stopped attending the USATE because the tournament resembles the world’s largest kindergarten. Especially on the last day when the kids and all their third-degree and higher relatives are clogging the halls creating an ungodly din.
All OP’s complaints about etiquette are well taken. I’d like to add (every coach reading this will tear my head off for saying this) that they never resign, no matter what. I have not personally experienced this but I have heard of these adorable little munchkins sitting for 20 minutes facing mate in one or only-move situations.
Let’s face it, three days of mostly down time is unreasonable for an eight year old and his parents. Playing while minding a low-rated child, as I have done three times, can also be frustrating. I have suggested that big events like the USATs hold a one or two day event for teams below a certain rating. 1200 or 1300 seem about right. They can play four rounds on Saturday, two on Sunday, and be out of the hall by 1pm. Or five rounds at G-30 on one day.
This would eliminate a good deal of the downtime, make the event more adult-friendly, and perhaps reduce the level of body fluids through which one must navigate to avoid getting soaked in…well this is a family-friendly forum so I’ll stop right there.
I just about died of shock at the US Open when my 8 year old first round opponent resigned (mate was not imminent, but I had forced off all his material). It was very refreshing! Even more refreshing was the next five rounds when I played the equivalent of the Arizona Senior Open.
I realize what I’m about to do is the kiss of death for a forum thread:
I can’t believe nobody else has any opinions about what is, in my opinion, a major trend in OTB chess.
“It takes a village…”
I have found that I personally have educated a number of kids on how to properly behave in a public setting like a Chess tournament.
The vast majority of times, the parents understand and support what I have said to their children. And there have been times where I have corrected the child in front of the parent for misbehaving.
I also have had to point out to a parent that it was the child playing the game and therefore responsible for it and their behavior.
In all honesty I feel the rules or code of conduct, if you will, should be the same for everyone no matter their age.
The children deserve to be treated like adults in the expectations of their behavior. And there have been some adults that have acted worse than any of the kids.
Seconded.
There once was a time when children were actively discouraged from playing in tournaments. Women, too. It was a man’s world with cigarette smoke, pipe smoke, and cigar smoke penetrating every pore of one’s being on a long weekend of competition. With the passage of anti-smoking rules, they young and the female found better conditions to play in and were grudgingly welcomed in to the tournament fold. The old organizers either adapted or disappeared through the attrition of age. Still, the chess world remained mostly an older male bastion until recently, about the year, 1995, give or take a couple of years.
The number of kids playing has increased to over 50% in many events. They are filling the hole of the missing generation after the Fischer boom and replacing the inevitable dwindling numbers of the gray haired Fischer boomers who are leaving the chess world through death or senility. Welcome to the new chess world. The numbers of kids are going to swell. They are increasingly well armed with computers, databases, and the latest versions of Houdini, Stockfish, or Komodo. Are they better behaved than kids in the past? Maybe so, maybe not. That requires training by parents, coaches, and experienced tournament players to inculcate the proper values of competition. While we rail against the dying of the light, I think that the young people coming after us will turn out just fine. If you can’t handle a little noise and boundless energy, then you are in a losing battle. If you cannot adapt to that, then you probably have not adapted very well to the wee ones who disturb your afternoon nap or crawl into your lap asking you to read them a story.
As a very active organizer and tournament director, I read your post, and then reread with much interest. As a tournament director at two of the most active and well attended chess clubs in the Dallas Fort Worth Area, I do truly
understand your “pain”. And the problem with many of these kids is in my opinion, a fundamental lack of discipline taught to them by their parents, and too often a near total disregard for proper courtesy towards others. Mulford
reported that there were only two TDs at the tournament. Quite often, that is all I have at some events that I have directed have available, as well. The fact is there are more parents willing to come and dump off their kids than their those willing to be involved at least with crowd control. Unfortunately, I have seen even high school students who should know better, play set up a board and start to play bughouse next to active tournament games. Rude
and inconsiderate does not even begin to describe such behavior. One TD had the kids do pushups who acted in such a way. The kids hated her, but she was very effective in maintaining a quite playing hall. My softness has disappeared, and I am resolved after the second incident of misbehavior to simply disqualify them from future play.
In short, it is a tournament director’s job/duty to maintain a quiet playing hall, although sometimes there are challenges, including “helicopter parents” who apparently lack basic
parenting skills to deal with. One practice I use is to remove kids from the playing hall as soon as their games are complete, regardless of whether it is a regular or scholastic event.
Kevin Bachler is entirely correct in stating that many regular tournaments have scholastic side events. The truth is many of the regular events would not be possible without
the financial safety net offered by the revenues generated from the scholastic side. Trophies are relatively inexpensive, while cash prizes eat up profits. But, these events should not,
in my opinion, b conjoined. They should have separate playing halls.
That said, I am an old grumpy white guy as well. And as an organizer I will tell you this–without a good number of kids playing, it is very difficult for U1400, U1200, etc sections
to “make”. For the most part, there are not enough regular attending adults to make chess tournaments at least break even, much less profitable. At best the ratio seems to be
40-60 in favor of the kids. Some regular events this is far more skewed, as much as 90-10 in favor of the kids. I have heard the phrase from fellow old and grumpy white guys
that they like tournaments confined to those “they can drink a beer with afterwards”, Well, from a financial side–good luck with that!! Also, we have a greater number of novice
and low intermediate level adults participating in our local events than we have seen in years. They are very welcome to participate. But wit thout a strong participation of kids,
providing sections for them is indeed, difficult.
I have heard the comment, which I disagree with strongly, about USCF becoming a “children’s chess federation”. Yes, in terms of financial dependence it does seem that without
the scholastic tournament and membership contributions to USCF that our federation would be bankrupt. During the years of the Polgar/USCF Fiasco this was especially true.
And to many of us trying to build USCF scholastic chess on a local basis, it appears quite clear, at least to us, that leadership of USCF regards its own USCF scholastic base rather
with distain, merely as a necessary cash cow to keep the regular adult chess structure afloat. In short, for years many of us feel that USCF scholastic chess has been getting the
shaft by our Executive Board and Delegate body.
A suggestion for you just might be to form your own tournament/and or, chess club. Restrict it to adults.
Wishing you the best,
Rob Jones