Mike,Bill,anyone,
Although improving rated over 1000 Scholastic players are encouraged to play in our tournaments,beginners and weak players are not due to space,need for parental control,poor knowlege of rules,etc.
Is there a positive way to do this by for example;restricting to Class E and up;requiring preregistration for scholastic players.etc.
I would appreciate comments and solutions.
I assume you don’t have the facilities, TDs, patience, etc. to have a separate scholastic section.
I see nothing under USCF rules to keep you from organizing an event that only allowed players under some age (such as 16) if they had an established rating over, say, 1000 or 1200. (I’m not sure how to code that for the new online TLA area, though, but the search parameters are not intended to be that precise.)
Is that the message you want to send to young players, that they’re only welcome if they’re not bad players? If so, shouldn’t you also bar adults if they’re very low rated?
I also find that having one or two room monitors, especially those with teacher training, and getting the parents OUT OF THE PLAYING HALL virtually eliminates problems with kids in the playing hall, except for those caused by kids who probably don’t know enough about chess to be playing in rated events yet anyway.
Maybe just requiring an established rating for players under 16 is sufficient to make sure you have kids who know enough about chess and have sufficiently developed social skills to play in adult events?
I would note, however, that the WORST behavior I have witnessed at events comes from players over 21.
We were barred from one local site because some bored adult wrote all over a tablecloth with a ballpoint pen. We were almost barred from another site because a player insisted on playing without shoes, since that wasn’t specifically required in the TLA.
Mike,
Thanks;yes,we only have one room that accomodates a max of 24 players.Also, there are active Scholastic organizers, so there is plenty of opportunity for them.And we have no separate room for them after their games are over,usually very quickly and they are reluctant to watch other games quietly.
We do welcome mature young players and hopefully adults more mature than the ones you describe.
CoachBob
It looks like you want a closed tournament, as you want scholastic players over 1000. It would be best, check your scholastic records (MSA) within you area. Also, talk with the directors within your state … as directors do have memories. You could find yourself with a small group of players. If you have a small group, not all of the players are willing to play.
Hi Coach Bob:
I have a similar space problem. I have decided to leave my club and weekend events open and deal with individuals causing problems by requesting their parents not allow them to play in the open events until they are more mature or have the required knowledge. So far, no problem and I have an occasional 8-12 yr old play. My events run from 7-10 pm so the need for sleep and to finish homework also work against their participation.
Regards, Ernie
I recently played in a tournament in New York, which included a number of scholastic players. I am glad they were not excluded. If they were I’d have missed being held to a draw by a 7-year-old. (Although he told me he was almost 8.) Following the game we had a pleasant and mature chess conversation including some analysis. At the same tournament, an adult behaved badly, in stark contrast to the behavior of the scholastic players.
I had an open tournament (45 players, 5 rounds, G/100) this weekend that contained 1 IM, 1 FM and players rated as low as 800-900. I encourage scholastic players to participate but warn them, and their parents, that this is a cash prize tournament with seasoned players, you must record the moves, no talking during your game, must play with a clock, etc.
All the kids that played handled things fine apart from one 9 year old (rated just over 1000) who ended up at the bottom of the standings all by himself with 0/5 (the other two lower rated kids took a half-point bye on the Saturday evening). His mother had to mop up all the tears as he wept for probably 30 minutes after finishing his last game.
I could never think of a creative way to exclude this type of player from the tournaments so I just try and prepare them as best I can and help them on their way into the “adult” chess world. I’m just hoping this particular kid isn’t psychologically scarred for life!
Chris
I think it’s the responsibility of the parents to know whether an open tournament for their children is an appropriate choice or not. If their attuned to how their child reacts to new situations and how they deal with losing this is a good indicator of whether the child is ready or not.
If the child has a chess coach then he/she should also be involved in the decision making regarding playing in an open tournament or not. The coach not only knows the ability of the child, but also probably has an understanding of the psychological make up of the student.
As a chess teacher I will not push a child into a tournament situation until I feel the student is prepared. Over the course of time if I see that a student needs the challenge of playing stronger players or adults then I would recommend playing in a non-scholastic.
I had a student in one of my lunch time classes who was very solid player. He is currently in the high 1100s. He takes lessons with a GM, but if it were up to me I’d be reluctant to see him play in an adult tournament. Why? Because I’ve seen him suffer total meltdowns and burst in tears after losing even just 1 game in scholastic tournaments. His rating is high enough that he could play the Championship section in our tournaments, yet he stays in the grade specific section where the competition is not as strong.
Last night I played in a small but strong G/30 tournament. There were two kids playing in the tournament, and I ended out playing both of them. They both showed the ability to hang tough with adult players rating 500 points higher then themselves. They played each other in the 3rd round. The kid who won had opted for 1/2 point bye in the last round. It looked like the player who was 0-3 was going to bet a full point bye. The club manager gave him the choice of taking the bye or playing a filler game with him. (He’s rated 2000). The kid wanted to stay and play. As turned out someone else dropped out so there was an even number and he played me in the last round. I was 1-2 going into the round. I beat him, and he handled himself very well. No tears to wipe away after an 0-4 evening. He wants to come back again.
It seems like this 9 year old child in Chris’ tournemant should not have been there. 30 minutes of crying is a bit much, and my guess is he’s probably cried over losses before. I put the blame on the parents for allowing him to play in that tournament.
I don’t blame the parents at all. First, everyone is going to lose a game sometime, right? And how are they to know how their child is going to react until he does?
While I agree the 30 minutes of crying is excessive, I think the kid is just wanting attentino, and the parents are providing it. In this they are to blame. When my son was younger he used to do a little crying when he was upset at losing. I told him all the normal things, like it was just a game, and don’t let it bother him so much. Then I realized that I often got upset or mad when I lost a game, and those words never helped me. So I learned to get over it. Once I figured out that, I told my son to go ahead and do whatever he had to do to get it out of his system, while I stood by and let him do it. Eventually he came to learn how to put it behind him, while accepting his upset feelings.
But this kid sounds like he’s using it to get attention from his parents, and it’s working. Don’t bar him from tournaments. Just ask someone to tell them to let him be and don’t dry the tears. He’ll soon learn it doesn’t work any more.
Radishes
Our club has the following FAQs about kids playing in the club’s “Adult” events. Some of it is specific to our club, but much of it might be useful to others.
metrowestchess.org/Community … 02-06_.htm
Kudos to our club president, Mark Karielian for writing this up (among MANY other things!)
-Matt
Matt,
I thought this was fantastic. It mentioned another flyer as well – I’d really like to see it also.
I’m in the process of getting a new club going and info like this is very useful.
Thanks
That is a very well written list of what parents and children can expect. And as I said in my earlier post the parents need to make sure their child is ready. Having FAQ sheet like this is very helpful in making taht determination, and to help their child be prepared for the worst case scenario of losing a lot.