The rule about matches and rating floors is implemented by the office, not by TDs. Nevertheless, you are right that all the latest match rules should be posted in the appropriate place. I’m surprised that no one has pointed out this mistake before now.
Bill Goichberg
How could anybody have known about this new rule when it was not even posted on the USCF web site until November of 2009? The fact that no Delegates have taken any action regarding this rule is no surprise when nobody seems to know about it. Tim Just apparently didn’t even know about the rule.
Bill, you were USCF President from 2005 to 2009. Didn’t you have some of the responsibility for making sure that when the EB messes around with the Official Rules that those changes find their way into the codified rules that are actually used by TD’s? For example, why was the Rules Committee not involved in this to ensure that this new rule was properly codified?
By the way, the excuse that this particular rule only relates to the office and not to TD’s is untrue. The rule adopted by the EB has several provisions that impose new duties and requirements on TD’s. And leave aside TD’s. How about players? This rule affects players, does it not? How were players supposed to find out about this rule, if not in the Rulebook (sold by the USCF) or the official revisions thereto? Are players expected to read the BINFO’s and search high and low on the web site for rules? How many other “secret rules” adopted by the EB are there sitting around in limbo waiting to be found (or posted) in corners of the web site?
This really is not a competent organization, is it, even on basic responsibilities like the rules that will be applied?
Dave Khuns and I volunteered to create that updated list some years ago. We just happen to miss this item in the appropriate update. We don’t normally go over Board minutes (Hey, getting copies of those is another thread) and the Board does not normally inform us of such rules or policy changes. When I get a chance I will get those Match Rules changes included in our copy of the update. We usually only publish the update once a year. After I include the update I will see if we can get one published before our next scheduled update (January 2012). This change is important but not urgent.
It’s not true that it wasn’t posted until November 2009. If you look in Google, you will see that the new match rules were announced on uschess.org in January 2007. I believe that this announcement remained up for a long time, though I don’t know for sure whether it was still there until the new posting went up in 2009. I don’t claim the new rules were appropriately publicized, but it’s false to say they were not announced soon after being enacted.
Bill Goichberg
FWIW, I knew about these rules prior to the time I moved to New Hampshire in Jan. 2008.
Alex Relyea
I included the “match” rules in the rules update document. I sent the document to Phil Smith to publish on the USCF Web page.
I received an e-mail from Phil Smith indicating a new revised rules update document including the “new” match rules has been posted.