I’ve read through and rereading the 6th edition of the Official Rules. I have a number of questions though.
1.) For tie breakers I wish to use one 5 minute each blitz game, more if its a draw. Do the tie break blitz off games get rated?
2.) What tournament software do you recommend? I’m used Vega for two free unrated informal non-USCF tournaments I recently hosted.
3.) Most of the people that are going to be at this tournament are going to be unrated. They are new to the USCF. Can someone clarify 28D ? I’ll be having trophies and medals for prizes, they can win them, right? Does 28D6 kick in?
4.) Can players ever go into a different section? For example if I have give 1100-1300 players and one 1600 player. I guess I know they can, but does that matter in a smaller tournament (under 10 players?)
More questions to come, I’m sure. Thanks for any advice!
You may or may not choose to rate the five minute blitz tiebreak playoff games. If you do choose to rate them, make sure that you announce that the games will be rated at the start of the tournament. It would also be a good idea to make sure your players are aware of your planned tiebreak method at the beginning of the tournament as well. Note that if you use an “Armageddon” tiebreak (one side has more time, the other side has draw odds), then those games are not ratable. (“Time odds” games are never ratable.)
Also, assuming your main tournament is not a blitz tournament, you will have to submit your blitz tiebreak games as a separate section in the rating report. Do not report them as part of your main event, since they would then be rated with the wrong time control.
If you’re comfortable using Vega, there is no reason you couldn’t continue using it for the time being and then create the rating report “manually” through the TD/Affiliate web page. For a small tournament (only a few rounds and fewer than ten players), that should not be overly burdensome. You’ll probably want to move to pairing software that can produce the rating report automatically at some point. Of course, the two major programs are SwissSys and WinTD. I won’t give a recommendation here, but there has been prior discussion of the two programs in these forums before.
For that matter, you really don’t need pairing software to run a tournament. On the other hand, especially among newer tournament directors, doing Swiss pairings manually is a dying art.
I would highly encourage you to check out Tim Just’s 80/20 TD web site. The free “how to” videos are an exceptional resource for new TDs.
Unrated players are eligible for all overall place prizes. They are also eligible for “under” prizes that are specifically advertised as applying to unrated players. There is a difference, for example, between an “under 1200” prize and an “under 1200/unrated” prize. An unrated player is eligible to win the latter but not the former. There is a common misunderstanding among new, unrated players that “unrated” means their rating is zero. That impression is reinforced by the unrated players appearing at the bottom of the wall chart. But that is not true. They literally have no rating. So, in my example, they don’t have a number that they can compare to 1200 and say “my rating number is lower than 1200, so I’m eligible for an under 1200 prize.” Also, unrated does not automatically mean “weak player.”
Sorry. I typoed question. Can players outside their class play against each other?
For example, with a tournament of players rated?
1250
1275
1300
1235
1320
1525
1525 is I believe a class C player while the 1200-1400 are class D.
Is that player eligible to match up with the players two classes below him/her?
I ask because if I had an U1200, U1400 or U 1600 sections, but the above players showed up, should the 1200-1399 group expect to play the the class C player?
Also could you help me format this tournament announcement? I’m not actually using it in tournament life or to announcement it as it’s just a small local tournament until I get some more experience. I’ve looked at the formats on others, but I’d like to get help learning the format of it.
3 round, SD 60;d0 tournament, open to any rating. Rounds 1pm - 2:20pm - 3:40pm, 1st place will be a trophy, 2nd and 3rd places will receive medals. No entry fee.
With Swiss pairings, a player in a section could, in theory, be paired with any other player in the section at some point.
Some events may use ‘class pairings’ for the final round, if two players in a prize category (like B player) are vying for a class prize but not a significant place prize and have not yet played each other, but the possibility of such pairings should be announced in advance.
Yes, absolutely. Classes do not affect Swiss pairings, with the exception Mike Nolan gave above. However, use of “class pairings” is rather unusual and rare, so you can safely pretend we never mentioned them.
Sections of a tournament are usually determined by rating limits. An “open” section means “open to all comers” with no rating limits. So, you might have an “open” section and an “under 1400” section, for example. Unrated players may enter any section unless the organizer states otherwise in all pre-tournament publicity. An unrated player would be eligible to win a place prize (such as 1st, 2nd, 3rd) in the section he enters. However, he would not be eligible for a rating-restricted prize unless that prize is specifically designated as unrated-eligible. (See my example of “top under 1200” vs. “top under 1200/unrated” above.) Also, note that some organizers will place prize limits on unrated players in “under” sections. Those tend to be “big prize money” tournaments, however.
You should use “SD” (Sudden Death) when you have more than one time control, such as 40/90 SD/30 (the first 40 moves in 90 minutes, then an additional 30 minutes to finish the game). When there is only one time control, use “G” (as in G/60). So, the correct way to express your time control (see rule 5B and the examples in the TD Tip following rule 5C) would be “G/60 d/0”.
I would strongly urge you to reconsider your use of d/0 in your time control. I know that you’ve posted elsewhere that you mostly have analog clocks. However, if you set the time control as d/0, then even if a player has a digital delay-capable clock, the game will have to be played with no delay. If you set the time control as G/60 d/5, players may use the delay when one of them has a delay-capable clock. These days, good quality digital clocks can be had fairly affordably. As your players have a chance to use a digital clock with delay, they may see the advantage and retire their analog clocks. Meanwhile, even if the time control is G/60 d/5, those players with only analog clocks can still play G/60 d/0.
One other thing, which I may have mentioned before: whether you’re going to use blitz games to break ties for the 2nd and 3rd place medals or use the tiebreak systems from rule 34, be sure to announce how you will break ties before the start of the tournament. You will probably want to prepare a sign in advance that you can post.
TD TIP: Signage is your friend! Having signs prepared to handle the most common questions, such as “when does the next round start” and “where is the rest room,” can make the director’s job easier. The TD will also want to post announcement of rules variations in use. Commonly used variations are 11H1 (director will not correct observed illegal moves without a claim) and 15A (Variation 1) (players with paper scoresheets may write the move before making it on the board).
After you’ve posted your carefully prepared signs in strategic locations, remember to keep a sense of humor as you discover how many players don’t read signs.
One other suggestion: Medals are fairly inexpensive. Especially if you’re planning on awarding identical medals for 2nd and 3rd place, I would be tempted to skip the tiebreaks and just give medals to everyone who ties for 2nd or 3rd place. Think of it as a cheap way of making your players feel good. Don’t worry about how to spell that out in your advertising; no one said you can’t hand out more prizes than you advertise.
SD 60;d0 (G/60,d0 is the correct way to write it) is 60 minutes for each player. Thus, a game could last 2 hours so you most likely won’t be able to stick to your round times of 1pm - 2:20pm - 3:40pm.
By SD 60;d0, did you mean 60 minutes total (30 minutes per player)? The correct way to write this is G/30,d0.
As for the medals for 2nd and 3rd I’m not tiebreaking them, just the 1st place trophy as it’s 22" or more wooden and more expensive with shipping too. I already have the medals. Though some do have their own, and a couple have digital. I’ll take your advice on G/60; d5.
We live in a rural area so I’m trying to get people interest built up. So far four new people have signed up with the USCF with a firm commitment from 3 others on next paychecks and strong maybes from 3-4 more. We’re becoming an affiliate this coming Friday.
As soon as you have access to the TD/Affiliate Support Area (either as a TD or as an affiliate), you should use the demographic search tool to see how many current and former USCF members there are nearby. Might be more than you think!
You could also look into doing an affiliate email blast, though keep in mind that we may only be able to reach about 60% of the members in the area you select (the rest either don’t have an email address or have opted out of affiliate email blasts), and the typical read rate on an email blast is probably around 30%, so that means you’ll probably reach less than 20% of the USCF members in the area. That said, they can be an effective part of your promotional strategy, but shouldn’t be the only way you promote your events.
I am involved with the Portland Chess Club, pdxchess.org, and we do a 4 round “Game in 60” tournament once a month (and for August the tournament was today and I won! uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201408235762). There have been complaints about there not being enough time off in-between the rounds so I would recommend having a sufficient break in-between each round. With a G/60,d5 time control,
Another thing to consider is that a tournament has to be at least four rounds for players to be able to get norms and titles (glicko.net/ratings/titles.pdf)
I am involved with the Portland Chess Club, pdxchess.org, and we do a 4 round “Game in 60” tournament once a month (and for August, the tournament was today and I won! uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201408235762). There have been complaints about there not being enough time off in-between the rounds so I would recommend having a sufficient break in-between each round.
Another thing to consider is that a tournament has to be at least four rounds for players to be able to get norms and titles (glicko.net/ratings/titles.pdf)
If I can offer some unsolicited advice to you as a new TD: Especially in a friendly club environment with low stakes prizes, your job as a director should be pretty simple. The “bread and butter” work of a TD lies in handling three issues: touch move claims, illegal moves, and time forfeit claims. While all the rules are important, I’d say you want to really read rules 10, 11, and 13C carefully.
A large part of a TD’s work is, surprisingly, secretarial. Attention to detail will pay huge rewards. Check and double check everything! Make sure you enter results correctly in the pairing software. If you offer half point byes, make sure you’ve checked that you’ve taken care of all the byes before you pair a round. Similarly, make sure you’ve taken care of withdrawals before pairing.
“If it isn’t written down, it didn’t happen.” Get in the habit of having a “bye sheet” (for half-point or zero-point byes) and a “withdrawal” sheet (for players withdrawing from the tournament). I can tell you from painful personal experience how easy it is to have a player tell me he’s withdrawing while I’m busy doing six other things at once, and then I forget to withdraw the player before pairing the next round. Always get it in writing.
With just six players you’re best off having only one section. A U1200 section would be open to players rated under 1200 or unrated, so in the above example none of the players would be eligible. A U1400 section would be open to players rated under 1400 or unrated, so all the players except the 1525 would be eligible. Players within a section only play against each other (with possible exceptions for rule 28M, Alternatives to byes) and compete for their own set of prizes.
Incorporating the suggestions to make the time control 30 minutes for each player with a 5 second delay, here’s how this announcement could be made as a TLA in Chess Life. I’ve added a registration close time of 12:45 to give you a few minutes to make the pairings. You’d also need to include information such as the name of the tournament, the date, the location, and contact information for people to enter in advance or ask questions.
3SS, G/30 d5. $$ trophy to 1st, medals to 2nd and 3rd. Reg. ends 12:45 p.m., Rds. 1-2:20-3:40. No entry fee.
The symbols are explained in Chess Life. “3SS” means it’s a 3 round tournament paired using the Swiss system. “$$” means prizes (not really needed here). You don’t need to explain in the TLA that you’ll be using blitz playoffs to break ties, but you should post it or announce it before the first round. My preference would be to use a playoff only in the case of multiple perfect scores and otherwise to use tiebreaks: Modified Median, Solkoff, Cumulative, in that order. Another possibility would be to use a blitz playoff to break a tie for 1st and use tiebreaks to break ties for 2nd and 3rd.
Mr. Hamilton - Congratulations on starting a new club. It’s efforts like yours that really help chess in general, and USCF in particular, expand its base. Speaking for myself, your work is appreciated. Of course, you do realize this means you’ll end up doing even more work.
Aside from the excellent advice you’ve been given in this thread, please allow me to offer one small suggestion. You might want to consider developing at least one additional person to help you run the club, including directing duties. This will help greatly with not only organizing additional events, but also avoiding cancellations when life rears its ugly head (which it will from time to time). It also greatly helps to avoid burnout.
I know you’re just starting out, so you might feel that you aren’t really “qualified” to train anyone else. Please don’t assume that.
Also, you may be in a rural area, but you have some excellent in-state resources if you have any questions. In particular, Stephen Dillard and Allen Priest could be of assistance in a pinch. And the Monday morning quarterbacks of the Forums, myself included, are always ready to spend days picking apart the decisions you had to make in a matter of minutes.
I’d wish you good luck, but I don’t think you need it. I look forward to reading about your club’s continued growth and advancement.
Thanks for all the advice and encouragement. Luckily we have a member who is to become a USCF member in Sept. has helped me run the first two tournaments. He’s a former member of the USCF and played in some tournaments from before and is interested in the administration of the club. He’s also becoming a club director after reading the book over so that should help relieve some of the duties. He’s in a county right next to mine and so he’s able to make it to the tournaments and help.
Something else occurred to me regarding tournament publicity. In a TLA you don’t need to say that the tournament is USCF rated and that all players have to be members of USCF, because that’s assumed unless stated otherwise. In a flyer announcing a new tournament, though, it’s probably best to state this explicitly.
How are you planning to publicize the tournament? Have you checked the tournament clearinghouse for your area to make sure your tournament isn’t on the same date as another nearby event?
Here are some suggestions for publicity:
Print up flyers and leave them out at tournaments in your area, with permission from the directors/organizers of those tournaments.
TLA in Chess Life, ideally for two issues.
If your state association has a website see if you can list your tournament on their events calendar.
Consider using the USCF’s email service to send email to USCF members in your area.
If you don’t mind spending more money, order mailing labels from USCF and mail flyers or postcards to players in your area.
Check with your local newspaper and library to see if you can publicize your tournament through them.
If I may make a suggestion, after you get your affiliate page up and running, you click on the option in TD/Affiliate that says Online TLAs (not Chess Life TLAs). This is a fairly intuitive, though many people don’t seem to think so, tool that I always use to write my TLAs. There are boxes to fill in for almost everything you could want, and for tournaments like the one you are having, you’ll want to leave most of them blank. Still, they’ll all be saved for next time, and it will show up on your state page under tournaments. I have enough templates saved now that it only takes me 5-15 minutes to write a new TLA, and you’re not likely to forget anything important. It’ll also let you generate a Chess Life-style TLA. Did I mention that all this is free for affiliates? If it brings in even one resident of a nearby state or traveler passing through, it is much worth your effort.
And, to avoid errors, use the options (in the pairing software and/or USCF reporting software) to specify the time control individually for each section, rather than overall for the entire tournament.
