Player OTB behavior

All Things Chess
1

After a recent tournament I began wondering about OTB behavior and whether there are rules associated around our behavior at the board.

My opponent dances in his chair from move 1! Rocking and swaying violently (not like a normal chess player in time control), shaking the table at times when bumping it. Visually distracting to myself and others but the tournament director says, “I’ll ask him not to bump the table, but that’s all I can do”.
He literally would JUMP up out of his chair and run, over one aisle in the tournament hall and then back and jump back in his chair.

Now don’t get the wrong impression, that I’m just another older player who fell victim to some young upstart and got his feelings hurt. I would think that at first when reading such an account too. I did win the game, but it was extremely difficult to concentrate throughout my opponents’ sideshow antics. This in combination with constantly shoving his fingers into his nose and mouth prior to touching my nice wooden pieces simply DESTROYED my concentration every single move of the event.

Is there no rule against such rude distracting behavior?

Thanks in advance.

2

Does he have a disability?

Alex Relyea

3

I think not, he was fine when walking around between games. Physically in better shape than me, able to leap tall chairs in a single bound! LOL
and functioned acceptably when I observed him between rounds or eating a cheeseburger in the lobby as I passed by.

4

In that case, yes, there are rules against annoying behavior.

Alex Relyea

5

When someone behaves erratically, they’re more likely to exhibit unusual or disruptive behavior when under stress, and playing chess can be pretty stressful.

So the fact that someone does not exhibit disruptive behavior at other times, such as while eating lunch, is not proof that the person does not have behavior traits that qualify for special treatment under the Rules of Chess.

6

In my mind I have a vision of one’s opponent restrained thusly…

990×600 99.5 KB

7

I don’t think this was the case. From move 1 it began.

8

Please remember that, except in a blitz tournament, if you disagree with a TD’s ruling you always have the right to appeal. If the chief TD rejects your appeal, there is a list of Special Referees who would be happy to consider it. No one should put up with poor behavior from a TD.

Alex Relyea,
Chair, Tournament Director Certification Committee

9

Sounds like he’s just being a little kid. Suck it up. And if you are worried about dirty fingers then don’t bring an expensive set, use cheap plastic pieces instead.

10

exactly why many adult players drop out of tournament chess. you need a better answer than that, don.

…scot…

11

i have essentially given up playing accelerated sections of the “major” events. last time was in a small crowded room, kids kicking my beginning-of-the-aisle board placement trying to get past to their games. across the next aisle a buncha kids crowded around an older gentleman’s game against a youthful player. kids snickering as the older gent was about to lose. seems to be a bit more decorum with the 3-day sections but can’t usually get away for a friday night game. thanks for letting me vent!

…scot…

12

It always seems to me like parents think THEIR kids are fine, it is the OPK (other parents kids) that are the problem-makers. But as I’ve said before, the worst behavior I’ve seen at chess tournaments came from adults. When I was running tournaments with scholastic sections, I tried to make sure those sections were in separate rooms and my wife, a certified math teacher, was a good room monitor, she kept the kids under control.

If players had to bump into the table or chairs to get past, the rows were too close together. I know there’s a desire to squeeze as many boards into a space as you can, for reasons of economy, but organizers have to understand their role in providing players with desirable playing conditions. I probably wouldn’t go back to an event run by an organizer whose playing conditions were poor because of organizer decisions.

FWIW, restaurants have many of the same challenges, I’ve eaten at restaurants (usually not more than once), where you had to get real friendly with your fellow diners to get from the table to the restrooms. And some diners (like some chess players) don’t seem to give any consideration to people at other tables.

13

I would only use wooden pieces at a place where I know the conditions are good and the people are respectful of the quality of pieces and board. Otherwise, use a standard plastic set and board that you can clean easily. If necessary, bring a small bottle of Purell to clean sticky pieces. At many tournaments I usually come back with more pieces and pawns than I came with. Occasionally, a piece or pawn less as the last round scooping of pieces at the end of the games can leave you with less than the 32 pieces you are supposed to have. One plastic set I have has 4 Black queens and 3 White queens plus an extra Black bishop and a couple of extra pawns of each color. If using a wooden set and one of those pieces goes missing it could take months or never to replace it.

As far as kids’ behavior, you are stuck for the most part. There has been an increase of kids at all tournaments. Their moms pay the entry fee which provides the prize pool. Most of the kids behave well and often tell their peers to behave better as they don’t like to play fidgety opponents either. You can ask the TD to say something to the kid. Most TDs, but not all, will talk to the player and even the chess mom about the behaviors. That usually works, but kids are kids and they often slip back into bad habits. You have to recognize that for many kids, chess is just a game like any other and not something to be serious about. As an adult you take the game, your result, and rating changes more seriously than the kids do.

For the sake of argument, let’s assume that you asked a TD and nothing happens. An appeal will not take place or be rejected. The TD doesn’t even know the number to call a Special Referee. So, on an official basis you are stuck. Even if you appeal to the USCF after the event with a richly detailed complaint and witness statements, this does not solve your immediate problem. What to do? First, you can ask the kid again to knock it off. If the kid does not comply, ask louder. Make a real scene which will bring the TD over because all of the other players will be upset with the noise. Since the TD already knows of the problem from your previous contact, ask him loudly to do something about it, to do his job. Make sure the chess mom or dad are brought into it to rectify the behavior. Keep it loud and annoying as possible for the other players who will shush you, tell you to keep it down, and will demonstrate complete disgust with you. Some will hate you for making a scene. Others will quietly admire your pluck and will be happy someone is finally trying to solve an all too familiar problem. If nothing works, demand your money back and never, and I mean never, go back to that site again. They probably won’t give you your money back, so you can get your money’s worth by extending the scene for as long as your blood pressure medication allows. You will develop a reputation with TDs of being a complainer, but so what? In the future players and TDs will learn you will not put up with the nonsense that has been allowed to happen in the quest for bigger profits. Next time, you may get your way and have a quieter, cleaner event to play in.

Both as a TD and a player, I have dealt with similar issues. Before the first round, as a TD I have told the players what behaviors will be unacceptable and what the consequences will be. I have also informed parents that their little darling was close to being ejected from the event for conduct unbecoming. It just will not do for kids to be running around, and maybe falling down and getting hurt. Food is not to be eaten at the table but in designated areas. Chess moms have to clean up, which usually leads to them telling the kids to clean up every crumb every round. As a TD you have to stay on top of these things and not just think all you have to do is make and post pairings. General public relations and management of the herd of cats in the room comes with the job, too. As a player, I have yelled at kids who were sliding down a long bannister. Of course it was fun for them, and very dangerous. I told their moms, too, who should have been watching. It is too hard to get a new site when kid behaviors cause the site manager to nix any more tournaments. That message usually gets through to the embarrassed moms, most of whom love me for looking out for their kids, and who really want their kids to play at a nice place. My own students know the behaviors I expect of them and let them inform the rest of the little angels through modeled behavior and their own yelling at their peers to behave.

14

Mr. Magar apparently has very different children in his area than I have in mine. Often I have children refuse to play an extra rated game against an opponent with a rating deemed too low, or vociferously complain about their opponent in the main event for the same reason. Do you really think the children of the lady who came up to me at my last tournament demanding that her son play a certain player, regardless of the color imbalances don’t take their chess seriously?

Alex Relyea

15

Ah, the parents often take the game more seriously than the kids, especially when the parents know very little about the game. The kids want to have fun with their friends. Sure, there are serious kids, but they tend to be behaved and want to play like adults, and often have friendships with adult opponents who provide them with advice and encouragement.

It is often the case that when you teach/coach/train kids to play chess, you also have to teach/train the adults in how they should behave at tournaments and how they should help their little darlings get better at the game. One helpful thing is to inform the parents about the rules as well as tournament procedures. They need to learn their limits as spectators. Some, a very few, need to learn not to hector their children after a game and leave the chess stuff to the coach. The care and feeding of their warriors is in their control. They can also be a quiet shoulder to cry on. My recommendation is for them to take a walk after the game with their player and talk about anything but chess so that the kids can cool down and get ready for the next game. Every once in a while, the coach has to spend more time on the parents than on the child. The kids are race horses ready to go. The parents must not become jockeys. It is sufficient for them to just watch and enjoy the kids at play. If you want to develop an independent and thoughtful child, it is best to let go of the reins and let them learn.

I cannot conceive of any parent that I know that has children playing in tournaments having the temerity to make special demands. The ones I know would be appalled that anyone would ask for special favors. Since I usually crush parents with kindness, advice, and support I don’t have the same type of problems that other TDs do. Should such an absurd occasion of asking special treatment arise, they would be advised to take the child and their august personal self home. Once you start setting up extra games, cross pairings, and the like, you create all sorts of unintended consequences and extra work. Better to give the little angel a bye and let him/her rest up for the next round. Some kids even like to get a free point and the free time to play non-rated games and bughouse with friends. Not all chess has to be rated.

16

Most players, adults and kids, are reasonable. Most parents are reasonable. If you are willing to answer questions (sometimes having to say you need to defer an answer for 15 minutes or so because of time constraints for pairing or starting the next round) then most players and parents will accept a delay. I’ve found that if you actually answer the questions then players and parents are more willing to ask a question the next time instead of starting with a confrontational complaint.

The players that are not reasonable can detract from the overall experience.
The definition of “reasonable” can also be interesting when it comes to unintentional distractions. Some players need to get up regularly to avoid leg cramps or bladder accidents, which their opponents may find unreasonably distracting. A person with allergies that is coughing or sneezing may be deemed a distraction by many of the other players.

PS I have often said there are four broad classes of chess parents.
#1 are parents that know what is going on and rarely ask questions. This group is easy to deal with.
#2 are parents that do not know what is going on and ask a lot of questions. This group can be time-consuming to deal with, but answering the parents’ questions has often resulted in those parents not only transitioning to group 1, but also being willing to answer questions of other parents in group 2 before they even reach the TD. A short-sighted TD sees the time being consumed answering the initial questions but a longer-sighted TD will see the eventual time savings. A parent in group 1 may temporarily transition to group 2 for a specific unfamiliar situation, but they then end up right back in group 1 (well, sometimes the TD end up with additional information that is needed to prevent or undo the situation the parent asked about - such as not knowing that two players are teammates).
#3 are parents that do not know what is going on and do not ask any questions. This group is easy to deal with because they are invisible. HOWEVER, this is not a group I want parents to be in because they are also more likely to get fed up and pull their kids from chess.
#4 are parents that know what is going on and ask questions hoping to get an answer they can use to game the system to the advantage of their kid. Fortunately this group is small, and as long as you are consistent the group kind of shrinks as they realize they will not succeed in gaming the system. There are some that will always stay in this group.

17

The description of an agitated player that started this thread reminded me of an unusual guy who used to play in the Pittsburgh Chess League. He was an adult, not a kid. He wasn’t noisy or rude, and I don’t think he used to be unsanitary, but he would spend most of his time standing, and rocking back and forth. That’s not an exaggeration, most of his time. Once someone brought in one of those toys that consists of a bird that rocks back and forth on a pedestal and dips its beak into water. He placed it next to his board while he was playing against this guy, who got mighty annoyed. This guy was pretty normal, personable, away from the board.

18

There’s a fellow who plays with our club who makes loud sucking noises with his mouth while considering his moves. If it’s a “serious” game, we all know to bring earbuds and music.

19

If it is a ‘serious’ game, all non-approved electronic devices, including your earbuds and music source, will be forbidden due to increasingly strict anti-cheating measures.

20

That depends on what one considers “serious.” Not all rated games are presently that serious. They may well be in the near future which could be interesting, particularly for younger players who have always used earbuds or over the ear headphones.