Are there any suggestions on sanctions against players who forfeit their games? I can understand when a forfeit occurs through a schedule mix up or some other unforseen circumstance. But in our area, there are a few notorious repeat offenders who, instead of courteously withdrawing from the tournament, just don’t show up. Some players might welcome the forfeit point, but most of the people I know came to play chess.
Has anyone solved this problem?
You might consider a fine; however, that is tough to enforce.
You might tell the player when they register that they need to pay an appearance fee that is rufundable upon properly withdrawing or finishing the event.
Tim
A fine certainly isn’t tough to enforce if the person keeps coming back. However you do have to announce it ahead of time.
Tim’s idea is the best - tell him he won’t play unless he also includes a security deposit. The hard part is going to be to decide how much.
And then (ignore this part, Tim!) I’d try and find a way to give him a bye to show him what it feels like to pay for a rated game you aren’t going to get!
Good Luck!
Any rule stating that you have to allow them to play? Next time he/she shows up to register, just tell them that they’re gonna sit this one out.
Tom
In a 2-day tournament, the Sunday morning round is the most common round for forfeits.
If you have a player who habitually forfeits the Sunday morning round, just tell him on Saturday night that he must appear 15 minutes before next morning’s round, or he will be omitted from the pairings and given zero points for the round. That way, if he doesn’t show, you still have time to change the pairings.
If you have TWO such players, do what you can to pair them against each other on Sunday morning. With any luck, one will show up and one won’t, so the one who showed up (that time) will find out what it feels like to have a no-show opponent.
Bill Smythe
I did that a few years ago with one player who had a habit of dropping out of tournaments without notifying me. He entered at the door and I made him pay a $50 deposit in order to play in the tournament (I think the entry fee was around $25). I haven’t had a problem with him since then.
Bob Messenger
I had a problem once in a tournament that I’m still a bit sore about.
I went to California to play in a small tourney. I played the first three rounds, overslept the next day and missed the next round, and was told I was withdrawn from it by the TD. Luckily I had other things to do while I was out there, so it didn’t hurt too bad, but I felt it was rather harsh for missing one game.
A friend of mine had a habit of withdrawing if his results weren’t good, but he did tell the TD. Finally it got to be such a problem with him they banned him for the next six months, and that took care of it!
Radishes
USCF Rule 13G: Players must give notice if withdrawing or skipping a round. A player who does not notify the tournament director well in advance of the inability to play in any round and then defaults the game under 13D, late arrival for the game, may be ejected from the tournament, and may be fined a sum up to the amount of the entry fee, payable to the organizer. The player may be barred from any of the organizer’s tournaments until the fine is paid. On request, the player may be retained in or readmitted to the tournament at the director’s discretion.
If it’s in the rules, no announcement is necessary. Fine them, and until they pay, don’t let them back into one of your tournaments!
Regards,
Chris
I stand corrected - Thanks, Chris!
What would you suggest the TD do? Pair you again and have another forfeit? If a player doesn’t show up, it must be assumed he has withdrawn. In practice, of course, if the player comes to me before the pairings are made (and has a reasonable excuse), I’ll give him a tongue-lashing and put him back in.
Maybe so, but missing a round without notice can really piddle off a TD (not to mention the opponent), even if it is an oversleep.
Did you ever tell the TD you wanted back in the tournament? If so, when? Well before pairings were made, or just before the round was due to start?
Hmm. I don’t see why it’s a problem if the player withdraws WITH adequate notice, unless it’s some kind of round robin such as a quad, or an extremely small tournament.
Bill Smythe
Yes, I did. I went to the playing site before the next round, in fact while the round I was supposed to have played in was still going on, and explained the situation. He said I was already marked as withdrawn for the next round, even though it hadn’t started. I did tell him I wanted back in, and he wouldn’t allow it.
I’ve been a TD, too, and if someone misses a round, they miss it, but I don’t see any reason to get ticked off about it. For all I know they had car trouble and couldn’t make it back in time. I have also had a no-show opponent, and was quite pleased with it, since it meant I didn’t have to strain my brain for awhile. Anyway, as TD, if the no-show did notify me that he was withdrawing before the next pairings were being made, then it was okay with me. But if he didn’t, no, I didn’t pair him for the next round.
Now for those of you using computer pairings, you can cut the time to pair a little shorter than in the past because of the ease of pairings, as long as you have enough time to check them. The event I was in was before computer pairings were even possible, so maybe that was a factor.
Radishes
That’s just evidence of a poor TD.
Some players feel that way – one reason why I will not insist on substituting for a no-show. More do not – they’ve paid for their five or six rounds and they want to play chess. Which is why I will offer to replace a no-show if possible, and will give the offending player a chilly reception if he returns.
Some TD’s with a large tournament, after a forfeit will withdraw the player from the event. With a forfeit player with a forced withdraw from the TD, the TD could be looking at the re-entry fee as the cost of the forfeit.
It would not work well with a one day event, as the player can just go home. If its’ with a tournament with a number of days, with it not being on the last day. The re-entry fee for a forfeit, could be a way to stop the players from forfeiting their games.
You should try this - You know many directors advertise for instance 35$ if paid by such and such a date 40$ at the door. You should say 40$ entry fee 5$ refunded if you finish all 5 games. probably gauranteed to make an extra 20$ every tournament 
maybe even create an extra prize with it .
If having a tournament with 30 players, if nobody forfeits a game. Would have to track down 30 players at the end of the tournament to give $5 back. If the players wanting to leave the tournament before the end of the round, would be refunding $5 when some of the games are going on. Would you want the director being a witness for the last few games, or outside the room given back $5?
Why is this difficult? After your final game, you go to the director and get your $5. If he’s busy, you can wait five minutes.
I’m not sure that I’d like to do that in one of my tournaments, but I can’t see that it would be a problem.
Alex Relyea
Alex Relyea:
With the players that end up with 0.0, they pack up their bags and walk out the door. Most would not be in the mood to wait X amount of minutes to get the $5 back. With the players that can get back their $5, you would not mind waiting to get it back, some would just walk away from the re-fund. Having others peoples money when its’ not mine in the first place, does not matter what the amount is, it makes having it as unethical.
If you can say, since the player did not want the $5 after the event, then the directors keeps the money. Its’ still unethical in my judgement, as a player would not feel leaving the chess equipment at the site, the director should not be the new owner. True, $5 and chess equipment are not the same value but ownership is still the same. If you can make a claim, walking away from the $5 re-fund the director can keep the money. Then you should be able to make the same judgement, if you leave your chess equipment. Leaving the $5 re-fund or leaving chess equipment, the director should not be the new owner.
simply make an announcement or indicate it on the tourney flyer that the $5 is refunded upon request or is forfeited. that way the player chooses to get his money back or let the TD keep it - no problem there.
if you dont want to wait a few minutes (in case TD unavailable), make sure your mailing address is on file with TD. $4 will be mailed to cover cost of envelope, stamp, check, and for the time to mail X number of refunds.
i see absolutely no problem with this and since what happens to the $5 is fully up to the player there is no ethics issue with TD keeping money if that is what the players action dictates.
chess equipment left behind is another story and is accidental. if someone claims it (after describing it, etc) they can simply pick it up from whoever has it, or pay the shipping cost to have it sent to them. if equip has owners tag whoever has it can just call the owner.
In all the years as a director, never had anyone with a forfeit win or a forfeit loss. In the total history of being in tournaments, (started 1980) only won 2 games for a forfeit win (can recall) because the player did not show up. The average for a member to win a game because of a forfeit, should be less then 1/10 of 1 percent.
Just having all the players give $5 at the start of the event, just to get a re-fund at the end of the event. The players would find it annoying, as a director would find it annoying with the amount of paper work. If players are willing to forfeit the $5 re-fund, would not a person forfeiting a game not care about the $5 re-fund also.
Racerx, if you like the $5 charge and re-fund, why not charge family members when they come over for the holiday meals. If they drop food on the floor they lose the $5, if not they get a re-fund. It could be the last time you see your family members.