Reviewed every year after the US Open rules changes with the modifications going into effect on January 1 (generally the same date any rules changes go into effect).
Without delving into the substance of the post, can you, or anyone else, come up with an appropriate “scholastic” question for an aspiring Senior TD?
Alex Relyea
The list of certified TDs should not be under “Reports and Standings” on this website but in the “Tournament Directors” and “Tournament Organizers” section.
In looking at my state, PA, I see only 4 Senior TDs and one NTD, which is a pretty low number given the number of players and activity in our state. A couple of the Senior TDs are relatively inactive, and only assist at a couple of scholastic events per year. They received the title back before 1991. One Senior TD, Tom Martinak, should be an NTD and really does not need to take any test to prove his chops, having directed the Pittsburgh Chess League and dozens of Grand Prix events for decades. Some of the Local TDs in the state do assist in some large events and probably could apply for Senior TD status. I know of at least one who organizes and directs large scholastic tournaments but is not a Senior TD. The only really large events in the state are the World Open, run by the CCA, and some scholastic events which are run by Local TDs for the most part. Cash prize tournaments around the state rarely draw more than a hundred players and do not need a Senior TD to run them.
The lack of Senior TDs and NTDs in the state makes it difficult to consider going for a larger national tournament. A small event, like the US Blind which will be held on October 23-24 in Pittsburgh will be directed by our only NTD and a couple of Local TD and Club TD assistants. Anything larger to apply for strains the local well of TDs as there are not enough Senior TDs and Locals TDs, especially those with experience of doing events with 300+ players.
I was truly hoping that my video of the prize distribution for the Georgia Open (5 rounds, 1 section) had been lost - I was spectacularly inarticulate in front of the camera that day. Anyway, it’s the most complex one I have ever encountered in 25 years of TD’ing. Back to the main question…
By definition the Senior TD test is “designed to measure the applicant’s knowledge and judgment in situations not clearly addressed by the rules.” The version of the test that I took did that. I think it’s a fair test if it does what it says it’s attempting to do. The real question is whether you need a Senior TD to run a large scholastic tournament, and the answer is no. An experienced Local TD is perfectly capable of doing it. The kind of thorny problems that are on the Senior TD test are unlikely to come up in a scholastic event where hardly any of the players understand the rules well enough to bring up thorny problems. Don’t worry so much about what level the TD is, consider more his or her experience level. A Senior TD who has run 12 or 15 tournaments in his life would be a poorer choice to run your large scholastic than a Local TD who has run 30 or 40 tournaments.
Considering I barely passed my SrTD exam on the second try, I might not be the best person to answer the question. But since I did substantially better on my ANTD exam, I will try:
In a K-3 section, time control G/30 d5, with twenty minutes remaining in the scheduled round period and neither player in sudden death time pressure, and neither player keeping score, the TD observes White with K+B+B exchanging moves rapidly with Black with lone K, such that the moves are completed within the delay period and the base time does not decrease. A casual observation demonstrates that White does not know how to perform the mate. Neither player has kept score. The TD observes no repetitions of position, let alone a threefold repetition of position.
What should the TD do?
a) Observe the game until at least 50 moves have been made by each player, and only then declare the game a draw.
b) Observe the game until 75 moves have been made by each player, and only then declare the game a draw.
c) Either a) or b) may be correct, depending on whether, when, and how a player makes fifty move rule claim.
d) Declare the game won by White when the time allotted for the round expires.
Hmm, that is a toughie, isn’t it? Maybe something about what to do if a coach suggests a move to a player? That might be a bit overly thorny for a Senior test, though.
Bill Smythe
On the contrary, that is something a senior TD who will direct scholastic tournaments needs to be ready to handle confidently (in my not-so-humble opinion).
Neither of these seem specifically scholastic. Mr. Price’s could apply to any low rated section.
Alex Relyea
The problem is that Rob uses the Enter key to start a new line when the text nears the edge of the screen. This is a throwback to the days of mechanical and electric typewriters. Rob may not even notice the problem on his own screen, but as soon as a reader with a different screen width (or using a different browser) reads the post, the reader sees new lines beginning at inappropriate places, such as in the middle of the line.
Rob, you need to renew your acquaintance with your old piano teacher. Ask her to sit beside you and watch you type, and to slap the back of your hand with a ruler whenever she sees you press the Enter key. You don’t need the Enter key! On a computer screen, the text wraps to the next line automatically. Just keep typing and you’ll see what I mean.
You should press the Enter key only at the end of a paragraph – and then you should press it twice to separate it from the next paragraph.
Let’s look at an example. Suppose your browser displays 40 characters per line. So you (incorrectly) press the Enter key after every 40 characters or so. Your text looks like this:
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– and, for that matter, it will still look exactly the same to you, using that browser, if you type it without pressing Enter.
But now suppose somebody else reads your post, using a browser that displays only 30 characters across. If you have been pressing Enter every 40 characters, the reader will see it this way:
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– because the reader’s browser will wrap after 30 characters, and then after another 10 it will encounter your Enter keystroke and start another new line.
If, on the other hand, you had typed your paragraph without the Enter key, then the reader would have seen this:
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– with no artificial line breaks, but with a greater total number of lines because of the smaller number of characters per line.
If you look at some of your recent posts on a computer other than the one on which you typed the post, you just might be able to see the problem. Try it, you’ll like it!
Bill Smythe
Admitted, although in my experience with this situation (twice in my career), the players were K-3s.
Granted, but Brennan’s is more likely to be seen in a scholastic.
A scholastic-oriented SrTD should know things like:
how to determine trophies even if the computer crashes and they have to be determined manually
how to rule on interference from a teammate
how to pair with team constraints
how to handle result corrections from earlier rounds
how to rule when the facts are not agreed upon
what to do when a player is accidentally put into a wrong section
Some of those are also often needed by an adult-oriented SrTD.
Since I’m hoping the TDCC can come up with enough CTD/LTD and SrTD questions to eventually get those exams on-line, I’m not going to publicly post any potential ones.
Why were players and coaches allowed to be around the game? That is a no-no and easily dealt with by keeping coaches out of the playing area, sending players who finished their game out of the area, and keeping remaining players 8 to 10 feet from any game in progress. That limits the chance of spectator interference, though does not eliminate it completely.
The post to which this is responsive has been edited to remove the fact pattern.
Personally I go into TD/A (accessible under the tournament directors page) to get such lists.
After you sign in you can go to:
secure2.uschess.org/TD_Affil/td_search.php
secure2.uschess.org/TD_Affil/td_lists.php
The second one is also found in the reports and standings link:
uschess.org/datapage/td-lists.php
The first one has the option of showing inactive or lapsed TDs. PA has:
138 members with lapsed CTD
23 members with lapsed LTD
5 non-members with otherwise active CTD
275 non-members with lapsed CTD
38 non-members with lapsed LTD
3 non-members with lapsed SrTD
13 members with lapsed SrTD
Those last 16 former SrTDs are probably the ones you are thinking of trying to get back into directing.
PS I copied the list, pasted it into Excel and then sorted on certification level.
PPS I’ve done multiple National Elementaries in Pittsburgh (2000+ players, many TDs). A good deal for a good site can allow for an importation of TDs and still be economically feasible. An expensive site can make things difficult even with a lot of nearby TDs. Looking only at active TDs, IL has seven NTDs (all have done scholastics), two ANTDs (both have done scholastics), 11 SrTDs (at least 8 have done scholastics) and 21 LTDs (at least 12 have done scholastics), but the difficulty in getting reasonable sites means that the major scholastic nationals coming to IL are few and far between.
h
Apparently, there are some areas which allow parents into playing areas in scholastic tournaments. I found this out last weekend when some out of state parents were surprised they were not allowed to view their kids games in progress.
Most parents, in fact, nearly all are absolutely wonderful, and do observe the rules and procedures. The problem is that there is a very small minority of those who will do anything to help their kids win. And I have banned more than a few parents
from the playing hall over the last decade or so at regular, non-scholastic events.
Rob Jones
A line of questions I do wish was on the senior td test is one dealing with chief td supervision. That is guidelines on how to properly review appeals from players on subordinate TD rulings. What to look for, where to start, etc. For example, on such appeals, I always will listen to the “story” from the two players involved where the issues is a dispute
between them. This way, I can get a fresh perspective, or an original perspective, ie, the same perspective the original ruling TD had. I have seen and heard very poor TD decisions upheld when they should have been reversed because the supervising td automatically assumed that the context in which the subordinate TD made his ruling was correct.
For example, I have seen TDs rule, many moves later, that the players must go back several moves so that a touch move not called at the time is now forced. The incorrect rule used by the td in his ruling was calling the “secondary” move illegal, when in fact, it was legal as touch move was not called.
If the supervising TD hears “illegal move” and hears no more, then he really does not have the proper context to make a correct ruling.
Rob Jones
I’m trying to figure out how to make such a question for the SrTD test without telegraphing the answer. I guess we take the current 140-point test (passing score of 80%, or 112) and add 20 one-point question (going to 160 points) while increasing the passing score percentage to 82.5% (132) under the assumption that any SrTD candidate really should be able to answer all 20 correctly.
Example:
Player A says that player B made an illegal move under a G/60;d5 time control and player B does not deny it. Do you:
A) assume that player A is wrong and tell the players to continue playing
B) assume that player A is right, add two minutes to player A’s clock and tell player B to make a legal move
C) ask what the move was, why it was illegal and check whether or not it was actually completed by player B hitting the clock so that you can see whether or not it really is an illegal move
D) after determining that the stated move is not legal: ignore whether or not player B hit the clock yet, add two minutes to player A’s clock and tell player B to make a legal move
Any SrTD candidate should get that question right, so it is essentially a “gimme” (heck, I tried to word it in a way that would be a “gimme” for an LTD). Adding 20 such one-point questions and increasing the passing score by 20 points would essentially be solely to make sure a candidate reviewed such straightforward issues.
You left out the obvious answer.
e) Stand on the chair and proclaim loudly for everyone in the room to hear - YOU DID WHAT!!!
As a current LTD, I’d say that it was pretty obvious. Clearly it’s:
e) Deduct half the time from A’s clock for impugning upon B’s honor. This is a gentleman’s game after all. How ludicrous!
