I’m not sure if this sub-forum or the Chess Clubs or the USCF Issues sub-forum is the right place for this, but here goes.
Our club figures that we will be resuming in-person, OTB operations at some point. It’s unknown for how long people will remain concerned over the possibility of contracting Covid-19 at a chess tournament, but no doubt worries will linger for some time even after state/local government and the owners of the building where we meet give us the green light. Therefore we are drawing up a set of rules and protocols for the club, its officers, and players to follow.
What I’m wondering about (and this is the reason for my post) is how much leeway clubs and TDs have in implementing and enforcing house rules for official, rated tournaments in relation to Covid-19. A simple example would be “no handshaking.” Supposing that players violate this regulation and persist in doing it after a warning: would the TD be allowed then to impose penalties, up to and including expulsion from the tournament? Other examples would involve wearing face masks, using gloves or hand sanitizer, etc.
Skimming through the USCF Official Rules of Chess (7th edition), I didn’t find anything specific to house rules or special rules that organizers may apply to rated events on top of the rules specified in the rulebook. For this purpose, would it be permissible to invoke Rule 26, Variations and Exceptions? If not, then is there any other authority in the rulebook that would permit us to apply and enforce such rules?
I’d rather not get into a discussion of the worth of any particular Covid-related rules, I’m merely looking for guidance on whether we can apply rules of this kind that are over and beyond what’s currently in the rulebook.
Thanks very much.
[Moderator: if this isn’t the right sub-forum for this topic, please move it to the most appropriate sub-forum.]
Just make sure all your special anti-Covid rules are announced in writing in all pre-tournament publicity, including your Chess Life TLA, if any. Also post them prominently at the tournament, as well as in a handout you would give to each player as they arrive. Also make a verbal announcement, which could be simply, “Before you begin your game, be sure to read the handout we just gave you.”
Of course, it’s questionable whether anybody should be running OTB events at all right now, but that’s not what you asked.
Thanks, and yes, we are “looking ahead” to the time when we’re allowed to reopen.
We would post the rules on the club website, send them out to our mailing list, and distribute them to players as they registered. However, these special rules could take up several lines in a Chess Life TLA. Would it be enough, do you think, to include a URL to the page on our website that gave the details of the rules?
That is good advice from Bill Smythe. The authority to do that is in rules 1B and 1B1–post it, announce it and for good measure publicize it. Consider putting any of your virus club rules into your re-opening announcement to all your members.
Bill and Tim, thanks very much for the advice. When the time comes that we can reopen, we’ll do all of those things to make sure everyone understands our precautions.
You’ve already gotten some good advice, but I’d like to specifically address the issues you’ve raised here:
With regard to handshakes, I really think you need to limit yourself to giving warnings. When 2 players shake hands, the only people they are potentially endangering are themselves. When you warn them about it at the beginning of play, you are really doing two things:
You are alerting them to the riskiness of the behavior.
You are giving each player a TD-endorsed excuse for refusing an opponent’s offer of a handshake.
If 2 players choose to ignore your warnings and shake hands anyway, they have chosen to place themselves at risk.
With regard to wearing face coverings and either wearing gloves or using hand sanitizer (I’m assuming that you can provide it), that’s another matter. because a player who refuses is putting other people at risk. Face coverings are required where I live and stores will require that you wear them and expel you if you refuse. And tournaments should be no different. I wouldn’t impose any penalties, because that wouldn’t remove the risk. I’d expel them immediately!
It’s absurd to expect a TLA to include all of your covid-19 rules (which you may need to change between the time a TLA has been submitted and the day of the tournament based on changing governmental or facility rules). I’d just include a statement in the TLA stating that they should contact you in advance to find out what the covid-19 rules are going to be.
I’m not so sure about this. If player A communicates the disease to player B by shaking hands, hasn’t the risk to everyone else just increased, since there are now 2 carriers where there was previously only one? It seems to me that any action that spreads the disease to someone who didn’t previously have it increases the risk for everyone in the community.
If you’re requiring players to sanitize their hands at the beginning of each game, I don’t see how this could be a problem. Even if they shook hands at the end of their last game, you’re requiring them to cleanse their hands before the touch anything someone else is going to touch.
But they’re your rules, so you can do whatever you want.
You may not have this problem, but stores, restaurants, and other places have had defiant individuals who refuse to comply with the health guidelines or wear masks inside establishments. Employees have been beaten, guns drawn, merchandise knocked onto the floor, lots of screaming has occurred. The internet is filled with videos on misbehavior in major stores. Some stores have given up on enforcement of mask policies; some places just call the police.
In your messaging and announcements before the first round, outline the rules of the event concerning health measures you expect will be followed. If players wantonly fail to comply or cause a problem, tell the players and spectators the police may be called and the tournament is over. It is up to you to determine if you want to return entry fees, but that is something that is an additional point to enforce the rules. You can also point out that you will send in names of players and initiate membership suspension procedures if it becomes necessary. Of course, this is all for major infractions and disruptive behavior. I would not go around and harp on it or jump on every failure to have a mask on correctly. Simple hand gestures and nods will do. The players will get the point and will be embarrassed if they accidentally did anything wrong that makes their fellow players unsafe.
The players want tournament play to come back so much that they will comply with whatever you want. They will police themselves and others. For example, I have had chess moms, without asking them to do so, go around the tournament area cleaning up and getting the kids to help. I am sure they would take care of the mask problem and sanitizer stations in order that their kids and others were kept safe. Otherwise, OTB goes away again. For the true idiots, let the real police take care of them as trespassers and disturbing the peace.
BTW, be careful what sanitizer you buy. Some are really nasty and difficult to wipe off your hands. They are more smell than safe. Regular soap and water are just as good. At the sites we used, we always put the garbage in the dumpster ourselves or took it away in large black plastic bags to help out the church or school custodian.
The kids do not do handshakes anymore. They do “air high fives” and mock elbow bumps without touching. Since so many of the kids wear masks, they have become more expressive with their eyes and hand gestures. As one old grandma told me, “Everyone is becoming Italian or Greek.” The schools will witness the kids doing a lot of dancing to express their emotions. They learned it on TikTok.