Surely I can.
If you allow me an X-Acto blade, a tube of Elmer’s glue, and about three minutes in the restroom with the rulebook before showing you my result. 
Otherwise, I’ll just settle for knowing the rules as completely as my memory allows. 
Sure. I realized mid-typing that I was really typing what I do and expect of myself, and not necessarily what I’d expect out of another TD at our club.
I think I understand what you’re saying about how attitude is tested only at the higher/highest level of TD. In the meantime it’s something of a crucible. But I think I’ve said before just how lucky I am to have a “cloud” of more experienced TDs to help me along. (Almost made a decision yesterday that would have been incorrect, but I asked and the Chief TD pointed out what was actually equitable.)
Not to mention having the Forums available to learn from. And I don’t think I said “thanks for sharing” above. (Boy howdy… that makes me sound like I was a redneck who went to school in Berkeley, California or something, don’cha’know?*)
[size=85]*Which I was and did.[/size]
A chess tournament is not a classroom. Look at page 26 in the rulebook.
There is a hypothetical situation that might someday happen with the way many chess set sellers now give an extra queen with the set:
Black puts both queens on the board without a king. Neither player notices it until move thirteen. Black cannot be checkmated, therefore black cannot lose. 
We can play games like that forever, and put them in the rulebook, in case it happens. In the meantime, we are confined as TDs to uphold the rules as presented, and defend our methodology, interpretation, and impartiality.
More higher certified TDs should be willing to put up their decisions that they found interesting on the forum. They may be challenged for doing so, but that is good for all TDs that read it.
All the best, Joe Lux
This fact is not obvious to those who have not read the book.
Yet artichoke’s point is valid. Even at 100 pages, it is wrong to expect newcomers to be versed in all of it. Even with experienced players it is a lot to ask. Should every tournament player read the rules eventually? Of course. However, if something irregular happens, whether or not covered in the rules, the players should be able to “leave it the TD to straighten the mess out”.
All the best, Joe Lux
I agree wholeheartedly and thank you for doing so. I think it would benefit those of us with less experience/lower certification. We may even find that …gasp…NTD’s disagree from time to time and that there is not one right answer.
In the case that you mentioned, since there was no way to definitively know when the piece went missing and both players thought it should be placed on the board, I probably would have gone that route. I know you shouldn’t rule based on the players’ desire (I’ve seen scholastic players agree that any piece that makes it to the back rank gets to promote 
), but in this case, that seems like the best solution. It’s a reasonable ruling and everyone is satisfied. If a piece were left en prise and/or one player complained, I’d probably rule exactly as you did. I think both rulings would be technically correct.
Gotcha. I stand corrected – your judgment was, sadly, the necessary one.