To Play or Not to Play...That is the Question...

An issue has come to light more so in the last day or so for me and I believe it deserves discussion:

Can or should a TD play in his tournament? When would this be appropriate and when would it be wrong?

We have the latest incident of that fellow in Missouri that apparently and obviously abused the TD and tournament system for his own rating profit. So, we do need to be concerned of times where a TD should not play. But to make a blanket statement that a TD should never play in a tournament he directs is also wrong.

In our club atmosphere we have relatively small tournaments. The vast majority of them are under 30 players and most are under 20, especially on club nights where we have a rated game per evening. I say that not only can the TD play in these small events but most often should. On our chess club nights in Peoria, the TD should play. There is no reason to stop him from playing. In one of our Saturday Tornado’s he also has played as a house man, or even played the tournament. Since the numbers are low enough it is not a problem but a positive.

Now, understand that I would not play in a rated tournament that I directed in the club I run where the club participants are all rated at least 400 points below me. The odds of my winning are too great and it would not be fun for me. Also if I lose one game, whoops there goes hard earned rating points. And it is a fact that the playing director will be somewhat distracted during the tournament in his games.

The reason for playing is because I want to play rated chess. By that I mean if I don’t direct the tournament, there would be none. On an occasional Sunday, I have formed a few “get together” tournaments where we get the word of mouth going about an afternoon tourney of either G/45 or G/60. I have done a Quad and a number of small Swisses this way. In the last 2 I directed, I played like the house man by not playing to keep the player numbers even for a round or so. I also lost rating points in both of those events. Hmmm, maybe I should insist on a rule that I can’t play then…

Now, if the tournament becomes too big, like over 30, I can see that playing and directing is not a good idea. Also if there is a lot of money at stake, playing might not be good.

I feel that we should define when a TD can and/or should play as well.

I’d say it would absolutely be wrong if the TD allowed his games to distract him from his directing duties. For that reason, when we held our first tournament in February, I resolved that I would play only if we had an odd number of players, fewer than 12, which I figured was the maximum I could handle while playing a game of my own.

I’d also say a TD should refrain from participating in open Swiss sections with cash prizes (I wouldn’t feel the same qualms about quads or other round robins – there’s no meaningful way to manipulate pairings in those), in open tournaments with high levels of participation from outside the TD’s own club, or in any event being run by a non-club organization, especially one running tournaments for profit.

There are valid arguments for both points of view regarding if TDs should play in tournaments they direct. I do not know of any instance of a playing TD shirking his directing duties during a game! If anything the TDs game often suffers from being distracted by the TD duties. Also, who does the TD complain to if he is paired with 3 blacks in a row? :smiley:

Larry S. Cohen

The author of the software.

In smaller tournaments with under 30 players, the software is usually accurate in its pairings. The only time I have either seen or personally felt the need to override the software pairings is in the final round(s). So, in the final round I always check the computer pairings for sanity.

With that, the pairing of a tournament with the TD playing is done objectively by the software. In these smaller size events the prize money isn’t much of an issue either. So there really isn’t much of a problem with a conflict of interest regarding the TD.

The way I run my tournaments and the way others like Wayne Zimmerle, David Long, Dennis Bourgerie and now Smith and so on, in the Central Illinois area, people coming from out of the area don’t feel uncomfortable at all. As I said, if the tournament is too big the TD just doesn’t play, or only plays as a house man with no prize money or entry fee being involved.

And as Larry pointed out, the distraction of the TD playing in the tournament that he directs always is in his chess playing not in his directing. The responsibilities of directing occur sporadically enough to break any decent concentration in a personal game. It would be really hard for a TD to responsibly play his game and let his TD duties not come into his venue and be made to suffer. The reality is that the player will come up to the TD and demand his attention on the player’s concern. It’s really hard to ignore a person standing next to you saying, “TD I have a problem that you need to handle.”

With that, I am feeling that a participation number of less than 25 or 30 be suggested for the dual participation of the TD and/or player. OF course if the TD wants to lower that number for himself because of his personal comfort level, that’s fine.

One other thing to consider is if there is an assistant TD. Something like that would affect the size tournament that the TD would be willing to throw themselves into.

I belong to 2 clubs in my area. The tournaments draw anywhere from 8 to 20 players. I play in many of the tournaments I’m directing because I go to the chess club to play chess. Often I’ll sit out at the Monday club if there’s an even number without me. Other times if I’m in the mood to play I’ll recruit the dad of one the players to fill in for a couple of rounds. His son usually takes a last round bye.

The playing director is what keeps small weeknight clubs going. I think the majority of playing directors are honest folks that are trying to keep a chess club going. Pairing programs help keep things running smoothly, and keep the TD “honest” with pairings. I think a blanket rule banning a director from playing in his own tournaments would hurt your local clubs.

I think the rule book covers the issue fine. It’s not recommended, but it’s not prohibited either. Obviously large tournaments are not the place for directors to be playing and directing.

Also, keep in mind that the Missouri events referenced in an earlier post aren’t under review because the director was also a participant, but because of the nature of those events–many games by one player and mostly unplayed games by the other players. Such an event should probably be treated as a match, regardless of who directed it.

The pattern of a positive record by a previously unrated player in his first few events followed by an extended string of losses against the same player or players in subsequent events is also worthy of review.

Those types of patterns should probably be reviewed by the office regardless of whether the TD was a player in the event. Whether that review happens before an event is rated or afterward is unclear, though some of the patterns may not be discernible until after several events.

I’d be very reluctant to play in an event that I was directing if I didn’t have an assistant TD, even one who was also playing, to make rulings regarding my games. I agree that many smaller tournaments wouldn’t happen without a playing TD, and that there is rarely a problem. Still, I rarely play in my own tournaments, even as a house player.

Alex Relyea

I feel the time control plays a significant role whether The TD plays. Faster time controls, G/60 or faster, tend to have simul time scrambles, where the TD should be free for quick multiple rulings.

Time controls, such as 30/90, is a much more liesurely pace. I see nothing wrong with the TD playing a small weekly event.

All the best, Joe Lux, NTD

I would play to even out the number of players, but only for events like quads, mini-swisses, or a small swiss section…events that can be paired quickly and easily. I’d also get a volunteer or two that I trusted from the players attending to help out when needed. That’s how I used to do it back in my club organizing days anyway. Seemed to work out well. Once you have a core set of players that attend your monthly events, it gets easy.