BITS & PIECES

Edited by Nancy Evans

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEW ITEMS

 

“CROSSTABLES NOW ONLINE!”

The USCF is pleased to announce a new resource for members and tournament organizers: the membership services area located at http://msa.USChess.org.  You can use the membership services area to look up a tournament, a USCF member, or a USCF affiliate.  The information on the membership services area is updated on a weekly basis.  You will see your tournament cross tables from 1991 to the present.  You can also get the latest information on USCF membership renewals.  The membership services area is still in beta testing, but we believe that it is well enough developed so that you can benefit from it.  We invite all tournament directors and tournament organizers to visit http://msa.USChess.org to give us your feedback.

 

Organizers and directors of FIDE rated tournaments should be aware of the new FIDE regulations posted at http://www.fide.com/official/handbook.asp.  These new regulations will be of particular interest to anyone organizing a tournament in which norms are possible.

 

Tournament Crosstables:  When there is more than one section in a tournament it is possible that all sections will not be rated in the same week.  Some of the reason’s for this could be that a membership has not been processed yet, there could be a result that is not correct and we need to fix it before it can be rated, we cannot find an ID number for someone.  We will not hold up rating the other sections because of a problem in another section.  So do not get upset if you do not receive all the sections for your tournament at the same time.  As soon as the remaining sections are rated you will receive the rest of your crosstable.

 

Rating Supplement Downloads: USCF rating supplements are available as a free download from the members only area of the USCF website (www.uschess.org.)  Any member or affiliate can download the rating supplement by visiting the members only area and following the posted instructions.

 

Dual Rating Events with Time Controls of G/30 to G/60: The USCF is improving the accuracy of quick ratings by increasing the number of games that are rated under the quick rating system.  Any tournament with a time control between G/30 and G/60 inclusive that is submitted on disk with the time control indicated on the rating report will be rated under both the regular rating system and the quick rating system.  A tournament director or organizer who submits a rating report on paper only (no disk) may have the tournament dual rated by submitting a double rating fee.  Tournaments with time controls of G/10 to G/29 will continue to be rated using only the quick rating system.  Tournaments with time controls of G/61 or slower will continue to be rated using only the regular rating system.  If no time control is indicated on the rating report, the tournament will be rated using only the rating system indicated on the rating report. 

 

Expiration Dates: Please note that on the Regular and Quick rating lists we are now putting XX in the expiration date field for anyone who is not a valid member.  If there is an XX in the expiration date it means that no membership money was received for that person.  We created the x-member record in order to rate a tournament in which the person participated.

 

TLA Advertising Rates:

Chess Life

Lines 1-6:      $2.00 per line for one insertion (one issue), subsequent insertions half price.

Lines 7-24:    $3.00 per line for one insertion (one issue), subsequent insertions half price.

Lines 25 and above:  $4.00 per line for one insertion (one issue), subsequent insertions half price.

 

NOTE:  The TLA deadline is the 10th of each month for events beginning on or after the 15th of the month two months later (January 10th deadline for events starting March 15th or after, etc).

 

If you do not indicate how many TLA insertions you wish, you will be billed for the maximum possible number of insertions.  For example, a May 1 event submitted January 10 will obtain two insertions.

 

If you obtain the number of insertions desired, and there is time for more insertions than you request, you will obtain only the latest insertion(s).  For example, a May 1 event submitted January 10 and requesting one insertion will appear in the “May issue” coming out in early April, but not in the “April issue” coming out in early March.

 

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Rating fee for events played in 2003:

Minimum rating fee for any event: $5.00

Rating reports submitted on paper: $0.30 per game

Rating reports submitted on disk: $0.15 per game

Scholastic or Quick Chess reports submitted on paper: $0.20 per game.

Scholastic or Quick Chess reports submitted on disk: $0.10 per game.

 

Rating fee for events played in 2004:

Minimum rating fee for any event submitted on paper: $8.00

Minimum rating fee for any eventsubmitted on disk: $5.00

Rating reports submitted on paper: $0.40 per game

Rating reports submitted on disk:  $0.20 per game

 

Rating fees and PHBF fees are to be remitted together with the rating report.

 

Requirements for submission of Match play:

Both players must have established ratings, and their differential has to be less than 400 points (the latest published rating prior to the match will be used for calculating the rating difference).

 

Each match report must be submitted with the appropriate rating fee.

 

Reports need to be validated by a certified tournament director or by a notarized statement signed by both players.

 

The maximum rating change allowed from a match is 50 points.  No player’s rating may go up or down more than one rating class within a three-year period solely through match play.  Match results will not be taken into account for invitational events unless they are subsequently confirmed in tournament play.

 

 

RECURRING ITEMS

 

 

Share the Rating Supplement: The Bits & Pieces and TD Corner columns have much important information for both TDs and players. Make a copy of the columns and make them available at your club. When you get a new director at your club, encourage him or her to review the back issues, especially the TD Corner.

 

 

USCF Membership Requirements: USCF membership is required to play in USCF rated events. It is not permitted to include both members and non-members in a section and only report the results of games between members. It is a very good idea to have a non-rated section for non-members. Participants in the Junior Tournament Player program are an exception to the membership requirement and are allowed to participate in rated play in tournaments run at their school which are limited to only players from that school. See the JTP form for complete information as there is an exception for JTP participants in grades K - 3.

 

Foreign GMs, WGMs, IMs, and WIMs (those living outside the US and whose FIDE federation is not USA) are an exception to the membership requirement.  These players are allowed to participate in USCF events without becoming a USCF member. If you have a player in this category play in your event, please collect and send the office their birthdate and mailing address information. This is important so we can identify them when they play in subsequent events. Include a note stapled to the front of the report for first

time FIDE and CFC rated players so we can properly start their rating. FIDE and CFC rated players will be credited with that rating + 50 points based on 10 games. It is very important to let these players know that they are not eligible to win Grand Prix points if they do not purchase a membership.

 

Late Submission Of Memberships And Rating Reports:  It is very important to our members that new and renewing memberships be submitted promptly. Please make every effort to send them to the office within 1-2 days of being received.  If you are running a tournament that will last for 2 or more weeks, don’t hold the memberships until the rating report is ready for submission.

 

Labels for Chess Life are normally created in the first week of every month. If a new or lapsed renewal is received after the date the labels are created, they will not receive their magazine until a supplemental mailing is done approximately 6 weeks later. For someone whose membership ends in March, if we don’t receive a renewal by about March 1st, there is a very strong possibility that they will not receive the April issue of Chess Life until 6 – 8 weeks after the membership is received.

 

 

 

Some of our organizers have been waiting to submit rating reports until they get the ID numbers back from the USCF. Please do not do this.  Send your rating reports in promptly. Your efforts to insure that the ID numbers are included in the report are greatly appreciated, especially for the large scholastic events. However, we prefer to receive the reports as quickly as possible to be able to rate tournaments promptly.

 

Phone numbers of Special Referees (Last Updated November 3, 2003):

 

Carol Jarecki

NY

(212) 912-0972

Ira Lee Riddle

PA

(215) 674-9049

Robert Tanner

AZ

(480) 668-4730

Randy Hough

S CA

(626) 282-7412

Harold Stenzel

NY

(631) 218-4440

Dan Burg

OR

(503) 224-2914

Bill Snead

TX

(806) 372-4387

Tim Just

IL

(847) 244-7954

Alan Losoff

IL

(702) 510-8882

Bill Goichberg

NY

(845) 496-9658

Andrew Thall

TX

(956) 723-8067

 

 

 

A special referee is a director with substantial experience who is available to provide advice or make a ruling by phone.  See rule  21J. "The Special Referee" (pages 70 - 71) in the 4th Edition of the U.S. Chess Federation's Official Rules of Chess.  If you are interested in volunteering, contact the Rules Committee, c/o the USCF Office.

 

Looking up players ratings and ID numbers:  Each rating supplement, both paper and disk,  covers a different period of time. The December annual supplement will have the ID numbers and ratings for a player who participated in an event rated anytime during the entire previous year. The June semi-annual list will cover the preceding six months. The February, April, August, and October lists only cover a two- month period. If you are just starting an affiliate this month, you should request the December 2002 issue so you cover anyone who has played in the past 24 months.

 

Rating List On Disk: You can still order rating lists on 3.5-inch diskettes.  Single copies are $10.00 for February, April, August, and October lists, and $15.00 for the June and December lists.  A one-year rating-list-on-disk subscription, consisting of six consecutive issues, costs $55.00. 

 

 

 

 

SUBMITTING TOURNAMENT REPORTS

 

Please make sure your disk information and the paper backup are in the same order: It is very difficult to match up player information when one copy is in pairing order and the other is in scoring order.

 

Mailing Rating Reports on Disk:  Due to the methods the Post Office is using to process the mail, we are receiving a number of disks which have been radiated.  Before you put your rating reports in the mail, if you could please write on the outside envelope that there is a disk enclosed maybe this will help avoid this problem.

 

General Comment:  Please include both your affiliate name and ID number with your report. NOTE: USCF-rated tournaments must be sponsored by a current member affiliate and directed by a TD whose certificate is current.

 

Please remember to include a paper copy of the crosstable when submitting rating reports on disk.  We have received reports on disk without paper crosstables.  There may be a delay in processing your rating report on disk without a paper crosstable! The disk files do not contain players' names.

 

Also, please enter "USA", not "US" or "United States", in the "country" field for events played in the United States.  This does not affect processing. However, when producing the Rated Events list, the computer will list the events that do not contain "USA" in the "country" field under "ArmyPO, FleetPO, FOREIGN."  The list then has to be manually corrected.  Also remember to include the cover page from the OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT REPORT FORM. It is required even when submitting a rating report on disk. Please request and use the most recent form.

 

Stapled Checks:  Many organizers submit memberships with a check stapled to each membership form. This is not necessary and does not help our staff. It takes us additional time to unstaple the checks before we can process the memberships. Please just enclose the loose membership forms and checks in an envelope. Please group the checks together, not interspersed in the membership forms.

 

Birthdates Needed: Please include the birthdates of ALL members when sending in New or Renewal memberships. This information is needed to insure that all qualified members receive their ballots. It also helps us to identify correct ID numbers. Please do not guess birthdates and be careful that you don't make an error. When we are looking up ID numbers to see if a player had a previous ID, if the birthdates are different, we normally do not consider them the same person. If you only know the month and year, leave the day blank if you are unable to get that information from the player.

 

FIDE-rated Events: When submitting FIDE-rated tournament reports,  include a list of participants who played games with an accelerated time control (example, games with time controls of G/75).  These games are not FIDE-ratable; thus the office has to remove the results from the crosstable prior to submitting the rating report to FIDE. The best way to list the non ratable games is to include a statement such as.  "Rounds 1-2 for players # 1,3,4,6,9 were played at G75"

 

Please include an extra copy of the crosstable with your report. Title the extra copy FIDE information, Attn: Ratings Manager.  Indicate on the extra copy which players have FIDE ratings. FIDE ID numbers and ratings are not necessary but do help.

 

All FIDE-rated USCF events must be FIDE-registered two months prior to the start of an event. Contact the Ratings Manager for details.

 

Blank norm certificates are now available on the USCF website.  If you are running an international tournament, please fill out a norm certificate for any player or TD who satisfies the criteria for a GM, IM or IA norm.  The original certificate should be sent to FIDE, and copies should be given to the person who earns the norm and mailed to the USCF office at:

 

USCF

ATTN: Joan DuBois

3054 US Rte. 9W

New Windsor, NY 12553

 

For information about the rules for earning a norm, please visit the FIDE website or contact Glenn Petersen at the USCF office.

 

Rating reports on disk:   Before you mail your rating report on disk, please verify that the Thexport.dbf, Tsexport.dbf and Tdexport.dbf  files are on the disk. We have been receiving disks with one or more files missing.  Failure to submit all the files will cause a delay in rating your event while we contact you for the replacement files. Please also remember to give us your e-mail address on the  rating report cover, so we can contact you if there is a problem.

 

 

 

Attention Tournament Organizers

 

Chess players rely on you to submit prompt and complete rating reports.  It is very important to submit tournament rating reports within seven days of the conclusion of your tournament.  The USCF rates most tournaments within one to two weeks of receiving the rating report.  Tournament reports that are submitted late will be rated out of chronological order, and this may cause some players to receive more (or less) rating points than they deserve. 

 

The USCF office would like to thank the majority of our tournament organizers and directors who work hard to submit complete tournament reports on time.  Prompt submission of rating reports is particularly important for FIDE rated events.  FIDE charges the USCF a late fee for tournament reports that are submitted late, and we regret that we must pass this fee on to organizers who submit late reports for FIDE rated events.  Starting December1, 2002, the USCF will charge a $70 late fee to any tournament organizer who submits a rating report for a FIDE rated event that is postmarked more than 10 days after the conclusion of the event.  We regret the need to institute this measure, but we can not afford to pay thousands of dollars in late fees.

 

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS

 

THE ON-LINE TD

 

FIDE Rules: Visit ChessCafe. There are a very interesting set of articles titled  An Arbiter's Notebook  by Geurt Gijssen. Mr. Gijssen is the chairman of the FIDE rules commission. The site also has many of the previous articles archived.  These articles give the TD insight into the rules issues being faced by other federations as well as useful background information that may help to build your knowledge base as a TD.

 

FIDE Web-site: FIDE now provides the quarterly rating lists as a free download. They have recently changed their URL and the new address is FIDE. 

 

For the TD:  Setting a Digital Clock – Check out Michael Atkins' page on Using Digital Clocks for a very valuable and interesting web page.  Carol Jarecki's article describing the digital clock functions is on the site.  Thanks also go to Mike Atkins for creating the web page.

 

Using  ratings from the USCF ratings web-page:  Using OTB ratings on the website for pairing and prize purposes is a permitted variation from the standard rule of using the current rating supplement. If you intend to use the website ratings, it is very important to review the clarifications to the rules in the December 2000 Rating Supplement or the December 1999 Chess Life Magazine. This is an important change and should be published in all advance publicity. If a player does not have a published rating, you can use the website rating as this is permitted by rule 28D. Remember to post this procedure so players are aware of what you are doing.