Information for TDs Applying to Work at US Chess National Events

The US Chess Federation currently organizes up to five events every year:

• National High School (K-12) Championship
• National Middle School (K-8) Championship
• National Elementary (K-6) Championship
• SuperNationals (quadrennial combination of the previous three events; next edition in 2025)
• US Open Championship
• National K-12 Grades Championship

A list of upcoming national events may be found at this link.  Any events other than the ones listed above are not directly organized by US Chess.  If you are interested in working at a national event not organized by US Chess, you will need to contact the organizer of that event.

For these events, the following positions are generally hired:

• Chief Tournament Director
• Floor Chief
• Section Chief
• Floor TD
• Scorekeeper (only at National Elementary and National K-12 Grades)
• Backroom Chief
• Pairing Chief
• Chess Control Manager
• Chess Control Staff
• Guest Grandmaster
• Analyst
• DGT Operator

US Chess is always interested in hiring tournament directors to work at these events.  Below is a list of general criteria considered by the Events Department.  Note that some of the general criteria apply to specific positions.

• Directing experience (not necessarily at national events, but prior large-event experience is highly useful)
• Recommendation
• Certification level for TDs
  • for Chief TD, Floor Chief, or Backroom Chief, NTD certification is required
  • for Section Chief, Associate NTD certification is strongly preferred (highly experienced Senior TDs can apply, but are encouraged to upgrade to NTD/ANTD)
  • for Floor TD, Local TD certification is strongly preferred (highly experienced Club TDs can apply, but are encouraged to upgrade to Local)
• Extensive, demonstrable experience with WinTD (the pairing program used for US Chess national events; required for a backroom chief or a pairing chief)
• Mobility (especially needed for TDs working in the playing halls; lots of walking is involved)
• Title/rating (guest grandmaster must hold GM or WGM title; analysts must be master-strength players at minimum, and must be highly proficient handling commentary on a live stream)
• Customer service experience (especially needed for Chess Control)
• Attention to detail (good for all applicants; especially needed for scorekeepers)

All persons hired to work at a national event are evaluated.  Those evaluations play a significant role in future offers.

All persons interested in working at a national event must pass a background check.  The background check is only requested when an offer of employment is made.  The background check covers criminal and sex offender databases only; no financial, credit or employment history is checked.  The personal information used to conduct the check is held in strict confidence, and is only handled by the Director of Events and the Director of Administration.  Once an individual has cleared the background check, it is considered valid for three years.

The preceding information is not intended to be comprehensive.  US Chess reserves the right to staff its events as it deems necessary.  Final decisions on event staff rest with the Director of Events.

If you would like to work at an upcoming national event, but have not worked one in the last two years, please complete this application and send it to Click here to show email address.

If you would like to work at an upcoming national event, and have worked one within the last two years, please send email to Click here to show email address indicating which event(s) you would like to work, and what position(s) you are interested in holding.

Thank you for your support for and interest in US Chess National Events.