Just the Rules: A Finished Game Gets Scored as a Bye?!

Byes are given out to players for games not played. Sometimes it is a full-point bye. Sometimes it is a half-point bye. Occasionally a zero-point bye creeps into that mix. And then there is the bye you pick up as a substitute for your just completed game. Check out two such scenarios where this could happen, and what to do if it does:

Converting an OTB Victory into a Bye?!

“PAIRINGS ARE UP,” is the shout heard around the tournament site. Wood-pushers are drawn to those posted match-ups like a hungry person drawn to a Vegas buffet. You find that you are at board 17 essaying the black pieces against an unrated opponent: it is their first event.

When all is said and done you pick up the win. You properly record your 0–1 victory. Later, when you check the wallchart, you notice your contest was scored as a full-point bye for you, and that your opponent had disappeared. It is as if you did not even play that game. What does the wallchart say about your opponent? You can’t even seem to locate your adversary’s name. Did your rival’s identity fall into a wallchart wormhole?

The TD explains that your opponent slipped through the cracks. Rule 23C requires all tournament participants to have a current US Chess membership, but your opponent was not a US Chess member. The TD fixed your problematical game versus the non-member wood-pusher by erasing them from the event entirely, as if they had never entered. You still get your victory point towards prizes and pairings, but it is simply noted as a one-point bye. The TD then avoids paying a small fix-it fee — when submitting the tournament report — that would temporarily make that non-member legal for this tournament only.

TJ Says:

The TD is blatantly ignoring rule 23C (all of the event’s players need to be US Chess members) to save a few fix-it bucks. Your rating is impacted. Ask the director to fix (stop!) this practice. If they fail to do so, notify US Chess.

The Mix and Match Game

You got your dream job, but it is located in a different time zone. Moving that far away means jumping through a lot of hoops, including finding a new chess club. With a little detective work you find that new venue to essay your games. This new club holds weeknight events that allow both US Chess and non-US Chess members to enter … in the same section. Only games between US Chess members will be reported to US Chess in the rating report.

If any non-member is one of the wood-pushers in any match-up, the appropriate byes for both contestants are recorded to reflect the actual game score. The game winner is awarded a one-point bye while the loser is assigned a zero-point bye. If the game is a draw, a half-point bye is given to each contestant. All those byes count towards pairings and prizes. The exact game results for games played between two US Chess members are left intact.

The TD fudges the US Rating report by first eliminating the non-members. In rounds where the US Chess member pushes wood against those — now removed — non-members, only the appropriate bye for the US Chess member (reflecting the actual game result) is recorded. The club (TD?) claims that the purpose of this style of tournament is to promote chess.

TJ Says:

The club (TD?) is blatantly ignoring rule 23C. Your rating — as well as every other US Chess member’s rating — in this tournament is impacted. Ask the club and director to stop this practice. If they fail to do so, notify US Chess.

Want more? Past columns can be found here or by searching the Chess Life Online archives.
 

Plus, listen to Tim when he was a guest on the podcasts “One Move at a Time” and “The Chess Angle.”