Just the Rules: US Chess Committees

Take a peek at the US Chess list of working committees. How many groups do you recognize? These committees keep our federation’s wheels greased. Some of these volunteer groups are higher-profile than others, but all serve essential functions. The Rules Committee is probably a lot more recognizable by wood-pushers than the Awards Committee, for example. The Audit Committee, plus the Finance & Reserve Fund Committee, plays with greenbacks so that we all have the opportunity to be 64 square chess generals. The Ethics Committee deals with the moral principles, integrity, codes, and values we ascribe to when wood is pushed. 

Committee work takes dedication and often some special expertise: The Ratings Committee, e.g., requires members conversant in statistics. The TDAC (Tournament Directors & Arbiters) Committee is staffed by experienced TDs. There are three committees that you and other wood-pushers are likely to have contact with among all the others on the list. Let’s check them out!

The Ethics Committee

Fair play violations — AKA cheating — find their way into the hands of this group. There is a price to pay when your opponent gets caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Did they fib about their ID? Did they have a confederate help them score a point against you? Did they tell stories about you to others that were fake? Did they falsify ratings reports or game results? Perhaps you witnessed one of these moral lapses. Or perhaps you were the victim of one of these nefarious practices. 

Ethics does not play Sherlock Holms by independently investigating the cases it reviews further. The committee only deals with the facts handed over to it initially. 

The Rules Committee

Occasionally, sound- and clear-looking rules aren’t. Everyone seems to understand the meaning, until someone doesn’t. This group tweaks wiggle room in the rules to make them clear. Often, new rules get reviewed for a thumbs up or down from the committee. New rules debated at the Delegates convention get a looksee from the committee before the debate begins. The group’s expertise is shared with the rule-makers. Some new proposals from the Delegates may get a second evaluation from Rules before they get approval. 

Some appeals sent to US Chess regarding rules enforcement get reviewed by this committee, too. The initial complaint generates questions and debates amongst its members. Occasionally, the committee asks for further information from the parties involved in the rules dispute. Each reply from each individual party may take as long as 30 days. This group is made up of unpaid volunteers with vast experience in tournament regulations. 

The TDAC Committee

This collection of experienced tournament directors oversees the TD certification testing process. The committee creates exams for each level of certification, along with reassessing and tweaking current exams. The multiple-choice exams for Club, Local, and Senior TDs are administered by the US Chess staff, but ANTD and NTD essay exams are evaluated by appointed committee members. There are also exams for FIDE TD US Chess recommendations. TD certification levels are created by this body. 

The committee further develops, and presents, TD workshops online and, sometimes, live at national tournaments. Training is the name of the game. 

Like the Rules Committee, appeals get forwarded to TDAC for evaluation and resolution. These appeals typically involve TD decisions and TD behaviors. The investigation also may ask for more information from all the parties involved in the process. While it would be unusual, those individual parties may each also take as long as 30 days before deliberations take place. You might be a witness or a victim of a TD miscue. 

Contact

You can contact all of the committees listed on the link in this column’s first sentence. Given the assigned duties of those committees, it may take some time to get a reply. Most committees are not set up for individual tutoring. IMHO, you will get a faster response by simply posting your questions and concerns on the US Chess Forums. 

Are you a newly minted TD with questions about pairings? Ask your question on the US Chess Forums and a boatload of experienced TDs will be glad to address your concerns — immediately. Do you have concerns about the proper way to pay out prizes? Post that concern on the Forums and watch the replies erupt! You get the idea. 

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 “One Move at a Time”, “The Chess Angle” and his interview hosted by Kathy Lin (Columbus Chess Academy).

TDs are the rock that our tournaments are built on. Now, you can check out the latest list of TDs that recently upgraded: Introducing TD Upgrades Chart | US Chess.org

Tim Just is a National Tournament Director, FIDE National Arbiter, and editor of the 5th, 6th, and 7th editions of the US Chess Rulebook. He is also the author of My Opponent is Eating a Doughnut & Just Law, the latter of which is also available from US Chess Sales. Additionally, Tim revised The Guide To Scholastic Chess, a guide created to help teachers and scholastic organizers who wish to begin, improve, or strengthen their school chess program. US Chess awarded the 2022 Tournament Director Lifetime Achievement Award to Tim. He is also a member of the US Chess Rules Committee plus the Tournament Director Certification Committee (TDCC). His new column, exclusive to US Chess, “Just the Rules” will help clarify potentially confusing regulations.