Chess Score Pad is not certified (the application for certification was submitted and denied by the USCF). The USCF does not prohibit the use of electronic scoresheets that are not certified. You just need to check with your tournament director or opponent before using it in a tournament.

I designed Chess Score Pad to be used in small local tournaments where the players are known to each other and the tournament director and the prizes are small. I play in weekly G/30 quads and it is really not an concern that one of us will sneak off to the bathroom with a computer to analyze a game in progress.

As in most chess communities the tournaments are more of a social event and the players value the game more than winning. These are the tournaments where most of the rated games are played and players will benefit from accurate, easy to use, electronic scoresheets.

So check with the tournament director before you use Chess Score Pad Tournament Edition in a tournament.

Here are some notes for Tournament Directors:

1. Chess Score Pad Tournament Edition is a dedicated electronic scoresheet for iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone.
2. It cannot check for illegal moves or positions.
3. It does not contain any chess engines that can be used for analysis.
4. The device must be in "Airplane Mode" for the player to use it to record moves. This means that the device cannot be used for phone calls or text messages.
5. If the player exits Chess Score Pad Tournament Edition during a game the game will automatically be marked "Abandoned" and no further moves can be entered.
6. The time that the first and last move were entered are automatically recorded and displayed with the "Display Notation" command.    

By allowing a player to use Chess Score Pad Tournament Edition you know that their device will be on the playing table in Airplane Mode, in plain sight and cannot be used for phone calls, text messages, or chess engine applications. Not allowing honest players to use their iPad, iPod or iPhone as an electronic scoresheet will not stop the dishonest player from using them to cheat.

Is there any new information concerning the USCF's approval of this app?  Thank you.

Thanks for letting us know about this app. I play a local club on Saturday and i used it on my iPad. Still learning my way around the program but it works well. I have some ideas for suggesting improvements but i want to wait till i use this more to make sure it is not something that i might not understand about the program.

Thanks again for letting us know about the app.

I have a feeling it would be a really long time before the USCF approves the use of Apple/Android devices, especially phones. Not to mention that approving an app by itself is even more complicated since they'd have to take into account how the app interacts on every platform.

As far as I know only eNotate is approved and it works only on non-phone Windows PDAs.

I can still see it being useful though. For example it saves your games on the device so you can look at them anywhere/anytime and also send to people. And makes it simpler to record them instead of going back up to the room and opening your computer (if your brought one at all).