USCF gouging members who just want to learn the rules

Hey, the guy's already said he wasn't gonna bother this thread again.  Now you want him to break his promise twice? 

Does the copyright system seem flawed to anyone else?

I think that there are only a few rules that differ from FIDE and have relevance to the tournament player.  Most notably would be in one of the conditions where a draw is accepted.

In the USCF, a draw can be claimed on insufficient material.  In comparison:

In FIDE, a draw can be claimed on insufficient losing chances.

Now, this is wrong...For the USCF is in fact, a double rip off.

That is not correct. FIDE rules state:

9.6

The game is drawn when a position is reached from which a checkmate cannot occur by any possible series of legal moves. This immediately ends the game, provided that the move producing this position was legal.

which led to a number of controversies. There is the memorable game between Socko and Foisor where each side had a knight and king and eventually the flag of Foisor fell. The game was ruled a win for Socko because well .. there is a series of legal moves where mate can be accomplished. See http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4893 (scroll to the bottom) for more info.

Did I get the terms mixed up?  I meant what was posted above.

You wrote: In FIDE, a draw can be claimed on insufficient losing chances.

which was the old rule where you only had to show that you couldn't lose under normal conditions ..

USCF rules have both draw conditions. Though, there is an update on insufficient losing chances; if you play with delay or increment then you can't claim it at all. Also, if the TD is unsure of the correctness of the claim in the case of game without delay/increment then a capable clock can be substituted and the game continued. I may not have that 100% correct, but it is pretty close.

U.S. Chess Federation's Official Rules of Chess 5th Edition

http://books.google.ca/books?id=DzIYPq8W1UwC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v

Interesting that while all of the USCF apologists are saying "you don't need it (unless you're a TD)", the back cover of my copy says:

"This volume should be a constant companion for EVERY CHESS PLAYER...." (emphasis mine)" 

These problems notwithstanding, the USCF's own published statements are contrary to those saying that TD's are the only ones who "need to know".

While it might make sense to have separate rules for running a tournament vs those governing actual play, the fact remains that the body of rules for both aspects should be freely available online (obviously a charge for the printed version to cover costs is perfectly fine).  There are obvious reasons why some players would and should want to learn them.

It is curious that there some that are so adamant about keeping the status quo that this information remain accessible only to players willing to shell out $18.95 plus shipping (even in one case to the extent of resorting to digging around in profiles to bring personal details into the conversation--how sad).

I would think most TD's would be happy that as many players know the rules as possible if for no other reason than that only legitimate non-routine issues would need to come to his or her attention while busy trying to run a tournament.

I don't think most people posting that everyone doesn't need the rule book are actually saying that the current fact that the rules aren't electronic and free should remain in force. It's just that most of the rules in the book are geared towards someone other than the average tournament player. It is highly geared towards the TD, the blurb on the book about "everyone should have it" notwithstanding.

In fact, the only one that is required to have it is the TD; to become a TD you have to not only have a copy of the book, you have to sign paperwork that you have read it and you have to have the book (and addendum) with you at tournaments you run; sure you can lie and not have it but officially you should.

That said, yes it would be nice if everyone knew all the rules and understood them. Though, there are not many cases, in the events I have run, where I have run into an issue that would have been solved by every player knowing all the rules. The ones I have run into, have been very minor in nature and were quick to clear up just by explaining them when needed.

In my honest opinion, if the rules were available for free online, and I hope the next edition ends up that way (and maybe the current edition), not a whole lot of tournament players are going to bother to read them anyway.

While pairing programs are useful, knowing how to pair manually, and the specific rules for doing so, are important. As a TD, you aren't supposed to just take what the program says as accurate and you should gut-check it to make sure the pairings are following the correct procedures. Plus, if the TDs computer fails in some manner, he/she should be able to continue the tournament without it and know the rules to pair the rest of the rounds.

I know I don't know the pairing rules as well as I should and ran into some pairings in my last tournament that didn't look right. Going back over the rules showed me that the pairings were indeed correct and I learned something about it in the process. Of course, I'm only a Club TD () right now. I need to contact the office and get my "test" so I can try and become a Local TD before my next tourney.

Alrighty, I'll bite. I bought the rule book. Not only did I think it was useful, I also enjoyed reading it. (There's no hope for me.) And I'm not a TD.

For knowledge, I guess.

Agreed. Any TD worth their salt should understand the pairing rules and how to make pairings by hand if necessary. Why? Because the pairing programs sometimes make ridiculous mistakes and it's not good enough to say "the computer makes the pairings."

I have worked with a couple of directors who have said this. It means they shouldn't be behind the computer, and sure as heck shouldn't be on the floor. But hey, they are cheaper!

The Tournament Director is responsible for the pairings. I happen to use Swiss-Sys to make my pairings, but I always take at least a minute to quick-check my pairings for mistakes before posting them. Especially the top few scoregroups, and especially in the late rounds. Experienced players WILL tell you if something is wrong (or could be debated).

FIDE pairing rules are pretty much black-and-white, complete with mathematical formulas and all. With the USCF more than one set of pairings is often possible, and this causes players to voice their concerns (a euphemism for "yell and curse at the TD").

I never thought about "getting something" for my membership dues. I understand that the USCF collects dues in order to keep the organization running. The USCF (and FIDE on the international level) are critical to organized, tournament chess. Without them, there wouldn't be official tournaments, titles, anything.

For casual players, ruling bodies aren't really needed. But for those of us who play in tournaments and play for titles and so on, these bodies are indispensible.