At the National Open, there are several free lectures you will be able to attend, two of them will be led by an individual with nearly 40 years of directing, National Tournament Director Tim Just.
Tim Just has been directing since the late 1980’s. Along the way he has achieved the NTD title along with the FIDE NA title. He is the past longtime chair of the Tournament Directors Certification Committee. His membership on the Rules committee spans decades. Since 2003 Tim has been the editor of the 5th , 6th and 7th editions of the US Chess rulebook. His column “Just the Rules” appears monthly on the front page of the US Chess web site. Many of his directing skills were honed at an over 20-year stint as a TD at the Vegas National Open, now the Las Vegas Chess Festival. As an organizer his leadership has impacted the success many local, state and national tournaments. As an author his best selling book, “My Opponent is Eating a Doughnut” tells the numerous entertaining tales from the chess universe.
TD Tactics: Saturday, 1:00pm, Lake Mead
TD Tactics will improve your TD skills. It is the same workshop approach as the one presented yearly at the US Open. TD credit that can be used as a substitute when moving up the TD certification ladder and is available for those it applies to. An abundance of “Rules of thumb” will be discussed along with tips and tricks that yield big results. Your new skills will have an opportunity to be tested on some practice exercises involving rules applications and prize fund distributions.Sa
Rulebook Tactics: Sunday, 1:00pm, Lake Mead
Rulebook Tactics delivers easy to recall shortcuts for applying complicated rules. Learn some simple strategies that will keep you in line with the US Chess rulebook. Find out the history and meaning behind many of our most utilized rules. There will even be time to explore some of our rulebook’s hidden secrets.
