When the ratings fee structure for 2004 was announced in September, we promised to pass along information about online ratings report submissions. Here's an update on where we are with the upgrade of the USCF's computer systems and software, including some actions we would like to ask TD's to take.

On March 16th we started processing memberships using a new program and a new computer system. This is actually the second step in a process that began last summer.

In step one we set up a new member database that has been used to generate the labels for Chess Life since last summer and has been producing most of the data for the ratings supplements since last September.

Step one had other, more visible results, too, because the new database is what we use to transfer updated membership and crosstable information every day to our Member Services Area on the website, http://www.msa.uschess.org.

Our next step will be to redo the online membership page, with the goal of providing a new member with his or her USCF ID quickly (via e-mail) if not immediately. This may already be in place by the time you read this.

With those essential steps completed, we're just about ready to start the rewrite of the ratings system software. And that's where we need your help and cooperation.

Now that members can review their tournament records in full detail via the Members Services Area, we're getting a lot more reports of errors in the ratings reports.

Most of the errors are incorrect USCF ID's. When we have even one wrong ID in a rating report, this can affect quite a few members beyond the two most directly impacted--the member who actually played in that event and the member whose ID was mistakenly used. It can also cause changes to other tournaments any of those individuals played in.

Since the tournament director is responsible for the accuracy of the rating report, when we get a query about an incorrect report, we ask the member to contact the tournament director. If the USCF ID is incorrect, the TD needs to let us know the correct player's ID.

Moreover, our current system was not designed to facilitate correcting tournaments once they have been rated. It is a long and complicated process to rerate an event or correct the ratings in it, and we have a backlog of tournaments waiting to be corrected, a list that grows longer every day.

Therefore we would like to ask TD's to be VERY careful to check their events before submitting them. You can use the Member Services Area to search for ID's that had not been assigned when the member registered for your tournament.

We would also like to ask TD's (and affiliates) to give us their e-mail addresses using an information form that will be available in the Members Only section of the USCF website by the time you read this. Once we have your e-mail address verified and the new rating system in place, we can start sending you any new information automatically by e-mail.

The most important part of the new ratings system, certainly from the TD's point of view, will be the ability to send in results via the Internet. We hope to have this available by early summer. We do not to plan to rewrite the Tournament Administrator program but it is still available free to Certified Tournament Directors. The Tournament Administrator is an old DOS program which has not been updated since 1992. The good news is that we may have a web-based form for creating rating reports for online submission. For large events, though, it will probably be necessary to upgrade the tournament pairing software you use.

Once we have published a new reporting format, we anticipate that new versions of existing tournament pairing programs will become available quickly. And since it will be an open published standard software developers may offer additional choices, such as a program for entering results and preparing the rating report for electronic submission.

This is the starting point for the rewrite, as it is the most critical stage of the entire process. That's also the best time to find and correct errors, before an event is rated.

TD's will become an important part of the validation process in the new ratings programming. With online submissions, we will be able to give you a report back on any problems with your report, including looking for possible errors. (Consider, for example, an event held in California that has 11 ID's for scholastic players from California and one ID for an adult player from New Jersey. That ID is a good candidate for being an incorrect ID.)

The goal of the new programming is to give better service to our members. That translates to faster processing of memberships and ratings reports.