| Duties of the Team
Captain
It is not necessary that the team captain be the number one board. Any actively-playing
team member can be the team captain. It may even be desirable to make some other player
than Board 1 the captain so as to reduce the distractions on what may be the most critical
board. The Team Results Record is kept at the captain’s board but in plain sight so
that other players can see the standings at a glance without having to bother the captain.
• Make sure that all participants are seated in listed order.
• Make sure that teammates have their assigned color.
• Make sure that the team listing is properly filled out.
• Report any substitutions or withdrawals to the Pairing Room Director or TD.
• Make sure that all Alternates fill in from the bottom up. This means that if an
alternative is added to replace Board 1, the previous Board 2 becomes the new Board 1, the
previous Board 3 becomes the new Board 2, the previous Board 4 becomes the new Board 3,
and the Alternate becomes the new Board 4. If Board 3 has to sit out because of being
absent, bad play, or sickness, Board 1 and 2 stay as assigned, Board 4 becomes the new
Board 3, and the Alternate becomes the new Board 4. The new Team Results Record should
reflect the current participants in board order.
• Remain aware of the team score.
• Respond to requests from teammates of whether a draw is acceptable from the
team-placement standpoint. In this case, the captain can only say that a draw is okay or
needed. He may also say that a win is needed to win the match. He cannot say things like:
"You should be able to win that position" or "You look like you are in such
bad shape that a draw would be nice." He can only speak of what a draw would mean
to the team standings without reference to the player’s actual game position.
What he definitely cannot do is look at the player’s position and comment on
it! His decision must be based upon the team standings alone–not the position on the
chess board. In fact, if the captain is unsure of how to respond to a player because some
of the other games have not been decided, the most he can do is to say something neutral
like: "I am uncertain whether a draw would help the team at this point. Look at the
other game positions and decide for yourself." He could say "I would not
personally take a draw at the moment because I don’t know what the other scores
are." He can’t say: "Keep playing–your position is better" or
"The worst that you can do in your game is draw from that position so don’t be
in a hurry to accept the draw." The decision to accept or reject the draw offer is
solely that of the player.
• Designate a teammate to act as his replacement if he has to leave the room.
• Assure that a result is obtained for all games.
• Once the round is over, sign and submit the Team Results Record to the official
tournament score keeper.
• Receive any team awards or trophies on behalf of the team. The captain may also
designate this duty to others, such as a teammate or coach.
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