1. You can only offer a draw after you've made a move.
2. Since you're the one to decide whether you promote the pawn to a Queen or something else, you will replace it with the appropriate piece. However, this doesn't matter much.
3. Yes, there would be no point in letting it continue.
Anyway, good luck!
Good Luck, and try to remember in OTB play it is touch move, if you touch a piece and it has a legal move ya gotta move it.Anything else you need to know?
1. If I offer a draw on my turn, do I have to wait for my opponent to respond or can I make a move (in which case, would the offer be still valid?).
Offer after your turn. He has his clock to guide him. If he moves, he refuses. No words necessary. If he offers his hand and/or stops teh clock, it's a draw.
2. If I queen a pawn, do I or does my opponent get the queen?
You're 1872 and have completed 268 games here and you don't know the answer to this? Call the TD over and ask him, or better yet, ask your opponent. Have a hand ready to guard your face.
3. When the game ends, should I stop the clock?
Yes.
Clocks start when TD says they can. Don't wait for your no-showing opponent. Often they come in late to try and psyche you.
Don't chat. Play the board.
Don't be intimidated by the clock and don't ration your moves. If you are playing 40/2 then don't spend 3 minutes for every move. It's necessary to sometimes invest the time and really get to know the position. Subsequent moves usually happen much quicker. I've seen players spend over an hour on one move. It's a skill that needs to be learned. Don't fret.
Hit the clock with the same hand you move your pieces with.
wait - I thought that I had to propose a draw on my turn - really?
wait - I thought that I had to propose a draw on my turn - really?
Think about it. Offer a draw without moving and pressing the clock see what happens. I've seen noobs wait half an hour before they realized their clock was running 
It's a hard lesson to learn 
Practice notation before you go! If you get your moves wrong your opponent can ask you to copy their scoresheet before you move.
shakje - do you mean if I get my notation right?
The best time to offer is after you make a move, and before you press your clock. Don't wait for a response before pressing the clock though. Let him think on his time. You are free to offer any time you like though afaik, so long as it's not distracting, so don't do it 5 minutes after pressing the clock when your opponent is clearly thinking. Best not to do it as he's about to make his move either. Offering at odd times has disadvantages though. If you offer before making a move your opponent can ask you to make your move and then he'll consider your offer.
As for touching a piece, you don't have to move it unless your opponent demands that you do, which if it's a weaker move you can be fairly sure he will. He loses the right to do this only after he has deliberately touched a piece.
=) thank you all, those answers were just what I was looking for.
Hey shuttle,
Please post your results. Also if there is a way to view the tournament you are in online. I would love to track your progress and your OTB rating :)
Some other important rules you should know, If your winning like you have Q and K vs. K but run out of time before you can mate the game is a draw you can't lose on time if you opponent has insufficient winning chances. Also check and see if the clock being used has a delay, I lost a game because I assumed that my opponent had set the delay on the clock, and I didn't notice that there wasn't a delay until I had less than two mins left and I lost on time.
here is the rule I was talking about
14 H1. In a sudden death time control, a player with two minutes or less of remaining time may stop the clock and ask the director to declare the game a draw on the grounds that the player has insufficient losing chances.
The draw shall be awarded if the director believes that a Class C player would have little chance to lose the position against a Master with both having ample time. The exact losing chances of any position cannot be calculated, but a director wishing a more precise standard may consider "little" to mean l ess than 10 percent.
Note that under the "insufficient losing chances" rule, the players' actual ratings are irrelevant, as is the amount of time remaining on the players' clocks. However, the player making the claim must have two minutes or less remaining — otherwise the game continues.
Also, there is a subtle but distinct difference between insufficient losing chances and actual winning chances. A player may be winning the game but still have significant chances of losing.
Directors have several choices under the insufficient losing chances rule. The director may decide:
Careful with your original wording though. You can still lose on time if you don't really have any losing chances, because if your flag falls you will lose if there is any possible combination of moves on the board that will put you in checkmate. Even really stupid ones.
I do not think that we are playing "sudden death" time controls, it is 60/90, which I assume to mean 60 minute with 90 second increments.
But that claim offer is very interesting - but I guess as steven pointed out, one could completely blunder and lose a winning position.
Thanks, I would have never found those rules online, with my research defficiency skills =).
Immortalgamer: although I am not too keen on giving our personal information, I will post significant games from my tourney!
wish me luck!
shuttlechess92
I am going to USCF tournament this weekend, and I would like some questions answered.
1. If I offer a draw on my turn, do I have to wait for my opponent to respond or can I make a move (in which case, would the offer be still valid?).
2. If I queen a pawn, do I or does my opponent get the queen?
3. When the game ends, should I stop the clock?
Thanks!