Only Chess
20 Feb 07
20 Feb 07
I've never had the opportunity to join an OTB tournament, so I really have no clue what happens at them.
If I ever get the chance to join one, I'm curious about tournament set-ups that players on RHP have participated in:
- How are OTB tournaments usually set up? (Round-robin? Swiss knock-out?)
- What are the normal time controls?
- How many days do they take?
- How many games do you play a day?
- I often see games that say things like "Round 27" or other high numbers. How can a tournament possibly go 27 rounds?
- How do they calculate your rating? After the tournament or during?
Just curious..
20 Feb 07
There are a big number of different kinds of tournamnets.
With long times or with short times. With a large number of rounds, with a low numbers of rounds. Tournaments ends the same day, tournament goes ofer 5 monthrs. Cup-stile, or every one to every one, or even something in between.
When you enter the tournamnet you'll know everything there is to know. If it suits you, enter, else, wait for a better one for you.
20 Feb 07
1 edit
Originally posted by FabianFnasI know there are different kinds of tournaments, but what I would like is for someone to describe a typical OTB tournament they entered.
There are a big number of different kinds of tournamnets.
With long times or with short times. With a large number of rounds, with a low numbers of rounds. Tournaments ends the same day, tournament goes ofer 5 monthrs. Cup-stile, or every one to every one, or even something in between.
When you enter the tournamnet you'll know everything there is to know. If it suits you, enter, else, wait for a better one for you.
20 Feb 07
Originally posted by FabianFnasSpeaking as a weekend player; a non-professional, chess-playing adult with a regular full-time job, what would be *a* typical OTB-style tournament? I know they can be different from place to place, and depending on the participants and organisers. Just tell me about a tournament you participated in.
I don't see that there are any typical tournaments. Join a tournament that you like, that's all.
20 Feb 07
Originally posted by bosintangLast weekend I played in the Portsmouth Congress.
I know there are different kinds of tournaments, but what I would like is for someone to describe a typical OTB tournament they entered.
1. 100+ or so players usually enter;
2. 4 sections. Open, Major, Minor, Challengers (anyone can enter the open but the others have a maximim rating of about 2200, 1900 and 1600);
3. Each tournament was a 6 round Swiss. 1 Friday (pm), 3 Saturday, 2 Sunday;
4. 36 moves in 1.5 hours then 15 minutes added in which to complete the game;
5. £25 entry fee;
6. About £200 prize money in each section;
7. Results count towards grading but only seem to be changed yearly.
20 Feb 07
Originally posted by FabianFnasi think what he is looking for is what to expect if he does decide to join a tournament otb. so that he isn't surprised when he gets there? he obviously hasn't nothing to relate it to so saying something like "join a tournament that you like" isn't going to help him much. i hope this clarifies a little.
I don't see that there are any typical tournaments. Join a tournament that you like, that's all.
unfortunately i can't help you out.
20 Feb 07
Originally posted by StocktonI'd love to join a tournament but until I repatriate back to Canada, I don't live in a place where I have any access to them. For the purpose of this thread, I'm just kind of hoping to get a feel for what a tournament experience would be like by someone writing about their own.
i think what he is looking for is what to expect if he does decide to join a tournament otb. so that he isn't surprised when he gets there? he obviously hasn't nothing to relate it to so saying something like "join a tournament that you like" isn't going to help him much. i hope this clarifies a little.
20 Feb 07
Originally posted by StocktonIt is a tricky question. There is no typical tournaments.
i think what he is looking for is what to expect if he does decide to join a tournament otb. so that he isn't surprised when he gets there? he obviously hasn't nothing to relate it to so saying something like "join a tournament that you like" isn't going to help him much. i hope this clarifies a little.
unfortunately i can't help you out.
In a chessclub there might be typical tournaments and a good advice is to ask what kinds of tournaments they have there. But they are not globally typical, perhaps locally typical, but this is something no one can answer in this specific case.
I usually like Monrad type of tournaments, with half-an-hour for each player and game. This kind can be finished over a weekend. They are not rating grounded. The benefit for this kind is that you don't have to play with players far higher or far lower you own skill the most of the games. I like them.
But if they are typical? Have no idea.
Therefore - my advice is to join a local club to find out what kind of tournaments you like. If they can't give you tournament of your liking, go find another club.
But my opinion is - there are no typical tournaments.
20 Feb 07
1 edit
Originally posted by Dragon FireThanks Dragon Fire.
Last weekend I played in the Portsmouth Congress.
1. 100+ or so players usually enter;
2. 4 sections. Open, Major, Minor, Challengers (anyone can enter the open but the others have a maximim rating of about 2200, 1900 and 1600);
3. Each tournament was a 6 round Swiss. 1 Friday (pm), 3 Saturday, 2 Sunday;
4. 36 moves in 1.5 hours then 15 minutes add ...[text shortened]... ize money in each section;
7. Results count towards grading but only seem to be changed yearly.
Curious about the rounds. Is a round just one game? How is it decided whether you play black or white? (Or is 3 white, 3 black)? It must be mentally exhausting playing 3 games in one day!
20 Feb 07
Originally posted by bosintangThe rules for deciding who plays who in a Swiss tournament are quite complicated. The general idea is that each round each player plays someone with the same number of points as themselves and they alternate colours. Obviously players will never play the same opponent twice.
Thanks Dragon Fire.
Curious about the rounds. Is a round just one game? How is it decided whether you play black or white? (Or is 3 white, 3 black)? It must be mentally exhausting playing 3 games in one day!
This is impossible to achieve in practice, so what happens is the tournament controller will start with the people with the most points and try to give them exactly what they need next round, then look at the people half a point behind these and so on down to the bottom.
If there isn't a suitable opponent for someone then the nearest match is made, for example if someone has 4/4 then he may play someone with 3/4 in round 5. The person who had 4/4 is said to have had a "downfloat" and the person who had 3/4 an "upfloat". The tournament controller will try to keep the number of upfloats and downfloats for each player the same. For example, if there are an odd number of people on 3/5 so that one of them will have to have a downfloat to play someone with 2/5, then the controller will look through all those on 3/5 to see if any of them have had an upfloat in a previous round.
The choice of colours is the lowest priority. Since White tends to win more games than Black you will generally get more people due a Black in round 2 than is possible to satisfy, so it is very common for people to get two Whites in the first two rounds of a tournament if they won their first game, and conversely if someone loses their first round with Black they may well be rewarded with another Black in round 2! The controller will try to even things out in later rounds.
20 Feb 07
1 edit
Originally posted by Dragon FireThat seems pretty typical for the congresses I used to play in (though it's about 18 years since the last one!)
Last weekend I played in the Portsmouth Congress.
1. 100+ or so players usually enter;
2. 4 sections. Open, Major, Minor, Challengers (anyone can enter the open but the others have a maximum rating of about 2200, 1900 and 1600);
3. Each tournament was a 6 round Swiss. 1 Friday (pm), 3 Saturday, 2 Sunday;
4. 36 moves in 1.5 hours then 15 minutes add ...[text shortened]... ize money in each section;
7. Results count towards grading but only seem to be changed yearly.
Then there are the single day rapid-play tournaments. A typical one seems to be (again, it's a long time) 5-6 games at 30 minutes per player, using Swiss pairing. There'll probably be separate grading sections if there are enough people entering to make it worthwhile.
20 Feb 07
Originally posted by Fat LadyBasic to the Swiss system is that within each score group, beginning when all are at 0, the top half plays the bottom half. Thus, in the first round of a 40 player Swiss, player 1 has white against 21, 22 has white against 2, 3 has white against 23, etc. Unrated players complicate matters, of course.
The rules for deciding who plays who in a Swiss tournament are quite complicated. The general idea is that each round each player plays someone with the same number of points as themselves and they alternate colours. Obviously players will never play the same opponent twice.
If there are no upsets, colors and everything else is easy in round two. However, there are almost always upsets, so as Fat Lady points out, some adjustments must be made. The USCF rules, which govern US tournaments, list as priorities:
1. avoid players meeting twice
2. equal scores
3. upper half vs. lower half
4. equalizing colors
5. alternating colors
I'm playing in a tournament this weekend. It is a five-round Swiss with G/120 time control. Likely, there will be 60 or so players, making it the largest event in my city, as it is most years. The top rated player most years is an IM, and there may be a few unrateds at the bottom, as well as players with USCF ratings as low as 500.
There are three rounds Saturday, starting at 10:00, 2:30, and 7:00, and two rounds Sunday, starting at 9:00 and 1:30. We have one local player that has been living in Russia and is making the trip home for the event, but most players come from within 300 miles away.
20 Feb 07
2 edits
Originally posted by bosintangA round is a single game lasting up to 3.5 hours. 1.5 hours each to do 36 moves and then and extra 15 minutes to complete the game.
Thanks Dragon Fire.
Curious about the rounds. Is a round just one game? How is it decided whether you play black or white? (Or is 3 white, 3 black)? It must be mentally exhausting playing 3 games in one day!
There are rules that apply in a Swiss tournament on how colours are allocated but as a general rule you will alternate colours if possible and play an opponent on the same points as you. Players are usually seeded so the top half in each score bracket play the bottom half. Sometimes a player floats down or up if there is an odd number of players on a score. You could play 4 of 1 colour and 2 of the other but not 5 and 1 depending on score as score takes preceedence in pairing
3 long games on Saturday is exhausting.
After round 3 I was one of the leaders although I had conceeded 2 pointless draws (from won positions) in the blitz finish (both games going well into the last 30 minutes for a total playing time each game of about 3h15m) and felt I wanted an early night. In a slightly better position (as white) I offered my opponent a draw about move 20 but he would not take it - wanting to finish early I then played very negatively going for a quick draw (against the eventual winner of the tournament) and threw away not only the win but the draw as well and ended up with a 75 move game finishing at 10.55pm and getting home and to bed at about 1am, exhausted!
Sunday am I was shattered, my concentration lacking when I shot past the motorway junction for the 10am start, tried to take a short cut back and got lost and arrived with 20 minutes of my time gone. I went in for a crazy sacrifice but it worked and was looking good when on move 36 in the blitz ending I had 16 minutes to my opponents 30. Then still an exchange and 2 pawns up with an easy win I had 3 minutes to his 6 to complete the game (those extra 20 minutes would have been useful now) when I threw away my advantage and conceeded another draw.
Worn out after a quick lunch round 6 started but by now I could not concentrate, I played badly and lost badly looking a shadow of my earlier self and making one bad move after another. I was too exhausted to play. It was my worst game of the tournament.