I thought sandbagging wasn't allowed

I'm currently in a tournament that was billed as being for players ranked 0 to 1100. The guy I'm playing is currently ranked 1400+, while I am 1000 something.

I thought "well, this tournament has dragged on since November, maybe he's had a good run and improved his record since then."

But then I scrolled back through his record and his highest rank back in 2007 was 1630.

I thought there were safeguards on this site to prevent sandbagging. I specifically thought that the lowest tournament you could enter was 100 below your all time best ranking.

I would welcome input, especially from the folks who actually work for the site.

Sandbagging appears to only be immoral and not against the rules.

The tourni entry limit is 100 points below your top rating in the last 100 days, perhaps a 200 points below best ever could also be added to make it fairer? Who knows.

Again, there have been many threads on this theme.

This is just another issue that makes RHP not a top tier chess site. Most if not all other sites remove the said player if his/her rating exceeds or falls below the tourney requirements. It is a joke here that the owners of this site have allowed this to happen for years now without taking affirmative action ;(

Originally posted by CamelClutch
I'm currently in a tournament that was billed as being for players ranked 0 to 1100. The guy I'm playing is currently ranked 1400+, while I am 1000 something.

I thought "well, this tournament has dragged on since November, maybe he's had a good run and improved his record since then."

But then I scrolled back through his record and his highest rank ...[text shortened]... anking.

I would welcome input, especially from the folks who actually work for the site.

There is a system in place - Tournament Entry Rating - but it is flawed.

Tournament Entry Rating is calculated by the formula (CurrentRating + HighestRating) / 2.

"HighestRating" is limited to the last 100 days.

The "/2" and the "last 100 days" mean that sandbagging is possible if you do it slowly enough, or take a long enough site absence.

Rating floors, as proposed in Thread 106564 would be a much more effective fix.

Originally posted by Katonah
This is just another issue that makes RHP not a top tier chess site. Most if not all other sites remove the said player if his/her rating exceeds or falls below the tourney requirements. It is a joke here that the owners of this site have allowed this to happen for years now without taking affirmative action ;(

While a good idea in principle what happens if you are rated 1300 join a 1250/1350 tournament and then having 5 or six wins in a row rise to 1380.

Are you kicked from tournament?

What happens if you then lose a few games and drop back to within limits?

Do you reinstate player?

I do not know or am privy to the exact math required to calculate the ratings bell curve but it must be a minimum of 100-200 points either direction of the norm? Guesstimate of course! Players with 100 thru 800 and higher game counts will have the highest possible rating shifts but still should be subject to the same rules. I know GK employs this system where you are removed from the tournament if you fall or exceed a certain prescribed rating for the tournament and that has been ongoing for years!!

The point is not to remove improving players, but to hinder players of a previously known higher rating to spoil the fun...

But Swiss Gambit has pointed already to the correct thread

A good solution would be to harrass and threaten the users who do this and try to get the point accross that their type are not welcome around here.

Originally posted by Tyrannosauruschex
A good solution would be to harrass and threaten the users who do this and try to get the point accross that their type are not welcome around here.

Are you telling people to break the TOS? 😕😠😲

Originally posted by adramforall
Are you telling people to break the TOS? 😕😠😲

It could be done without breaking the rules.

Any player that reaches the rating of 1800 is automatically kicked from the site. The game is to keep your rating at 1799 or lower. That would be a good method.

My rating has dropped from 1550 to 1245 and all the games have bene played out or resigned in hopeles positions. My tournament rating is 1440 until the 1540 rating is past the 100 day mark. Seems reasonably fair to me, though there are problems with the current system.
Has any thought been given to average or median ratings as a way of dealing with the problem of banded tournament entry?

Is naming and shaming allowed? We could do that.

Originally posted by Micahel G
Is naming and shaming allowed? We could do that.

No. That can get you a forum/site ban. Public accusations of cheating and sandbagging are not allowed. The "fair play" and "feedback" system are in place for these problems. As an indivdual you can ignore/refuse to play anyone you choose.

Originally posted by Micahel G
Is naming and shaming allowed? We could do that.

Just link to the relevant tournament. 🙂