Pardon my ignorance but...

.. new here and never played in tournaments in any form. Having a hard time deciphering the 'terms'. I assume the Long Haul/Sprint refer to the amount of time.

However I don't know what 'Split' or 'Banded' or 'Duel' refer to or if there are Roman numerals next to the name what they mean.

For instance tournament - Sprint Split XXIII.

Also how long would a tournament like that take. I have a 2 week vacation planned in September - would this cause me problems with this tournament

Thanks All,
Steve

Originally posted by SPDChess
.. new here and never played in tournaments in any form. Having a hard time deciphering the 'terms'. I assume the Long Haul/Sprint refer to the amount of time.

However I don't know what 'Split' or 'Banded' or 'Duel' refer to or if there are Roman numerals next to the name what they mean.

For instance tournament - Sprint Split XXIII.

Also how long ...[text shortened]... in September - would this cause me problems with this tournament

Thanks All,
Steve

Long Haul/Sprint refers to the time controls of the tournament.

Long Haul tournaments are 14 or 21 days timeout and 14-21 days of timebank. Very slow tournaments taking years to finish, depending on number of rounds to be played.
Sprint tournaments are 1 day timeout.

Split - this tournament format splits all competitors in 2 groups and the winner(s) of each group meet in the final.

Banded - tournaments for specific rating bands. You can check any players tournament entry ranking on their profile page

Duel - Tournament format played like a cup system. You play only one player over 2 games. Winner progresses to next round. This type of tournament normally goes on for years depending on time controls because of the many rounds needed to get down to the final group.

Roman numerals next to tournaments simply refer to the number of this type setup earlier.

Let's now "translate" Sprint Split XXIII:
Sprint because this tournament is played with 1 day timeout (and 7 day timebank)
Split because the 24 participants are split in two groups of 12 players each. Joining this tournament gives you 22 games (2 against every one in your group)
XXIII because there have been setup 22 tournaments of this type before this one.

Since it is a split tournament with fast time controls you should not worry too much about your september vacation. You should be able to play all games out in a few months. If you make it to the final, you might be in trouble, though.

Hope this helped you.

Thanks cludi,

Very helpful. I've been hesitant to join a tournament just because of my ignorance.

Would the Sprint Split XXIII be an OK to enter for one to get their feet wet as it were. If not can you recommend one?

Steve

Originally posted by SPDChess
Thanks cludi,

Very helpful. I've been hesitant to join a tournament just because of my ignorance.

Would the Sprint Split XXIII be an OK to enter for one to get their feet wet as it were. If not can you recommend one?

Steve

It would be an excellent one to join if you like fast games.
But hurry up, only 1 spot left!

🙁 Missed it but will keep my eyes open.

Thanks again for your help
Steve

As an fyi, while the names do give some information the tournament table lists or the table on the left side of an individual tournaments page gives you all the pertinent information
i.e. from Sprint Duel 64 XLVI
Timeout 1 days
Timebank 7 days
Min. Players 16
Max. Players 64
Pairing Original
Group size 2

To figure out how many games you will get in a round, use the following formula
Games = (Group Size -1) * 2

Originally posted by zebano
As an fyi, while the names do give some information the tournament table lists or the table on the left side of an individual tournaments page gives you all the pertinent information
i.e. from Sprint Duel 64 XLVI
Timeout 1 days
Timebank 7 days
Min. Players 16
Max. Players 64
Pairing Original
Group size 2

To figure out how many games you will get in a round, use the following formula
Games = (Group Size -1) * 2

OK, I have a few basic tournament questions too, so I'll add to the thread.

First, how do the pairings work? I saw "original" and "random" pairings.
I assume these pertain to the formula of who matches to who, but what is "original", is that the original order people entered the tournament, or original rating, or?

Second, I see people are awarded points for wins, but how does this work in the duel games. If I win as white and my opponent wins as white, or we draw both games, who goes into the next round? Will it kick off a tiebreak game?

Originally posted by joneschr
OK, I have a few basic tournament questions too, so I'll add to the thread.

First, how do the pairings work? I saw "original" and "random" pairings.
I assume these pertain to the formula of who matches to who, but what is "original", is that the original order people entered the tournament, or original rating, or?

Second, I see people are awarded po ...[text shortened]... , or we draw both games, who goes into the next round? Will it kick off a tiebreak game?

First off, if there are co-leaders in a group of any size (duels = group size of 2) they all advance to the next round.

From the FAQ
Pairing
This may either be 'Original' or 'Random'. In a 'Random' tournament players are allocated between groups randomly. In an 'Original' tournament players are distributed by rating between the groups so the best rated players do no meet until later rounds.