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View Full Version : A Class Tournament?



Bob Armstrong
01-08-2009, 11:16 AM
Today on ChessTalk, ED. Bob Gillanders asked whether someone should organize a " Class Tournament ".

About a year or so ago in one of my SCTCN&V newsletters, I suggested just that : a tournament for <2000 players, with 3 sections: <2000;<1600;<1400.

The entry fees, minus a proportionate amount of the expenses ( No. of players in a section/total no. of players ) would STAY in a section - if you want bigger prizes in a section, then get out and promote the tournament to players in your section. So the biggest first prize could well be in the U 1400 section, if that's where the most players show up ! ( that may drive some > 2000 players nuts ). And I'd suggest prizes be divided so there are 10 prizes per section ( the Mckoy system ).

What are the downsides to such a tournament ( I don't see many )?

Do we have an organizer who would be willing to gamble on such a tournament??

Bob

Bob Gillanders
01-08-2009, 11:26 AM
thanks Bob, your post put a big smile on my face.

Tyler Longo
01-09-2009, 04:58 PM
This is one of the most interesting ideas I have read in a while. I hope someone would be willing to run an event like this...

Christopher Mallon
01-09-2009, 08:35 PM
No real reason why you couldn't run an open section at the same time, with the understanding that it's the same rules for prizes. Some >2000 players might like to play.

Bob Armstrong
01-09-2009, 09:15 PM
Hi Chris:

I agree totally. You could have an Open section and < 2200 as well as the others, and still call it a " class tournament " as long as:

1. entry fees less proportionate expenses stay in the section;
2. there are 10 prizes per section ( Precy McKoy on ChessTalk, who started all this, has said he would accept a prize for evey 7 particpants in a section, but I like Bob G's idea of lots of prizes and so would like more than that - though maybe 10 will be too many if sections are small ).

The question I asked on ChessTalk was whether top players would play when the prizes are small ( because there is no subsidization from the lower classes, and the prize fund is being divided up more )? I think they might not, and this was part of the reason for not having upper sections in my original post - they might not fly.

Bob

Christopher Mallon
01-09-2009, 11:36 PM
I don't see it working with 10 prizes per section. Some sections might be less than 10 people!
Unless you guarantee 1st prize at say $500 in each section somehow, that would attract players...

Alex Ferreira
01-12-2009, 02:09 AM
Hi


Hopefully my personal views won't seem too radical, or unambitious, or whatever you want to call them. I don't mind the idea of having class tournaments, in the sense that... I am an amateur, even if an avid chess player, and like playing people around my own strength. But I think this seems to be going a bit in the wrong direction. When I join a tournament, I am not doing it to try to win money, even if sometimes it clearly is a neat bonus. Surely some people do, but I am of the opinion that players who are not chess professionals have no business making profits by playing random weekend swisses. I enjoy chess as a hobby, and am willing to pay the $60 or $80 for my 15-25 hours worth of tournament play in one weekend. As one chess colleague once told me, people don't expect to get money back when they go watch a movie, $10 or $20 for 2-3 hours worth of entertainment.

Likely to increase the number of participants in over-the-board chess no doubt. I would think running these class tournaments with 50% of participants getting back double their entry fee, is really the wrong incentive. It may be quite harmless if it's rarely done, but a mistake if it becomes mainstream. It will likely lead to sandbagging by some, and people worrying considerably more about the money than the game of chess, while possibly throwing some sportsmanship out the window.
This would also jeopardize the very few chess professionals we have. Guys who are FMs and IMs for example, they've actually worked a lot in chess, and have a deep understanding of the game, as well as they're the ones who come up with new ideas or put in practice the best way of playing certain openings / themes (at local level at least). By not funding the top section prizes which normally takes place in almost every Open tournament (including classes), we're failing to recognize and motivate the guys who are actually professionals, while promoting our own mediocrity.


Alex F.