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Bob Gillanders
03-26-2009, 10:24 AM
Here is a crazy idea, how about a marathon chess tournament to promote the CFC and chess in Canada.

I am envisioning a tournament with not fixed end date, we just keep pairing rounds until we run out of players. Players can enter and leave tournament at any time (ie. unlimited 0 pt. byes). This event would have entry fees, prizes, and be CFC rated, all the normal tournament stuff.

Getting a site for an unspecified time period might be difficult. The tournament could even change venues after so many days, take it on the road, so to speak. The hook would be that it is continuous, day by day, or even round the clock 24 hrs, so that we start a new round every 6 hours. That is probably carrying it too far, but maybe a continuous tournament with 2 or 3 rounds every day!!

I have sent a query to the Guiness Book of world records about what any current records are. I could only find a world record for simul's. If anyone knows of any relevant world records, please share info. We would want to attempt to break any world records, that will attract the media.

Okay, everyone have a good laugh......but why not dream BIG !

Alex Ferreira
03-26-2009, 01:06 PM
Hi Bob,


It does seem like a crazy, awesome idea. I've heard in Europe they've organized 24 hour blitz tournaments before, and relatively well attended. Naturally players are just pushing wood halfway through.

24 hours round the clock = the way to go. We get the other stuff already ;)
Definitely the site would be the challenge to get. Probably would also need a total of 3 TDs to alternate shifts. A round every 6 hours would be awesome, one could get 3 games a day and still sleep. For those who'd have to travel, maybe could convince a couple of friends to share a hotel room, each person getting an 8 hour sleeping shift at the room. 20+ rated games in a week :eek:
Might have to stay away from it for a little while after.
As for prizes / 0 pt byes, not sure how that'd work. Maybe have overall scores, overall participation prizes, and then "stretch prizes" for those who max out in say, a 72 hour period from day 3 to day 5. An idea to increase participation would also be to let anyone just play a game for a nominal fee ($10?) and not be eligible for prizes.


Alex F.

Egidijus Zeromskis
03-26-2009, 02:01 PM
I've heard in Europe they've organized 24 hour blitz tournaments before

Why before? :)
The traditional Raseiniai Marathon (Raseinių maratonas) uses this format:
swiss
rapid ( 30 min. ) – 7 rounds, one game.
rapid2 ( 15 min. ) – 9 rounds, two games.
blitz (5 min. ) – 13 rounds, two games.
The overall winner - whose sum of places is least.
It takes about 24 hours.

Lawrence Day
03-26-2009, 04:46 PM
Sponsored by a coffee company?

Bob Armstrong
03-29-2009, 01:02 AM
Since we are trying to think outside the box here a bit, I have a format in mind - not sure if it would qualify for a Guiness Book of Records.

It would be called " The Canadian Madness Chess Marathon ". It will be a series of round robin tournaments criss-crossing Canada. There will be entry fees, prizes and CFC-rated, just like any tournament.

In the starting city, there will be a round robin of 30 players ! That makes for 29 rounds. I think the most we could get someone to commit to ( and that will be tough ), would be a round every 3 days until the tournament concludes. The first round will have 15 boards. The top third of the pairing play on day one; the middle third on day 2, and the bottom third on day 3. If two players have to reschedule, the other two days would be available for them - to play onsite with the others playing that day ( or some other mutually agreeable time ). At this rate, the tournament will take 87 days ( almost 3 months ) to complete - quite a commitment to play every third day for 3 months - don't know if we'll find 30 players in a city crazy enough to try this. If it is too far out, then we can make the round robin smaller, to lessen the length of the tournament.

When the tournament finishes in one city ( after 87 consecutive days of partial rounds ), the very next day a new round robin starts in the next city, and so on - could be something like Toronto to Montreal to Vancouver or Victoria to Edmonton or Calgary, Halifax, etc. We will try to establish a record for the longest consecutive day series of tournaments under one theme.

We would get press coverage for the start of the marathon, and then hope to get more coverage everytime a new city takes over ( and whatever we can wheedle in between ). We could try to publicize the entry period, and have the places drawn by lottery ( try to get some casual non-CFC types involved if possible ). It will be an attempt to bring chess to Canadian consciousness, and conscript new players to the CFC and tournament chess.

Is this crazy enough?

Bob

Bob Gillanders
03-29-2009, 12:40 PM
uuugrggggrrrrrrrrr..are you trying to out crazy me ?

A 30 player round robin !!! Completely impossible to do. We all know round robins are incredibly difficult to schedule, so let's not go down that dead end road.

Whereas the flexibility of the Swiss format is perfect. You start the tournament on a saturday morning with lots of fanfare and media coverage. Let's assume we go with the 24 hr format. You need a team of TD's and volunteers. You also have a few players who don't play the 1st weekend, you keep them in reserve for monday to friday to get you to the next weekend when publicity brings in some fresh players. Players easily join and leave with zero point byes so that players are rewarded for playing lots of games.

Time control is an interesting question. Do you go with longer time controls (40/2, SD/1, 30/90, SD1) or shorter times (game/1) to maximize number of games, and what about increments !

Just a few thoughts,.....

Alex Ferreira
03-29-2009, 08:54 PM
Hi,

Personally I'd prefer 90/30 60/SD or even better, 90 mins with 30 sec inc.
I think the old fashioned 120/40 60/SD would be impossible to be able to start a round every 6 hours.

Alex F.

Bill Evans
03-30-2009, 05:28 AM
Look what is already happening at chess.com

http://www.chess.com/groups/team_match.html?id=4855

Bob Gillanders
03-30-2009, 10:00 AM
Look what is already happening at chess.com

http://www.chess.com/groups/team_match.html?id=4855

Bill,

We are talking about a traditional event in person. Comparing it to a correspondence event is not relevant.

Bob

Bill Evans
03-30-2009, 07:42 PM
Hello Bob,

I am sorry if I soiled your thread. Will let you get back to doing whatever it is that you do.

Bill Evans

Bob Gillanders
03-30-2009, 10:08 PM
doesn't look like there is much interest in my idea anyway.

Erik Malmsten
03-31-2009, 03:01 PM
I recall an annual Insanity Open, in Buffalo I think, where the tournament went all night.

There is also the early 1970s attempts of a team of 2 players to continuously play speed chess in Yorkville, Toronto. The players were Bryon Nickoloff verus Bob Kiviaho at one cafe, and Bennett Paul versus Ken Field at a competing cafe. But I think stimulants were used, so doesn't count.

The Guiness World Records does allow for regular breaks.

Lawrence is onto something about a coffee sponsor. Starbucks actually uses tables with chessboards in many locations, and people were playing chess on them in San Francisco. But Starbucks closes at 11. Red Bull markets alot to late-night youth, with a roving truck giving out free samples.