OT 2018 Signup

Sorry for the delay.

I’m in. GMT + 11 (for the next couple of months, then +10.

Vassal ID BrentS

Mark,
Sıt seems like we will have a record turnout for this year if I did not count wrong we already have 27 people and still couple of days left to register. Are the Open preliminary rounds always 5 rounds or are you thinking to make it 6 for the larger participants ? I am so happy that the participation is increasing, thanks you ans al the others putting the effort to get this tournaments organized.

29 according to my record, and an extra one would be helpful (an even number is best).

The plan is 5 rounds, and I'm sticking to the plan at this juncture.
If at the end of round 4 it seems like there is no chance of having a clear top 8 to go to the Quarter Finals, I might revisit that plan.

Swiss pairing is run to a fixed schedule that gives the best chance of creating a statistically significant spread between competitors over the least number of rounds. I've used the DCI system, which follows the traditional Chess formats. In this system 17-32 players means 5 rounds of Swiss, 33-64 means 6 rounds.....so we're close to the threshold for 6 rounds.

There was some confusion and anxiety last year about how this format runs and I think the current rules contain outdated elements or rules that relate only to the mini-tournament format. We could also do with a clear and consistent policy for how to fairly manage and score matches that aren't completed on time. I might draft a fresh set of rules in the next day and send them along for your review, Mark.

OT rules are here
www.commandsandcolors.net/ancients/artic...and-conventions.html
but review away. A very cursory review of changes since 2017 before I posted.

Current conventions for byes and forfeits are full points to the other player.
Where matches aren't finished on time, and can't be finished ASAP, then GM makes a determination.

so how many games do we need to play per round?

Two games per round......same scenario, same opponent, switch sides.

So Brent has updated the Open Tournament rules to reflect some of the issues encountered in previous Open tournaments, and n summary the changes are;
- Removed the requirement to report blocks lost in the Swiss matches

- Made incomplete matches where there are no forfeits a flat 1 point to each player, to avoid the tournament organiser having to arbitrate (although GM can step in and declare a forfeit if one player is clearly uncontactable, uncooperative or incapacitated).

- Made the final tiebreaker in the elimination matches the original Swiss ranking of the players. Rounds to advance to maintain tournament momentum without extra matches being played and keeping all other players waiting. This is rare, but not unheard of.

On the whole, minor changes or simply writing up the existing practice in terms of unfinished matches.
So I intend to adopt these unless I hear a different opinion.

Thanks Mark.

I should point out that the rules update is not a change in the way the OT has been run for the past couple of years, just a clarification of how it works, because there was some confusion last year. As Mark has pointed out, the major clarifications are that you don't need to count blocks lost in the Swiss rounds of the tournament (unlike the MTs.....this has been the biggest stumbling block for players, I think). We don't need block counts to break ties in the Swiss rounds....the Swiss ranking format takes care of that. You do still need to count blocks in the elimination rounds, where we need a tiebreaker and clear winner to advance. The second clarification is that there is now a clear and consistent policy for scoring game defaults.

The only rule that is a real change is the final tiebreaker in the elimination rounds, based on the original Swiss ranking of the players. This comes after total banners won and the blocks lost as tiebreaker, so will rarely be activated. The original rule was for players to replay another match, but in a tournament where the rounds take a month to complete, we can't hold up 30 players while two players schedule another game. It's a bit like a penalty shootout in football.....a bit arbitrary but necessary to keep the tournament moving along smoothly. It will be VERY rare that it will be required (although Mark pointed out to me that its just happened in a CCN tournament).

Hi Brent, thanks for the effort! With "the Swiss ranking format takes care of that" you mean that by using points and what you called "Ranking Strenght", ties are avoided?