Weekenders - six rounds or five rounds?

cdeb

Yerrah, why not?

So - would you rather 5 rounds or 6 rounds in a weekender?

Let's assume time control is satisfactory in both, and more sections are created if required to allow for the fact that a 5-round tournament could run into problems separating more than 32 players.

It's 6 for me. The more the merrier (I'm not as old as sodacat yet! ), I don't care about my FIDE rating, and a 5-rounder gives the possibility of getting the dreaded bye and only playing 4 rounds.

It's a public vote because, well, why not.

Retd.LoyolaCpt

Six

cdeb wrote: »

Yerrah, why not?

So - would you rather 5 rounds or 6 rounds in a weekender?

Let's assume time control is satisfactory in both, and more sections are created if required to allow for the fact that a 5-round tournament could run into problems separating more than 32 players.

It's 6 for me. The more the merrier (I'm not as old as sodacat yet! ), I don't care about my FIDE rating, and a 5-rounder gives the possibility of getting the dreaded bye and only playing 4 rounds.

It's a public vote because, well, why not.

Personally, I prefer to play in and organise 5 rounders. I would be reluctant to change if I was Kilkenny or Bunratty - they already have their niche and I wouldn’t want to risk that. Although, the argument could definitely be made that people will attend those no matter what. Those events also have to consider the likelihood of two or more people finishing on maximum points in their bottom sections, given their size.

From an arbiters perspective, you always want 30 seconds increment so that all moves are recorded (or should be anyway) and there should be less disputes and flags.

The model I prefer is Gonzaga’s although I think there’s a lot to be said for having variety.

sodacat11

Six

I agree about Gonzaga being the ideal and not just because of the time controls. Nice sets and boards,a canteen, adequate bathroom facilities, free and convenient car parking, no huge traffic problems,always a very strong entry. The library is an excellent room for chess and getting to play on the stage in the theatre is like playing in an elite GM tournament. Last but not least I am always supplied with free tea and coffee as an appearance fee!!

eclipsechaser

Six

sodacat11 wrote: »

I agree about Gonzaga being the ideal and not just because of the time controls. Nice sets and boards,a canteen, adequate bathroom facilities, free and convenient car parking, no huge traffic problems,always a very strong entry. The library is an excellent room for chess and getting to play on the stage in the theatre is like playing in an elite GM tournament. Last but not least I am always supplied with free tea and coffee as an appearance fee!!

I'll tell the lads to throw in free sandwiches after that review! :P

ChessPlayer123

Something else

I feel like 5 rounds are more suitable for more serious FIDE rated tournaments, but 6 rounds is better in more relaxed non FIDE games.

sodacat11

Six

eclipsechaser wrote: »

I'll tell the lads to throw in free sandwiches after that review! :P

I forgot to mention the excellent organisers and controllers who always do a marvelous job and make everyone feel very welcome. (I like ham ,cheese and English mustard!)

reunion

This is just for ICU rated events only? FIDE events can't be 6 rounds in the normal weekender format so probably should be taken out of the equation!

I'd rather 6 rounds as in general, it's round 3 when you play someone playing around your level so I'd prefer more rounds mainly to get more games around my level. It feels like a better representation of your current level to have 3 games of each colour instead of having 3 games as white and 2 as black.

mikhail

Something else

I like the mix; tournaments with different numbers of rounds, pairing systems, time controls, rating bands, etc. make for a bit of variety. I would have strongly preferred six as a teenager, so I guess I can see where the older guys are coming from all right.

sodacat11

Six

mikhail wrote: »

I like the mix; tournaments with different numbers of rounds, pairing systems, time controls, rating bands, etc. make for a bit of variety. I would have strongly preferred six as a teenager, so I guess I can see where the older guys are coming from all right.

Us "older guys"still have some stamina left you know. Last season I played City of Dublin, St Andrews, Kilkenny, The over 50s ch, Boeblingen, Armstrong Cup,Bunratty, Malahide, Easter, Gonzaga and the Irish Championships and this season I will be adding Cork and possibly another tournament or two to that list.
The reason I prefer longer time controls is because the games have more substance and less blunders, nothing to do with me nodding off after two hours.

sodacat11

Six

Still a week left in which to vote

tedjennings

Either will do

How come you guys always forget about the Limerick Open.
The best of both worlds 2 rounds per day FIDE rated and 6 games
It is on 27-29 October

sodacat11

Six

tedjennings wrote: »

How come you guys always forget about the Limerick Open.
The best of both worlds 2 rounds per day FIDE rated and 6 games
It is on 27-29 October

Limerick is a well run tournament in a nice venue but the reason I, for one,always forget about it is that you have to play at least a couple of 13/1400s before you get a proper game so really it is only a four round competition at best.