Weekenders - six rounds or five rounds?

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 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

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!)

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.

Still a week left in which to vote

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.