I devote this post to my friend the Discman, aka NM Chris Chambers. As will become obvious, this is a reply to my last post.
“Good stuff Bacon, but it’s not a crisis.
The ship has broken apart and sunk. The pieces are beginning to settle on the bottom.
A crisis implies that something could still be done to fix the problems if those in charge acted quickly and appropriately.
In reality the leaders are long gone and the janitor, assistant cook and a couple of rats have assumed the leadership roles (in name only).
Rex brings up an important point as it relates to tournament chess – the concept of Critical Mass.
You need more than a handful of players to have a meaningful tournament, for the following reasons:
1) To make it an interesting competition.
2) To generate enough entry fees to be able to give meaningful prizes
3) To generate enough money to be able to take out a little bit for tournament administrative expenses associated with putting on a tournament
To do this you need at least 32 players in a Swiss tournament, in my estimation.
In addition to computers, the class tournament structure has also KILLED tournament chess.
If there are fewer than 32 players in a section, sections should be combined until there are at least 32 in the top section.
The idea of having a tournament with 5 different sections with 8-10 players in each section makes absolutely no sense.
I remember when people began structuring tournaments in this format and I knew then that it was a bad idea.
At most you should have 2 sections, an Open section with everybody half-way decent and better (say >1599) and a Novice section for those still learning the game.
You can have an open section and give class prizes, but if you split everybody into classes with less than 32 players per section you are fragmenting the field for no good reason.”
chambiz
Gordon Lightfoot – The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (’79)
Armchair Warrior 