The RA Fall Open has just been wrapped up, and my next weekender is the National Capital Open, scheduled for the beginning of December. In preparation, I have been mulling over how I structure my sections, largely depending on how many people have registered in each rating range. The advantage of such an approach is that, at the last minute, I can customize the section cutoffs, especially to facilitate reasonable pairings for 5 rounds.
The disadvantage is that especially for players in the 1800 range, they could either be paired mostly up in a section for 1800 and over, paired mostly down in an U1800 section, or if there are more players than usual, paired evenly in a section from 1600 to 2000.
Therefore, I am wondering if it would be a better idea to guarantee a minimum of 3 sections: >=2000, U2000, U1600. That is the poll question I am attaching to this thread.
A couple of closing notes :
- In tracking my tournaments, the number of players above 2000 and above 1600 have been consistent. In other words, only a small U1600 section "might" not make for the best pairings. However, I feel that it would work to pseudo round-robin a smallish U1600 section.
- If any of these 3 sections approach 2 dozen players, then I would consider splitting that big section into 2 smaller sections, like splitting 1600-1999 into 1600-1799 & 1800-1999.
Thanks for your input, it is much appreciated, Aris.
The disadvantage is that especially for players in the 1800 range, they could either be paired mostly up in a section for 1800 and over, paired mostly down in an U1800 section, or if there are more players than usual, paired evenly in a section from 1600 to 2000.
Therefore, I am wondering if it would be a better idea to guarantee a minimum of 3 sections: >=2000, U2000, U1600. That is the poll question I am attaching to this thread.
A couple of closing notes :
- In tracking my tournaments, the number of players above 2000 and above 1600 have been consistent. In other words, only a small U1600 section "might" not make for the best pairings. However, I feel that it would work to pseudo round-robin a smallish U1600 section.
- If any of these 3 sections approach 2 dozen players, then I would consider splitting that big section into 2 smaller sections, like splitting 1600-1999 into 1600-1799 & 1800-1999.
Thanks for your input, it is much appreciated, Aris.
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