World Checkers Open in SC.

[Alex_Moiseyev]

I just visted this site for registration and find the following announcement:

The World Checkers Tournament for 2008 is CANCELED due to insufficient interest. We will have another checkers tournament in 2009.

My understanding was that this should be sort of blitz tournament with short time control and great prizes, $3,000 at least in total, $1,500 for winner. It seems like this is miserable sum for checkers players and they didn't pay enough attention to this event

What a shame !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know if it is too late or not, however I completed and send registration form to organizers. Not too many players have abilities and can play fast games, but maybe we have more "online" youth players who has an interest and thinks he/she can compete ?

There is always a small chance that this is not too late and we can save this event and add it to our map.

Respectfully,

Alex Moiseyev

[Alan Millhone]

Hello Mr. Alex:

Yoav is a college professor and had the dream that Checker players would 'pre register' for his event ! I told him it would never happen. No wonder organized Checkers stays in the doldrums and on the back burner !

Personally I love the way the Chinese did the recent mind sports. You HAD to pre-register for the events. This is very 'prfoessional' , a term that organized Checkers in the USA has not grasped.

I also heard that 10x10 had a 'program' to select pairings, etc. that worked quite well. We could use a similiar program in the ACF for our Nationals .

Sincerely:
Alan Millhone, President
American Checker Federation
" Journeyman Checker/Draughts Player"

[Ingo_Zachos]

Alan, WinTD (http://www.estima.com/chess/index.shtml) is a good option, but would of course require that the tournament director have access to a laptop.

What?
You did not use standard Swiss System with a pairing program at the US nationals?

Here are the rules for standard swiss system:
http://www.fide.com/info/handbook?id=18&view=category

It leaves no chances for the tournament controller to manipulate the pairings if it is done accurately.

Here are a few programs that r approved:
http://www.monroi.com/chess-products/10 ... iring.html

Some of them r freeware, so don't tell me that they are too expensive.

In Beijing all other draughts styles had programs that even allowed immediate internet reporting.
I had to struggle with the handwriting of the referee and had on two days, due to the schedule and unlimitedtime controls, no chance to update the results for that given day or to have lunch.

We even had no wall paper with the accurate ranking, and the best source to get the current score for the players was the internet report, as the wall paper did not list the players by ranking, just gave their points, and did not mention the tiebreaker.

Using modern technology saves time, reduces chances for manipulations, allows quick reporting and help to run the event with greater transparency then in the past.
For instance, most crosstables sent in for the world ranking were not sorted by final score, which makes it harder to calculate them or to check the accuracy.

Greetinx from old Europe,

Ingo Zachos