Preferences for a weekender

[Paul McKeown]

That's 240 minutes (4 hours) for each player. 8 hours elapsed time in total for two rounds. Add a third game and it's 12 hours.

Roger, I think you mean it's 4 hours for the game, not for each player. Yes, 12 hours for 3 games, which is in accordance with the regulation:

3. Playing Time per Day
3.1 There must be no more than 12 hours play in one day. This is calculated based on games that last 60 moves, although games played using increments may last longer.

However, that may be seen as "poor conditions", which is what I am trying to winkle out. What people like and dislike.

[John McKenna]

Although 'weekenders' are the topic under discussion such events are not all the same and an adjective is needed to differentiate between slow, part-slow and semi-rapid ones.

A "reasonable standard of play" can be achieved at times in 1-hr. each game (semi-rapid is what I call that) it's a bit of a misnomer to grade such games as 'slow play'.

Any game with at least an hr. ea. but less than a 3-hr. session without increment/add-on is more like a part-slow one.

FIDE now have 3 rating categories and the ECF could go for such a part-slow category in addition to its current 'slow' & and rapid ones.

Then it could be seen how the numbers split is between games which are played at a reasonably slow rate and those which are at best a part-slow and at worst just a slower form of rapid play.

So, with apologies to Paul M, what kind of weekender do you primarily prefer - a semi-rapid, a part-slow, or a slow one?

My preference is for 'slow' - as defined above by me - whenever possible and 'part-slow' or 'semi-rapid, in that order, if not.


That choice will to a significant degree dicatate the time control and number of rounds, etc.

[Paul McKeown]

what kind of weekender do you primarily prefer

I barely play these days at all. Too busy trying to organise. I'm trying to ascertain what active players themselves would like to see, rather than project my own ideas.

(The idea of personally playing a standard play at the moment would terrify me! I would have to go back and do some hard work, putting together a coherent opening repertoire - and having come close to having done that in the past the amount of work needed daunts me. That and freshen up on all the endgames I used to be able to play with my hands. A few rapidplays and blitzes is all I'm fit for at the moment with my stale openings and shonky play. Pride is involved, too. I used to be a much better player than I am at the moment. I would want to be able to play as well as I used to be able to, and I know I'm a long way off that.)

[John McKenna]

OK, Paul, and I'm trying to work out what 'weekender' I should vote for in your poll...

[John McKenna]

I think I did it, but got it wrong.

Wanted to vote for Bank Hol. Fri.-Mon. 7 rounds, but it's n/a, so did the nearest to it but not sure if it worked.

Never mind, you know my thoughts and preference on the subject now.

And, thanks for asking.

[Paul McKeown]

John, you can always vote for multiple options, if there are several formats that appeal.

I would add "BankHol. Fri. - Mon. 7 rounds" if I knew how, but it doesn't seem possible to amend the poll options after initial declaration. Apologies for the ineptitude.

[John McKenna]

Thanks for all your efforts, Paul.

The 7-round Easter Weekenders, such as the Surrey (recently revived as a 5-rounder Fri. - Sun.) and Southend (still going on), are what I remember as the only regular local tournaments where a FIDE part-rating could be tried for in the old days.

[Roger de Coverly]

The 7-round Easter Weekenders, such as the Surrey (recently revived as a 5-rounder Fri. - Sun. ) and Southend (still going on), are what I remember as the only regular local tournaments where a FIDE part-rating could be tried for in the old days.

FIDE had a rule specifying a minimum number of rounds for a tournament to be rated. The Hastings Challengers, British Championship and Major Open were other opportunities.

I suspect Stewart will tell us it was his idea to remove the restriction, as I recall extending rating possibilities to five round tournaments was part of the changes when the ratings started to be extended downwards from 2000. That places the change as getting on for twenty years ago. It also corresponds to one of Kirsan's attempts to speed up chess, when 90 minutes with 30 second increments was deemed to be the FIDE standard. There was then time for two rounds in a day, facilitating the rating of weekend tournaments.

[John McKenna]

Thanks for that reminder, Roger.