ChessKid tournaments
ChessKid tournaments typically use a round-robin format, which is simple and easy to follow. In a round-robin tournament, each player plays every other player. In many cases, that means two games per opponent: one as White and one as Black. The winner is determined by total score.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Points |
Tie Break
|
1. Player 1 (1200) | X | ½ 1 | 1 ½ | 1 1 | 5 | 11.5 |
2. Player 2 (1200) | 0 ½ | X | 0 1 | 1 ½ | 3 | 7.5 |
3. Player 3 (1200) | ½ 0 | 0 1 | X | 0 ½ | 2 | 6.5 |
4. Player 4 (1200) | 0 0 | ½ 0 | ½ 1 | X | 2 | 4.5 |
Round-robin works great for smaller events, but with a large number of players it can take a long time to finish. When that happens, we may use a round-robin knock-out format to keep the tournament moving.
How does a Round-robin knock-out tournament work?
A knock-out is used when there are too many players to run one large round-robin group. Players are split into smaller groups, each group plays a round-robin, and then the top player(s) from each group advance. Advancing players are placed into new groups, and the process repeats until the final group determines the tournament winner(s).
How many players advance from each group is chosen by the Tournament Director at the start of the tournament. For example, it may be 1 player per group, or more.
Can you explain the tournament format? What does 5(2)->2+ mean?
<Player per Group>(<Concurrent Games per Opponent>)-><Players Advancing per Group>[+ = No Tie Breaks]
Example 1: 5(2)->2+ means 5 players per group, playing both games per opponent at the same time, 2 players advance from each group, and no tie breaks
Example 2: 8(1)->1 means 8 players per group, playing one game per opponent at a time, 1 player advances from each group, and use tie breaks
ChessKid Tournaments FAQ
Who is allowed to join a tournament?
Any child account on ChessKid can join a tournament.
When do tournament games start? What if my opponent doesn't move?
As soon as the tournament begins and pairings are created, all game clocks start right away. If no moves are made before the time control expires, the game is automatically resigned as a timeout (loss on time). This counts toward tournament and Slow Chess records, but it does not affect ratings.
How is seeding and group placement determined in multi-group tournaments?
In multi-group tournaments, players are distributed by rating from highest to lowest across the groups. The top-rated player goes into Group 1, the next into Group 2, then Group 3, and so on until each group has one player. The process then repeats starting back at Group 1.
For example, in a 25-player tournament with 5 groups of 5, Group 1 would receive seeds 1, 6, 11, 16, and 21. This helps balance the groups so the strongest players are more likely to meet in the final rounds.
How many winners are there? Why sometimes 1 winner, and why sometimes more?
Tournaments with fewer than 8 players have one winner. Tournaments with 8 or more players award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.
What are thematic tournaments?
Thematic tournaments start every game from a predefined position (for example, after the first few moves of a specific opening). This lets players test their skills in similar types of positions and openings. Thematic tournaments are marked with a special icon and show the starting position.