Author: KarinsDad
Date: 22:01:20 01/26/99
Go up one level in this thread
On January 26, 1999 at 22:20:33, Robert Hyatt wrote: >On January 26, 1999 at 20:07:44, Michael Ginat wrote: > [snip] >>Hi Karinsdad, >>Thanks for your complements - I hope to defend my title this year btw. I guess >>you're right about someone being able to avoid post mortems etc., especially if >>I think about an up and coming junior (pardon the pun Junior 5 !). By the way I >>had an aquaintence in Australia who made a tidy sum by getting a low rating and >>then cleaning up many prizes on the US circuit. That kind of behaviour disgusts >>me.. >>regards, >>Michael Ginat > >I had a good friend that did this in the early 70's.. we played a lot of chess >(he was really a 1900 player, but his rating was always below 1800 when >tournament time came around (this was before the anti-sandbagging rating system >was in force showing your 'best'...) > >Used to really piss me too, because we would play in a tournament (one with no >prizes) and he would intentionally drop a piece or something when playing me or >others, yet we played pretty evenly most of the time. But these events were >rated tournaments (entry fee was only the rating fee). And he would enter >a big tournament in New Orleans or whatever and just clean out the under-1800 >class prize... > >There are those kinds of folks... Actually, I am currently trying to be one of "those kind of folks". Let me explain. The USCF changed the floor system from 100+ delta to 200+ delta last year (but do not get me started on floors, a really stupid system). I also happened to walk into back to back +1 =0 -7 and +1 =0 -2 tournaments last year and my rating dropped like a stone, below my previous floor. My rating is now at the top of the class below what it used to be. So currently, I am not playing in tournaments, but I am practicing and studying, just so that I can find two close tournaments (probably Thanksgiving and Christmas this year) where I can try to win at least one prize out of the two tournaments. This may sound easy, but it isn't. I have a friend who dropped from expert to class A due to the same rule change (the USCF delegates can vote in some fairly stupid stuff sometimes) and went into a major tournament and tied for first. He worked real hard during the months before that tournament, but while legally not sandbagging, it was his only real shot at a major tournament. My reasoning is as follows: I dropped thousands of dollars over the years for tournament entry fees, hotel bills, transportation, etc. I have come in second place in one tournament and won $30 (in addition to some small class prizes over the years). A normal person like myself cannot go to a big tournament and win (I've beaten and drawn people 300 points higher than myself in regulation times, but cannot get better than 3 out of 6 in my class in a major tournament). It is next to impossible due to the sandbaggers, the up and coming players, and just the overall quality of players in your class at one of these tournaments. So, this time, it is my shot. I'll probably not make it, but at least this time I will have a chance. Granted, my case is not exactly like what Michael and Robert were talking about, but in reality, due to a rule change, I will effectively (in my mind) be sandbagging this time around (nobody's perfect). And so will, even moreso than normal, some of my opponents in those tournaments (due to that same rule change). If you think this is unfair, also remember that I will have had to give up playing in tournaments for 1 1/2 years in order to just get a shot in a major tournament event (and it is in no way a shoe-in). Giving up tournaments for some of us is more of a sacrifice than it is for others. So I justify it by having paid my dues over the years, never having thrown a game, and just following the current rules (but it still stinks and I'm annoyed that I was put in the position of having to make the decision due to a stupid USCF rule). KarinsDad
This page took 0 seconds to execute
Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700
Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.