Yesterday I posted a diary advertising for the first ever Daily Kos Chess Tournament. The response was awesome. By my count, we have gotten 88 Kossacks to sign up so far.
There is still time to enter the tournament! If you would like to join but you don't see your username in the Roll Call list below, please leave a comment in this diary expressing your interest.
Now, for some HUGE news. Yesterday I wrote that we wouldn't have any prizes at stake except bragging rights. That has all changed. This tournament caught the eye of Mig Greengard, a chess author and aide to former chess champion Garry Kasparov. He has generously offered to donate some prizes for the winner -- one of which is a book signed by Kasparov himself!
Now, in this diary I'll discuss the prizes, the Swiss tournament format, and the pros and cons of the sites that can host the tournament (please VOTE in the poll!).
Since we already have more than 80 people signed up to play, I think it's more than possible that we can get the tourney started as early as next weekend.
Also, as a plug for the tournament, here's a pretty cool song from an appropriately titled indie band I discovered: "Devastortion" by Chess Club.
THE SWISS TOURNAMENT SYSTEM
Yesterday, many users with experience in past chess tournaments described their support of what is known as the Swiss-styled tournament format. The way it works is this: Instead of a single elimination knockout tournament (like the NCAA basketball tourney), the Swiss system allows every participant to play multiple games. At the very beginning before Round 1, everyone would be randomized into their match-ups. The winners would receive 2 points, losers would receive 0 points, and players who end in a draw or stalemate would each get 1 point. Then, in Round 2, the winners from Round 1 would be randomly matched with winners, losers matched with losers, and so forth. At the end of a certain number of games, the players can be ranked by the number of points they receive.
What I am now proposing is a mixed tournament system, one combining both knockout and Swiss formats. For the first 5 games of the tourney, we would follow the Swiss system. By the end of 5 games, the top 16 players (the 16 players with the most points) would advance to the finals, where they will then be placed into appropriate brackets and will play in a knockout-style tournament to decide the champion. Think of the Swiss format as the regular season, and the knockout format as the playoffs.
Normally, players would be matched according to their skill level (or their U.S. Chess Federation ratings). I doubt that everyone in this tournament will know their USCF scores -- though if you do, please let me know approximately what it is (anything less than 1500 is typically considered "novice", and 1500-2000 is considered "expert"). As the tournament moderator, I will do my best to ensure that players do not play the same person twice.
Since these will be games with time limits, in the event of ties for number of points at the end of the Swiss system games, the fastest times for all 5 Swiss format games will serve as tiebreakers. Also, so we can avoid giving out byes in any round, I will likely seek to get an EVEN number of Kossacks to play.
How does this tournament system work for everyone? Should there be more or fewer Swiss format games? Should there be more or fewer players who advance to the final rounds? Please feel free to suggest other ideas if you think the tourney setup can be improved.
PRIZES FOR WINNING, COURTESY OF GARRY KASPAROV
I confess the title to this diary is a tad misleading. The prizes are not exactly from Kasparov himself, but they're still really, REALLY cool. Mig Greengard, an assistant of Kasparov's, has offered the following two prizes for the winner of the tournament:
- A complete set of training newsletters from ChessNinja, which Greengard produced over a period of five years. That's 270 HTML newsletters, a $250 value. There are two sets: one is the White Belt category, for beginners through experienced novice (USCF under 1500 or so); and the other is Black Belt, recommended for players with USCF scores of 1500-2000. We might split these two sets of newsletters between two players, though we'd have to decide who gets what. Greengard said he can email the winner(s) a download link. More info on the newsletters, including samples, can be found here.
- A book signed by Garry Kasparov. It is one of his renowned "Great Predecessors" chess books. Greengard can mail it directly to the winner.
Greengard has offered to donate these prizes for free just for this tournament. It is a wonderfully awesome and generous thing for him to do and I think he deserves a huge round of applause for it.
THE WEBSITE: WHICH ONE SHOULD WE USE FOR THE TOURNAMENT? PLEASE VOTE IN THE POLL!
Yesterday, I wrote a little about Chess Cube, a relatively new website that can allow users to play chess for free. But, a number of chess players suggested a few others instead. I will discuss the pros and cons of three possible hosts: Chess Cube, Yahoo Games, and the most other common suggestion, the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS). Then, I ask that you vote in the poll to help make the decision a little easier.
Before we get to talking about those choices, please note that I have ruled out the Internet Chess Club (ICC) and Gameknot as potential tournament hosts -- the former, because it charges a yearly fee just to be a member; and the latter, because it doesn't allow you to play chess unless the games are a) untimed with a limit of a couple days per move (like on Facebook), or b) lightning fast (10 minutes or less). Since we don't want untimed games, and since not everyone in this tourney is a chess master, I can't accept Gameknot for now.
Now, for the other choices that I think would work well. Please remember that for each of these servers, you will need to register a free account to play chess.
- Chess Cube.
PROS: It has a pretty user-friendly interface. You simply register, set your chess match preferences in the Game Seek window, and you're basically good to go. Players can form chess groups on the website and add each other as Friends, kind of like Facebook. If both players are online at the same time, they can easily invite one another to the match. You also have the option of randomizing who gets which set of chess pieces.
When you're in the middle of a game, you don't get multiple invitations from other users -- you can just focus on your opponent. It saves the move list for each game, easily allowing you to review your past matches. You can also view chess videos here, though you'll have to first download a plug-in for that.
CONS: Chess Cube is a beta website, and as such is prone to some bugs. Players using certain operating systems may have trouble logging on and accessing the site due to firewall restrictions, and they may get disconnected in the middle of a game.
There are only a few number of choices for time limits. For "slow" games, your only options are these: 15 minutes; 20 minutes; 30 minutes; 30 minutes with a bonus 30 seconds added to your time after each move; 45 minutes with a bonus 45 seconds added to your time after each move; 60 minutes; 90 minutes; and unlimited time. If you wanted a different time limit, you're out of luck.
- Free Internet Chess Server (FICS)
PROS: The FICS has been around for several years, and is probably the most well-known online chess server in the world. You can set any time limit you want on your games, with any bonus increment you like. FICS allows you to save your games and review them later as PGN files. You can also randomize who gets which side of the board.
CONS: The FICS runs in a console window where you have to type in text-based commands to accept or decline chess matches. Players who are not accustomed to using console windows will have to spend some time learning the text-based system. For example, if you wanted to challenge a user named "John" to a game, you would need to type "match John". Or, if you wanted help on the commands the system uses, you would type "help commands". You can set your game specifications using a Windows-based system, but you still have to use the console to invite a specific player to the match. It isn't terribly difficult to use, but it takes a little getting used to.
However, you can work around the console (or at least use it less frequently) by downloading a more graphical interface at this webpage. I downloaded BabasChess and it worked great for me.
- Yahoo Games
PROS: It's a pretty standard interface. You can set tables to be public or private, and you can set any time limit you like. It's pretty easy to find the user you're looking for, as it lists them in alphabetical order in the menu on the right side of the chess window.
CONS: In the many years I've used Yahoo Games, the server has kicked me off unexpectedly more times than I can remember. If you're running a public game, someone can swoop in and take your spot if you get disconnected, which sucks. You can also sometimes get multiple annoying invitations from other users to play a match while you're in the middle of a game -- however, you can click a box to "ignore all invites." There have been times when I've declined invitations, and just by hitting the "Decline" button, the entire window would crash.
***********************************
These are just 3 websites that I might recommend for the tournament. My choice would be for either Chess Cube or FICS. But, please remember to vote in the poll to let me know your preference.
DKOS CHESS TOURNAMENT 2009 ROLL CALL
The following users (listed in alphabetical order) have expressed an interest in participating in the tournament:
aaraujo
Abelian
ActivistGuy
Adept2u
Anderson Republican
Andrew Lazarus
AndrewMC
BaxKen
ben masel
bgblcklab1
Bill White
Blue Wind
Boxer7
brainwave
brendanm98
Celtic Merlin
Cobbler
Dan Morris
Danno11
Davis X Machina
DeadB0y
debedb
dissonantharmony
dmet
Doughnutman
dov12348
drache
Dvd Avins
Elvis Vader
Feanor
filmgeek83
foodmetaphors
FWIW
Geenius at Wrok
hanswall
high5
hurburble
JeffLieber
jerseycorn
jewbulawguy
Jimdotz
Joe Bacon
Keith Pickering
LaughingPlanet
lexington1
liberte
logsol
lostboyjim
Malachite
Marcion
matador
mconvente
Melanchthon
montrealdan
Morus
mos1133
MoshebenAvraham
nargel
Nylawstudent
Obama Amabo
ohcanada
papicek
Pierro Sraffa
PinkFreud
plf515
PsiFighter37
Remain calm
rhutcheson
RickMassimo
Robert Naiman
rteeter
sharris0512
sjohntucson
Something the Dog Said
stlbucket
SuperBowlXX
TeacherRyan
the fan man
TheCid
thereisnospoon
Thutmose V
ThyrsiodB
Unlabled
USArmyParatrooper
ZaBlanc
zamrzla
If you do not see your name in this list for whatever reason -- because you haven't signed up yet, because I accidentally skipped over you -- but you would still like to enter the tournament, please write to me in the comment section. Or, if I entered your name into the tournament in error, please let me know to remove it.
NOTE: The user otto initially expressed an interest, but has since retracted his request.
ALSO! Since I am compiling the e-mail list for the tournament, I will need your e-mail addresses! If your address is not listed on your diary page, please e-mail it to me at: SuperBowlXX AT hotmail DOT com.
The following users need to provide me with their e-mail address:
aaraujo
bgblcklab1
Bill White
Boxer7
debedb
dmet
Geenius at Wrok
hurburble
jewbulawguy
logsol
lostboyjim
matador
Melanchthon
montrealdan
Nylawstudent
Obama Amabo
ohcanada
Pierro Sraffa
Remain calm
the fan man
Thutmose V
Unlabled
PREVIEW OF THE NEXT CHESS TOURNAMENT DIARY
We will figure out once and for all the time limit for the chess games. I don't want them too slow for the experts on this site, but I don't want them too fast for the novices and newcomers. No matter what we decide, the time limit should be the same for all matches.