Lastly, I wish to acknowledge all who serve as tournament sponsors and referees. While this may seem like a thankless job at times, your contribution to the ACF tournament scene is essential. I am available for support if there are questions about the attached material or any other issues that I have not addressed. I may be reached at (440) 516-1284 or e-mailed at beckwith24@msn.com.

Your announcement should include the name of the tournament, date(s), location, starting times, format (such as 3-move vs. GAYP, number of rounds and classes, etc.), motel accommodations, and contact info. Before booking your tournament dates, you may wish to check with myself or with the ACF calendar of events (www.usacheckers.com) to ensure that you are not booking a tournament for the same weekend that a neighboring state is holding a tournament.

For those organizers who want to go the extra mile, consider giving the tournament announcement to local tourism bureau. They can wire the info throughout the state. Secondly, the announcement, with the words, .For immediate release,. can be faxed to newspaper and TV stations. An example release example is shown in Appendix F (courtesy of John & Judy Grisley from Marion, Illinois.)

Yes, ACF membership is required for all participants at ACF-sanctioned tournaments. ACF membership ($25) may be paid along with the tournament entry fee to the tournament director. Membership applications are available on the ACF Website at http://www.usacheckers.com/membershipapplicationform.pdf. (It is suggested that tournament directors give a paper receipt for paid membership.)

There is also an Associates membership program ($10) that bypasses the dues requirement as an encouragement to beginner or junior players. However, this is not meant to be an ongoing "bargain rate." Also, some tournaments occasionally have an unaffiliated "junior tournament" on the side to attract younger players who are beginners.

It is suggested to have a policy (to protect the B players) on preventing strong players from entering a lower division than appropriate. For example, the winner of the lower division(s) should be required to move up a division for the next two calendar years. ACF ratings are another resource for determining where to place people.

Another situation that can arise is trying determining which division to place a new player, especially someone who has never entered a tournament. Most newcomers enter the bottom division, but some may be qualified to enter a higher class. One suggestion is to have a designee give the entrant a brief checker test (set up first position or whatever) or play him a quick game to assess skill level.

The following are a sampling of things that are discouraged or not allowed.

• Actions that distract the opponent
• Stalling tactics
• Feinting to play one move (or writing a .decoy. move) when there is no intention to play that move
• Intentionally not writing moves down to confuse the opponent as to how many moves were made (if clocks are in use)
• Turning in .false. or significantly incomplete games (where recording of games is required) to hide .cooks.
• Spectator interference (including providing information about time on time clock)
• Offering a draw on a lost position
• Not resigning when the position is hopeless
• Smoking in playing room
• Cell phone noise (such phones should be turned off or on vibrate mode)
• Not placing the pieces neatly on squares
• Refusing to shake hands
• Consistently arriving late
• Leaving the playing room (except bathroom). (I.ll personally tolerate some slack here for smoking breaks, etc. as long as opponent is agreeable.)

Examples of illegal moves are moving out of turn (moving twice), jumping to the wrong square, picking up wrong checkers after a jump, etc. Typical rules allow one warning by the referee, with a forfeit for the next infraction. (Perhaps some referee discretion should be given to players who are new to the game that make harmless oversights?) There is no penalty if the pieces are bumped accidentally. Illegal moves are allowed to stand if they are not caught .at a later date..

There is less clarity in ACF and EDA rules in how to address illegal moves that are not caught until several moves later. I suggest that if an illegal move is not noticed right way (but is discovered before the conclusion of the game), the position should be recreated back to the point where the illegal move was made (pro-rating the time shown on time clocks, as appropriate). If this position cannot be recreated, then the game is declared void and is started over.

Tournaments typically run anywhere from one day to a week (for National tournaments). The number of rounds depends on how many days and how much time is allotted for each round. Consideration may be given to allow people time to travel when scheduling rounds.

Two common formats for pairing players are Swiss and Round-Robin. The number of rounds in a tournament is predetermined by the advertised tournament announcement. The number of players that participate in each division dictates whether Swiss or Round-Robin is appropriate. Playing Round-Robin (where each player plays all opponents in his/her division once) is a very fair format. However, when the number of players exceeds the number of scheduled rounds by more than two, then the Swiss system is recommended.

There is an Italo-Swiss guideline on how many rounds of Swiss pairings are optimal for a given number of players. The formula is . n to ½ n + 1, where n is the number of players in the division. An additional repairing round in the final round is commonly used, but is not considered here. I computed the following from the above formula as examples:

I realize that most tournaments already have a pre-determined number of rounds. The above chart is presented to verify whether the proposed number of rounds is on target with the number of actual entrants.

Hybrid formats have been used, depending on the number of players. A seven-round tournament having eight players (or seven players and a bye) makes for a perfect Round-Robin. But what if you have six players? Or ten? I suppose there is no single solution. For the six-player scenario, you could play five rounds of round-robin followed by two rounds of Swiss. In recent Pennsylvania tournaments (12 players & ten rounds), we have played ten rounds of "Round-Robin," accepting that each person will play all but one opponent. For ten rounds with only six players, you can do a five-round Round-Robin twice.

For the next (and subsequent) rounds, pairings are determined by the total number of match points. So, if there are three people with 4 points prior to the second round, two of the "fours" are randomly drawn to play. The remaining person with four points drops down and plays someone from the next lowest point group. This procedure is carried through until all have been paired, starting with the highest point total. Fresh pairings should be made so that the same two players are not repaired. This can get tricky in the later rounds of the tournament. If you approach pairing the bottom players and find that no fresh pairings are possible, then you can work your way back up and reshuffle the higher point groups as necessary to make fresh pairings below.

Exceptions to the "fresh pairing" rule include:

1. In the next to last round (and sometimes the round previous to this), it is permissible to repair the bottom two players if this avoids reshuffling all the way back to the top to the point where they top pairing must be broken.

2. I've seen some tournaments require that players will be repaired if needed to prevent someone playing an opponent with a point discrepancy of more than 6 points. This is OK if it's in keeping with tournament tradition, but this concept is not in the National tournament rules. In any case, it's recommended to avoid having two opponents play each other three times in a Swiss tournament.

3. In the final round, repairing is permitted, but fresh pairings are still sought, if all else is equal. For example, if the leader with 20 points has already played one (and only one) of the two people with 19 points, then the leader is automatically paired with the other person with 19 points. If the leader has played both opponents with 19 points, then a random opponent should be drawn from the 19s (rather than seeking a fresh 20-18 pairing).

One other example: In round five, the three co-leaders have 13 points, and two of these three still have not played each other. These two should automatically be paired to create a fresh pairing of 13s. The remaining player with 13 points drops down to play someone from the next point group.

A player shall not receive more than one bye in a tournament. After the first round, the person with the lowest total (who has not already had a bye) receives the bye. His/her pairing card can then be set aside before the rest of the pairings are made. If there is more than one person who qualifies for the bye because of a tie in match points, then the referee shall randomly draw for the bye (unless the need for "fresh pairings" already dictates who should or should not get the bye.)

--Additional Variations to Swiss Pairings:

I think our current system is adequate, but the following options offer small improvements for any tournament director who doesn.t mind a little extra work.

1. The ACF rules allow repairing in the last round so #1 and #2 have a chance to decide the tournament for themselves rather than against a couple of players in the middle of the pack. However, it may be worthwhile to create another .Lowder rule. that says a fresh top pairing should be drawn if the leader has a lead of more than 4 points where he/she cannot be caught. If so, I suggest a rule be put in place prior to the start of a tournament so there will be no complaints in the last round.
2. Floating .Say you have two players tied with 10 points with an odd number of players ahead of them. By random draw, one of the players plays an 11-point opponent while the other draws an .easier. 9-point opponent. This .floating to another point level. is noted by the tournament director by putting a .+. (or .-.) by each players name. In the event that either player faces a similar situation later in the tournament, the player who was paired up to play the 11-pointer will be exempt from have to play a higher opponent, where possible. This helps to ensure someone, by luck of the draw, doesn.t get a string of lower-point opponents.
3. Ratings controlled pairings. All players in a division are ranked based on their rating. Say there are 16 entrants, then for the first round, #1 plays #9, #2 plays #10, and so on down to #8 vs. #16. This .chess. system more efficiently sorts the players (to allow all the cream to rise to the top together sooner) in the early rounds.
4. When determining who gets the .bye. for the first round, it has been suggested that a high caliber player like Alex Moiseyev shouldn.t be getting byes. Rather than singling out someone as the weakest, perhaps the bye could be randomly drawn from the eight players with the lowest rating. This is merely a possible suggestion.

If three-move restriction is used, then an opening is selected at random. The ACF accepted 12 additional openings in 2003. Decks are currently being sold for use in 2004. This makes 156 sound three-move openings. No other deck will be allowed in tournament play beginning with the 2004 National. Please note that with the new deck, the decks are designed so that it is no longer necessary to replace the first drawn card into the deck for reshuffling.

(Note: Usage of time clocks and scoresheets is optional, but they are a suggestion for the master class division and/or more prestigious events. Even if clocks are not used, a player may request a clock before beginning his round with an opponent.)

If available, the use of clocks is mandatory for all games at the rate of 30 moves per hour per player, followed by 15 moves for subsequent half hours if the game is still in progress. In other words, 30 moves are required (including the moves in the opening ballot) for each player for the first hour, and 45 cumulative moves are required at the 90-minute mark.

Spectators should not interfere with time clocks or with any referee participation that occurs after a flag has fallen. Players are responsible for their own clock, but it is courteous to alert your opponent for failure to punch a clock. I would add that it is also courteous to give your opponent a 2-minute warning if they appear oblivious to the clock. (The referee may also give a time warning.) A resigned game takes precedence over a fallen flag that is not observed until after the resignation. If both flags fall (and the fist flag fall was not claimed), the game is called a draw.

If scoresheets are provided by the ACF, players should record their games on the scoresheets and turn them in to the tournament director at the end of every round. The tournament director should send the player scoresheets to the ACF Games Processor for recording.

Recently I have seen the recycled idea of requiring all players to start their second game at the halfway point in the round (if the first game is unfinished). The position of the first game is written down, and the game is finished after the second game is complete with whatever time is left in the round. Alex Moiseyev seems to like this approach, and it discourages someone who might try to stall to get an automatic draw on the second game by having the time of the round expire. There is the risk that you will have two unfinished games (this happened to me in Illinois, but both games were quickly adjudicated), but usually it works out OK and assures all games will be played.

I'm not claiming any of these approaches are a perfect solution, but hopefully a tournament director can pick out an approach suitable to his tournament.

Ballot scoring is a newer idea for four-game rounds (to my knowledge, first suggested by Alex Moiseyev). The first balloted opening (Games 1 and 2) is scored winner-take-all: 2-0, or 1-1 if drawn. This system is applied again to the second ballot (games 3 and 4), so there are 4 points total at stake as in round scoring. There are five possible scores for the match: 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. As an example, a player who, in this order, scores a win, loss, win, and draw will receive 3 points (1+2) and his/her opponent 1 point (1+0).

For National tournaments, the three scoring methods will be reviewed in the April 2005 bulletin.

Note that honor points are used to break ties when determining only the final standings and not prize money. The tied players still split their prize money evenly. It's possible the tied players will tie on both match and honor points, in which case they are declared tied.

Example: In the following 4-round, 4 player tournament, Jones and Smith finish tied with 8 points apiece. The round-by-round results show what opponents they played.

Jones played Opponent # 3, 4, 1, and 1, so his honor points are 8+10+10 (drop the 6; low score) = 28. Smith played Opponents # 2, 1, 4, and 4, so his honor points are 8+10+6 (drop the other 6 as low score) = 24. Therefore Jones places 2nd, and Smith 3rd. This makes sense, since Jones had to play the winner twice. Jones and Smith still share equally the prize money allotted for 2nd and 3rd place.

Note that honor points are irrelevant in a true round-robin tournament since everyone plays the same list of opponents. A round-robin is perhaps a fairer format for this reason, although ties cannot be resolved by an honor point method.

Some tournaments use other methods to break ties besides honor points, such as first looking to see how the tied players fared when they played head to head. This is an OK approach if it is in keeping with the tournament's tradition and rules, but for consistency I prefer the honor point approach (with dropping the lowest score) to break ties, which is the system used in National tournament rules.

His opponents' honor points would be computed by: 8 pts. * (7 rounds / 4 rounds) = 14 fictitious tournament points. (OK to calculate with fractions, or round off, if you don't get a whole number result.) Usually the people that drop out have a low number of points if they're not doing well, and often this pro-rating calculation is negligible, or irrelevant if the dropout turns out to be the lowest scoring opponent (which you would drop anyway).

Now... you can get into goofy situations where, say, a good player scores four points his first round and then withdraws because of illness. The ACF National rules mention putting a cap (26 points for an 8-round tournament) on how many projected tournament points you can allot someone. For a seven round tournament, this corresponds to about 23 points.

When two divisions are present, the higher-skilled divisions should receive a larger proportion of the prize money - approximately 60-70% if two divisions. However, these proportions may need adjusted if one class has a significantly higher number of entrants than the other class.

Some tournaments pay money for every position. While this approach may have some merit when there are a not enough players to create a second class for the B players, I prefer to pay only the top 4-7 places (and ties) -- depending how many players are in the division. For a large tournament such as a National, a higher number of money positions is customary since there are more players. Sometimes non-cash prizes are awarded too, if someone donates checker books. This is a nice touch if up-and-coming junior players are present.

New in 2005: Please include prize distribution with tournament results. At the end of the tournament, it is also suggested that a second person possess a backup copy, such as a photocopy, of the tournament cross-table results. This preserves ratings data should the unthinkable happen to the primary referee.

If the tournament will publish recorded games (as is the case with National tournaments), games should ultimately go to ACF Games Processor, Michael Holmes, or can be sent first to National Organizer along with rest of tournament results.

• Having name tags for participants is encouraged, especially when new players are present.

• The noise level in the playing room should be kept to a minimum when games are in progress.

• If possible, the big scoresheet should be affixed to a wall away from scorekeeper's table for easy viewing by participants and spectators.

• At the referee' discretion, it is suggested that the referee (perhaps with the help of a designee), and not the players, supply the three-move deck and observe as each ballot is drawn. This ensures everyone is playing from an updated and fair deck, which is good since we are currently adding new openings. There is also a system where the referee draws one opening and everybody plays that same opening that round. This is OK too, but not necessarily a preference of mine either.

• The practice of recording games and using time clocks may become more commonplace in the future, especially in the Master class.

• In future, we hope to have computer available programs available to automatically make pairings and compute honor points.

• For the integrity of ACF ratings, it is important to turn in round-by-round results of your tournament, as discussed in Appendix E.

1. Basic Rules of Checkers condensed from Official Tournament Rules of the American Checker Federation.
2. This will be a seven-round tournament with four rounds on Saturday and three rounds on Sunday. The Swiss System is used. Round-robin pairings may also be used when appropriate, such as when there are only 7 or 8 players in a division. Three-move restriction openings are used for Class A and Class B.
3. A touched piece shall be moved, unless the player has declared in advance that he is straightening his checker on the square.
4. There will be two games per round, with the time limit of two hours per round. If the two games are not finished within the two-hour limit, players will be notified ten minutes before the round. (If there happens to be a break at the end of this round, more time may be allotted at the referee's discretion.) At the end of the round, if the game's outcome is not obvious to the referee, the players will be asked, "can either of you win this game?" If either player wishes to play on, the game will either be adjudicated, or the game will proceed at one-move-a-minute up to fifteen minutes. The players will be notified "ten seconds" before a minute is up by the appointed timekeeper; failure to move results in a forfeit. If a winner is still not declared, three players will be chosen to adjudicate the game. The two players may choose one judge each, and the officers will choose the third judge.
5. This is a suggestion only, although you have two hours to play two games, try to complete each game within one hour to give your opponent an opportunity to play both sides of an opening. [Note 1]
6. If 20 minutes or less remains in the round after completion of the first game, the second game shall be called a draw if one player does not wish to begin the second game.
7. If one player is slow to make progress on an endgame position (and if the outcome of the game is not obvious to the referee), the opponent may request a "forty-move count." The first player has forty of his/her own moves to demonstrate progress (such as an exchange, or advancement of a single piece) or else the game is declared a draw.
8. Players running more than fifteen minutes late will be required to forfeit the first game. Players arriving an hour and fifteen minutes late will be required to forfeit both games.
9. Scoring will be two points for a win and one point for a draw. A bye will receive three points. Forfeit of both games will be scored as a bye. [Note 2]
10. At completion of the tournament, honor points will be used to break ties and decide the winner. Prize money will be evenly split for a tie and not decided by honor points.
11. The winner of Class B (and Class C, as appropriate) is ineligible to play in that class again for a period of two years.
12. Remember that checkers is a game. Sportsmanship is very important to help us promote this great game. Always remember the Golden Rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Note 2: Some tournaments award 4 points for a forfeit and/or the bye. It may be appropriate to vote at the start of a tournament.

rcb/Feb2006

The column headings represent the number of players in the division. Each column shows the percent breakdown for a given number of prize positions. For example, if there are four prize positions and a $200 prize fund, 1st place gets $200 x 0.400 = $80, 2nd place gets $200 x 0.267 = $53.40, etc. It is suggested to round to the nearest dollar or the nearest five dollars to avoid dealing with change.

Note: I will perform full distribution of results automatically for you to the above contacts. However, if you wish to perform a partial distribution of results (for example, for timely reporting to a website), please check above box where appropriate.

Please enclose final standings and prize of the participants, including their state (or country) of residence. (Feel free to comment on any tournament highlights that you would like printed.) Enclose round-by-round results for ratings (see Appendix E-2 for more detail) to ratings processors Dave Butler (dbutler245@aol.com) and Igor Keder (ikeder@volny.cz. Electronic format (such as Appendix E-2) are preferred, but if not in electronic format, send to

Rich Beckwith
34490 Ridge Road #115,
Willoughby, OH 44094

and I will forward to Dave and Igor.

If applicable, send all recorded games to ACF Games Processor (currently Michael Holmes) or to National Organizer

*"3T5" means he played opponent #3 and now has a cumulative score of 5 pts. This T Notation may be used for Round-robin tournaments too. Note that it is not necessary to re-order the players in the order they finished.

S3 means the player scored three points against that opponent. Cumulative scores are not required with S notation. This S Notation may be used for Swiss tournaments too, leaving blank spaces where appropriate.

(insert any pertinent logos needed for your association)

(Your name here)

Secretary-Treasurer

(Your address here)

(your city & state here) (your logo here)

E-Mail: your E mail here)

(Your phone here)

(Your state here)CHECKER ASSOCIATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Date of Release here)The (example) 44th (state name) State Checker Tournament will be held on (date, 2004, at the (place and address ) .Registration begins at 8:00 am (date, , 2004, in the (location ) with a business meeting following.

Entry fee is $(amount) and can be paid at registration time. Entrants will be divided into A class (expert), B class(minor) and C class (beginners). Play begins promptly at 9:45 am and continues through the evening. Play then resumes on Sunday at exactly 8:30 am with winners being determined by 4:00 pm Sunday afternoon.

All checker players are invited. Bring your own checker board. Appropriate dress is expected and appreciated. For more information please contact ( organizer, title. At (phone number) or (club officer), ( title) at ( phone number).