Rules for making pairings (short version)

Rules for making pairings (short version)

Don't panic, it's only a kids' chess tournament

(If you need help... find the room manager or (maybe) an arbiter)

1. As far as possible, pair players with the same total score.

2. Usually, a player should not play someone from his/her school

3. A player should not play the same person twice, except maybe in the last round, and only if it is the only reasonable pairing.

4. The first 3 games take place on a schedule. The first pairings are always pre-made, and there will be announcement from the mic when to pair the 2nd games and the 3rd games. (Players who are playing slowly at the beginning still get to play all eight games - no-one misses games.)

After three games, make pair-up players continuously, as soon as you get enough waiting players to make reasonable pairings.

The scorekeeper has to use common sense to...

try to keep everyone playing, not faster than 15 minutes per game

It's okay to have the players wait until reasonable pairings can be made.

ensure everyone gets in all their games, without too much waiting

and also make the fairest pairings, i.e. equal "total so far".

If there is an odd number of players waiting... as far as possible...

determine lowest # of games played... he should be paired if possible

then, make the best pairings possible.

Scoring

win = 1 point
draw (tie) = ½ point
loss = 0 points

Last game pairing: The last game is crucial for deciding the medals. After players have played 7 games, have them wait till you have enough players to make really good pairings for the last game.

Error checking for scorekeepers: when you get a minute, scan the cards to make sure you haven't accidently put the kid's own number in the "against" space, instead of the opponent's number. That's the most common error.