 | Andy Platt https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByvrSuLzbxrSRUFpeXVudXcxSDA/edit?usp=sharing |
 | Matthew Tassier For subsequent rounds, what happens to the formula when one player is higher rated but the other has a higher maxes-per-game score? |
| Andy Platt The universe disintegrates! Plan A was that that wouldn't happen, but the squaring thing would throw out some weird results (square of two negatives gives positive). I'll throw some hypotheticals together later. |
 | Anoush Khachik Can i just state for the record my rating is low as when i first signed up in 2012 i practically lost all my games and scoring was extremely low that's why I've got such a low rating
|
| Andy Platt Yeah, you're playing well lately and as such this tournament would be an absolute cake-walk for you if i didn't do anything about it. Don't feel victimised, feel complimented |
| Matthew Tassier Maybe it would be simpler for a future tournament to stay with a simple formula but reserve the right to manually adjust ratings if the organiser feels someone's rating doesn't reflect current performances, for whatever reason. |
| Andy Platt It'll be interesting to see what Charlie uses for the aptobash 4. I think it will be similar to what I've done here but I think he is using a mix of maxes and pro-rank |
| Show all comments | |
| Sean D Have to say I'm a little uncomfortable with the change in handicapping mid tournament. It *looks* like Anoush is being victimised, but I can't understand his tiny rating score either :) |
| Matthew Tassier There's merit on both sides. Anoush is underrated due to having improved away from apterous and not having played a large number of rated games since returning. But I agree the targeted mid tournament rule changing doesn't feel great. |
 | |
| Andy Platt Quarter finals complete, two games won by a single point that would have seen the higher rated player win instead had we been playing by the old handicap. Apologies there naturally, but I still think the new formula is better.
|
| Matthew Tassier No apology needed, we were given a sensible handicap and played to it. Jamie played a really good game and was the deserved winner. |
Tourney round: Handicap Tournament: Quarter Final
Notes from the organizer: Important news, as I have altered the handicap formula. On the face of it, it's quite a major change, but in reality, for the majority of the games, it will only make a couple of points difference here or there.
((Rating(H) - Rating(L) - 50)/20 + MaxAvg(L) x (MaxAvg(H)-MaxAvg(L))^2)/(Max Avg(H) - MaxAvg(L) + 1)
where H is obviously "of the higher rated player" and L is the lower.
This handicap change biases towards weighting based on each player's mean maxes-per-game, but also retains some influence of the formula that was used for previous rounds. This will definitely help massively towards ensuring more competitive games.
As you probably guessed, the change was motivated by the manner in which Anoush is playing so consistently above what is expected of someone his rating, yet his rating never seems to change. Whether or not this is some deliberate tactic we can only speculate, but honestly, I don't really care either way, and I hate to sound like I'm calling one person in particular out, but I'm just doing whatever it takes to ensure that this tournament remains as competitive as possible. It's a change that I'd make regardless of whoever was getting the (arguably unfair) advantage from the formula; top-end player, new player, whatever, so hopefully this is not seen as somehow discriminatory or unfair. As a very illustrative example, Jamie French is rated near 1300, but is scoring 0.5 maxes per game fewer than Anoush, who is rated near 700. Call me crazy, but this simply doesn't add up. As such, this is hopefully satisfactory justification for what might previously have been perceived as an unfair course of action.
Anyway, on with the relevant info. The following changes to handicaps will occur:
- The handicap difference in the Matthew vs Jamie match would have been 12 under the old formula, but is now 17.
- Sean vs Jon gives a difference of 6 under both formulae.
- Thomas vs James changes from 19 to 21.
- Anoush vs Marcus changes from 56 to 36.
As you can see (hopefully), that's a hell of a lot fairer than before. I just wish I'd come up with it earlier, and I will probably use something very similar for future rounds or tournaments. I don't see a situation where I'd change it to be honest, but I guess it's not to be assumed either way.
Just a reminder that the lower rated player will still advance if the game is tied, and tie break conundrums will not count unless the handicap difference between the two players is zero (obviously not the case for the quarter finals, but it could well be for future rounds).
Good luck everyone!
Ran from: 5 – 19 March 2014. Format: 15 Rounder. Matches: One-off. Approved.
Fixtures: 4. Completed: 4.
Results and fixtures
| Player 1 | Player 2 | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew Tassier | Jamie French | 101 – 85 |
| Jon Stitcher | Sean D | 96 – 101 |
| Tom Cappleman | James Bailes | 98 – 78 |
| Marcus Hares | Anoush Khachik | 118 – 53 |
Key. Green: winner. Red: loser. Grey: tie. (Stripes: provisional, match in progress.)
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