21-01-2013, 12:13 AM
Whether there is a rule of 50 points, 80 points or no rule at all, and whichever ratings system(s) is used (and even if team lists are exchanged in advanced), tactical options will still arise from the fact that the leeway that is permitted for a legitimate purpose (i.e. trying in good faith to play in genuine playing strength order) can allow the board order to be varied in order to meet a different, unstated purpose, like targeting a player ‘stuck’ on a particular high board.
One way of preventing this problem from even occurring would be to have a player registration system to set the order of the players in each team pool at the start of the tournament, with updates allowed to reflect form variations (and new players) so long as they were specified well in advance of a match. The requirement that teams should play in approximate order of strength could remain, but as there would be no tactical advantage to be gained by deliberately varying from the perceived playing strength order, this requirement could be made less specific – thereby, hopefully, avoiding most of the present arguments?
Might make life less interesting, though :-)
One way of preventing this problem from even occurring would be to have a player registration system to set the order of the players in each team pool at the start of the tournament, with updates allowed to reflect form variations (and new players) so long as they were specified well in advance of a match. The requirement that teams should play in approximate order of strength could remain, but as there would be no tactical advantage to be gained by deliberately varying from the perceived playing strength order, this requirement could be made less specific – thereby, hopefully, avoiding most of the present arguments?
Might make life less interesting, though :-)