04-07-2013, 11:13 PM
The 1200 grading bar would seem pretty reasonable, perhaps with a stipulation of never previously been above 1250 or 1300. There would, of course, have to be a more experienced player on site to keep players in check with match rules etc.
As Adam points out, it's sometimes difficult to keep hold of these players who turn up for a while, but many give up when they don't break into teams. I feel that this is where the biggest loss is in the game. Some might never improve beyond novice level (but still enjoy the play as much as the rest of us), some others might improve to be mediocre or strong players. There might even be one or two gems in there who are able to put the study in.
The Edinburgh league runs a Summer Cup competition and Summer Plate, which is basically a consolation cup for 1st round losers. It's a handicap tournament where each player gets a 3/4 point handicap if their opponent is graded >200 higher, and 1/2 point handicap if the grading difference is 100-200 points. It's a great leveller when strong teams meet weaker teams. It used to be a good place to blood new players, and indeed was where i got my first team match, but the rules changed some years ago, ungraded players now count as 1400 for the purposes of handicap. In addition to this, whenever any board misordering takes place, the lower graded player then assumes the grade of the higher graded player for the purposes of the handicap. This effectively makes it unrealistic to blood new players there...
The Central League runs an Under 1500 Knockout Cup, which also runs very well, the 1500 grading bar seems to me to be about right. I don't know what scope or demand there would be for a similar competition for under 1200
As Adam points out, it's sometimes difficult to keep hold of these players who turn up for a while, but many give up when they don't break into teams. I feel that this is where the biggest loss is in the game. Some might never improve beyond novice level (but still enjoy the play as much as the rest of us), some others might improve to be mediocre or strong players. There might even be one or two gems in there who are able to put the study in.
The Edinburgh league runs a Summer Cup competition and Summer Plate, which is basically a consolation cup for 1st round losers. It's a handicap tournament where each player gets a 3/4 point handicap if their opponent is graded >200 higher, and 1/2 point handicap if the grading difference is 100-200 points. It's a great leveller when strong teams meet weaker teams. It used to be a good place to blood new players, and indeed was where i got my first team match, but the rules changed some years ago, ungraded players now count as 1400 for the purposes of handicap. In addition to this, whenever any board misordering takes place, the lower graded player then assumes the grade of the higher graded player for the purposes of the handicap. This effectively makes it unrealistic to blood new players there...
The Central League runs an Under 1500 Knockout Cup, which also runs very well, the 1500 grading bar seems to me to be about right. I don't know what scope or demand there would be for a similar competition for under 1200