Correspondence handicap arena tournaments

Unfortunately there was a bug that meant one of our tournaments is running without handicap. It should be fixed now, the hopefully the next one will run normally again.

Quick update after about 2 months:

  • tournament 20 has just started
  • one tournament is already finished
  • 85 participants
  • 280 matches finished

Still, we have barely started so feel free to join, if you haven’t yet. On the group page you should (nearly) always find a link to a tournament open for registration.

3 Likes

I have updated the standings again. Should do that more often.

We are getting closer to the end of the year, it’ll take much longer to finish this years arena, but the next one will start soon. I am looking for someone to help me running this. The job is just to see to it that there is always one tournament open for registration. On my own I sort of kept up, but have been a bit sloppy lately.

3 Likes

Oh I had missed this!

I joined the next one.

I’d volunteer to help after I’ve participated at least once, to see how everything runs.

2 Likes

Great, thanks. Not very complicated and there is no rush.

1 Like

Anyone still wanting to compete for the 2024 arena should hurry. New tournaments are still started. Meanwhile, the first tournament for 2025 is open for registration. All to be found on the group page: Handicap Arena

1 Like

I’m wondering about provisional players. Perhaps you shouldn’t allow them to join? Otherwise they get even games instead of handicap.

1 Like

Hmm, true. OTOH the series has been running for a year without that restriction and nobody complained (until today). Not sure how to best balance sticking to the spirit of the event and welcoming newbies.

I’m not really complaining, I’m fine with playing even games, but I’m wondering if getting crushed by stronger players could be a bad experience for beginners who expected more balanced games thanks to handicap stones. See for instance this tournament.

1 Like

Yeah, that makes my claim of being welcoming to newbies somewhat questionable.

I think I’ll disallow provisional players next year. Any dissenters, raise your voice.

1 Like

So, the year is nearly over. This tournament Handicap Arena 2024 - 080 might be the last one in the 2024 arena, you can still register. (If it fills quickly there might be another one even.)

Registration for next year’s arena has started, as mentioned before. The first tournament is here: Handicap Arena 2025 - 001

As discussed provisional players will be excluded, not because we don’t want them, but to protect them from even games against much much stronger players.

The year is nearly over but that does not mean the 2024 arena is decided yet. In the top spots we currently have:

1 ThornsFan 116 points
2 For Our Planet 100 points
3 Mr_Dobro 89 points

There are many, many games still open, so a 16 points lead is probably not enough to be sure about winning. The full standings are on the group page, as usual - updated today.

I’ll also take the opportunity to announce that @Gia will help me running this in the future. She’s already co-admin of the group. Thanks, Gia.

4 Likes