Strange initial pairing in tournaments

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I wonder if there might be a link with a possible misinterpretation of ranks in allocating handicaps?

How automatic handicap is calculated?

Giving this a “bump” since I’ve looked everywhere and can’t find anyone even trying to guess what to expect for 19x19 auto handicaps, let alone any kind of official documentation about it. With all the discussion about the importance of accurate ranks for assigning even games, shouldn’t we know this? The official documentation only says this: Handicap (you can select to prefer or require playing with or without a handicap) Here’s a handicap tournament that started a few days ago that might…