BGonline.org Forums

why I don't like Sundays at tournaments

Posted By: Phil Simborg
Date: Sunday, 30 December 2018, at 4:45 p.m.

Sunday, which is usually the last day of the tournament, should be the most exciting and fun. It's the finals of the main events and most side events.

But for almost every tournament, it is the most chaotic and disorganized and frustrating day of the tournament.

If you are lucky enough to still be alive in any major events, yes, for those very few people who make the semis or finals of a main event, it is fun and can be very exciting. But unfortunately, many of those people are alive in one or two side events as well, and that means that anyone in the side events probably has to wait, and wait, and wait, until they finally get to play their match.

If you are not alive in a main event, which is about 95 percent of the people, you might be alive in some side events, which means you can't watch the finals.

Or if you are knocked out of everything, often there is nothing you can still enter....too late for blitzes, seniors, quickies, and often there is little or nothing new being offered.

It would be wonderful if Sundays were scheduled and organized as well as Fridays and Saturdays, and it is possible to do that if tournament organizers change their approach to running tournaments.

You see, most tournaments make their money by raking events, so they try to offer and run as many side events as possible. I don't blame them for doing this....they work hard and they deserve to make some money providing these tournaments for us, and even when they do well, they certainly aren't getting rich running these events. So don't get me wrong...I am not begrudging tournament organizers for making a few bucks...in fact, I think they should make a lot more than they do, and I always tip generously whether I win or not and encourage others to do the same.

But encouraging people to play in many side events while they are still alive in the main events ALWAYS creates problems on Sundays and makes the end of virtually every tournament far less enjoyable for players who have to wait around for their matches and have little they can do while waiting.

One answer is to pay the TD's differently....a registration fee that assures that the TD gets enough money to cover expenses and make a little, instead of relying on rakes. Maybe you still rake the main event 5% on top of a reasonable registration fee, so it automatically comes off the winners. But make the side events free, and DO NOT ALLOW people to enter side events that conflict with the scheduling of main events. In fact, schedule the main brackets and possibly the Masters and doubles in a way where there can be no conflict, and do not allow anyone alive in these events to enter side events, except possibly quickies that can be played in a couple of minutes.

There are several other approaches that can make Sunday's more fun for everyone, and one thing I think would be excellent is if all tournaments make an effort to have the finals broadcast with commentary and have a viewing room for people to watch and hear the commentary.

I also have my own personal thoughts on commentary....it should not be a place where the commentators can show how smart they are and how bad the finalists are playing. Later, if someone wants to do an xg analysis of the more interesting plays and discuss them, fine, but the commentary should be aimed to explain what is going on over the board and what people should be thinking about if they were playing that particular position. If a player makes a play he shouldn't make, it's okay to point that out, but focus on why a particular play would be better, not how stupid the player was not to make the 5 point or not to double. Commentary should also aim to make the match more exciting and fun to watch, just like the commentary of a football game or any other game or sport.

I know many of the people on this forum are tournament directors and people who have influence with TD's, and that's why I am posting here. Also, I have not seen this particular issue addressed publicly, and I have commented to TD's for years about the above and most simply are not interested in trying new things or changing things. And I understand why...every time you try something new people complain...they won't like the registration fee...or they think the TD's are making too much money.

Well, you can't please everyone, but that doesn't mean we should do our best to make things better for most of us. If we want tournaments to grow and be successful, we need to do more to make it an enjoyable experience. And on that subject, I will continue to argue that we need to pay more places and let more people walk away with some money, and that simply means playing a little less to the top places....many hedge anyway because most of us realize too much is paid to the first and second place winners.