We do our best to accomodate our members' busy schedules...for the past year of operation, the Austin Chess Club had a very liberal policy concerning requesting byes during a tournament. At the request of some players, and to make things a little more predictable, I've decided to tighten the rules a little. Hopefully, nobody will find these changes too chafing.
Forced (full-point) byes are an unfortunate consequence of an odd-number of available players for a given round of a tournament. In an effort to be able to better anticipate such a situation and being able to inform any individual(s) affected, players requesting half-point byes for a round must adhere to the following rules:
- A player may request a 1/2 point bye once per tournament. Additional bye requests are automatically zero-point byes.
- Players who wish to enter a tournament late (i.e. at round 2) will receive a 1/2 point for round 1. Note that players must let the director know of their intent to enter the tournament before 10:00 am the day of round 2 . The earlier you let us know, the better, i.e. send email (best) or call as soon as you are certain you will be participating. Do not email / call if you are not certain of participation, i.e. "Hi, I think I might show up Sunday night to play". We need to know who is participating in the round as early as possible.
- A player may request a bye for any round of the tournament, with the following restrictions:
- Requests for a bye for the last round of a tournament must be requested before the start of the first round.
- Last round bye requests stand firm, i.e. the player cannot change his / her mind during the tournament and decide to play the round if they have requested and have been given a bye for the last round.
- Any other bye must be requested (by email or phone) by 10:00 am Sunday morning. This will give the director sufficient time to post any forced full point byes on the web site. Players who receive a forced (full point) bye are not obligated to show up to the club that night; on the other hand, they are encouraged to come see if any other player not in the tournament would like to play a rated game.
- Note that bye requests received after the cutoff time are automatically zero-point byes. This is much better than forfeiting the round, which could jeopardize participation in future events.
- Remember, the sooner you know that you require a bye, the sooner you should email (best) or call to request the bye. When calling, please speak clearly and distinctly, stating your name, section you are playing in, and the round you require the bye.
- Players must check the site the day of the round to ensure they have the latest information concerning byes. A good rule of thumb is to check at 11:00am Sunday (one hour after the bye cutoff time). While the director should have final information up sooner than 11:00am, this gives some leeway in case of unforseen technical difficulties.
Note that as soon as I know of any bye requests or forced bye situations, I'll update the web site with said information.
So, the rules are pretty much the same as before, with the following changes:
- Players must inform the director of their intention to take a bye no later than 10:00am the day of the round. The sooner we know, the better.
- Last round bye requests "stand firm."
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Drew Sarkisian