From: sloan@cis.uab.edu (Kenneth Sloan)
Subject: Re: 1/4 K becomes 1/2 K??
Organization: CIS, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 05:24:06 GMT

In article <1992Oct8.001750.23817@cs.brown.edu> jhc@iris.brown.edu.uucp (James H. Coombs) writes:
>The November Chess Life [p. 4] states that "noting the relatively low
>popularity of Quarter-K Action events, the Delegates voted to raise the
>'fractional' option to Half-K, effective February 15, 1993."
>
>Does anyone know what this means?  

It means that Quarter-K events were not popular, so the concept is being
tinkered with.

Quarter-K Action events were introduced as a compromise.  On the one
hand, these events affect a player's "regular" OTB rating.  The
proponents of fast play wanted Action time controls.  The "ratings are
sacred" crowd felt that Action timm controls were sufficiently different
from "slow play" that an individual Action game should not affect a
rating as strongly as a "slow" game.  Some people worried about their
ratings dropping because they did not play well at Action time controls.
So...organizers were given the *option* of having a tournament rated at
either "full-K" or "Quarter-K".  The idea was to allow players to enter
such (experimental) events without exposing their hard-won rating
points.

The experiment has been declared a failure.  The new experiment is to do
precisely the same thing, with a fudge factor of 0.5 instead of 0.25.
The same qualitative arguments apply - only the numbers have changed

>...It seems to say that the time
>control will not change but that the K used in ratings computations
>will be doubled.  I see from P. 64 that Quarter-K now Half-K is not the
>same as Quick Chess, which is actully 0.6K?!  So does 1/N K go to
>particular time controls or to particular tournaments?  My guess is
>G30.

The 0.6K Quick Chess scheme is entirely different.  This is a separate
rating scale, at very fast tim controls.  "0.6K" is simply a convenient
way to describe the K used in this, separate scale.  An organizer who
offers a Quick Chess event has no choice about K.

The old 0.25K (the new 0.5K) is an organizer's option.  There is a
convenient box to check ("1/4 K yes... no...") on th TLA forms.  I've
forgotten the conditions surrounding 1/4 K - but it would not surprise me
to find out that *any* "regular" tournament could be declared 1/4 K (1/2
K).  

>
>And, I wonder, is the "relatively low popularity of Quarter-K" due to
>the reduced ratings exposure or the time control?  

My guess is that it's both!  Most players believe that they are actually
stronger than their published rating.  A 1/4 K tournament offers little
opportunity to raise one's rating.  I think this is probably a stronger
pressure than the "fear of losing rating points" argument.  Now, couple
this with an unfamiliar time-control and....who actually enters theses
tournaments?  Probably people who want to play more games, and don't
give a rat's ass about manipulating their rating one way and the other.
In othe words...no one that I know!

In my opinion, the whole mess is simply more paper-shuffling idiocy.
yet another poorly-conceived and poorly administered twiddle.
Get rid of "fractional K" entirely.  [note - this is not directed at
thhe "0.6K" for Quick Chess.  As I said above, the 0.6K is simply a
shorthand way to specify the one, constant K used in administering the
Quick Chess rating.]

================================================================
Quoting from the most recent Rating Supplement:

"... after February 15, 1992, organizers will have the option to choose
rating a "regular" event at full K or 0.5-K.  One-quarter K will no
longer be used to rate "regular" events after February 14, 1993.  ..."


-- 
Kenneth Sloan                   Computer and Information Sciences
sloan@cis.uab.edu               University of Alabama at Birmingham
(205) 934-2213                  115A Campbell Hall, UAB Station 
(205) 934-5473 FAX              Birmingham, AL 35294-1170
Newsgroups: rec.games.chess