The class-tournaments are a perpetual league-system for individual players, with pro- or demotion according to the results achieved.
The format of the groups is: 5 player double round robin, standard time control (30d+1d/m).
1. Players & results
All tournaments (ready for signup, ongoing and completed) are listed on the page https://www.schemingmind.com/home/classtournaments.aspx
On the each players profile page you can find his/her current 'players class' (if once registered for the Class Tournament system).
2. How to participate
Every full member of SchemingMind can participate in the Class Tournaments System.
As soon as you have a first rating in Standard chess here at SchemingMind you can start in the CT system. Therefore you have to register once on the page https://www.schemingmind.com/home/classtournaments.aspx
Note: this is the signup for the CT system in general. Thereafter you can join a group of your class, by clicking on the particular tournament group, and then join there as usual.
There should be always one recruiting tournament available for each class. In case you can not find one, ask for it at the TD or webmaster.
You are free to play more than one class tournament simultaneously, you are also free to participate irregularly, taking shorter or longer breaks. How often, and how many tournaments you join, depends only on you.
3. Class Tournaments rules
3.1. The class system
There are five classes, counted from 1 (highest), to 5 (lowest). Each player belongs to one, and only one class.
The Initial class is assigned according to the players rating (only rated players can join), with the following rating limits:
- Class 1 (rating >2100)
- Class 2 (rating 1800-2100)
- Class 3 (rating 1500-1799)
- Class 4 (rtg. 1100-1499)
- Class 5 (rating <1100)
Later on, people are promoted/demoted according to the results of the tournaments they play, disregard of their current rating.
3.2. Promotion
If you win a tourney of the same or a higher class, than you are currently in, you are promoted one class up. If your class is already higher than the tournament class, your current class doesn’t change.
It can happen if you play a few tournaments simultaneously. Say, you are class 3 player, and join two class 3 tournaments. And you win both. Winning of the first of them promotes you to the class 2, winning the other one has no meaning as your class is already higher than the tournament class.
In case two players share the first place, with the same score, both are promoted (only the score is taken into account, the tiebreak Sonneborn-berger (SB) is of no relevance). In case more than two players have the same score at the top, the player (or two players) with the higher SB is (are) promoted. If SB is also the same for more than 2 players, nobody is promoted.
In summary:
- One player has the highest score: That player is promoted.
- Two players share highest score (same or different SB): Both are promoted.
- Three or more players share the highest score (different SB): Player with highest SB promoted, a 2nd player to be promoted also, if SB differs from 3rd player.
- Three or more players share the highest score (same SB): Nobody is promoted.
It is not possible to promote up from the 1st class. Until 2016 extra "Honour Class Tournaments" were held for the winners of 1st class tournaments. Thereafter, from 2017 until 2020, the Class 1 winners were nominated for a annual Site Championship. (Due to lack of demand amongst the nominated players the annual site champion in standard chess is determined in the annual dropout tournament)
3.3. Demotion
If you lose (finish last) a tourney of the same or a lower class, than you are currently in, you are demoted one class down. If your class is already lower than the tournament class, your current class doesn’t change.
So if you played two class 2 tournaments, and finished last in both, you are demoted only to the class 3.
In case two players share the last places, with the same score, both are demoted (only the score is taken into account, SB is of no relevance). In case more than two players have the same score at the bottom of the table, the player (or two players) with the lowest SB is (are) demoted. If SB is also the same for more than 2 players, nobody is demoted.
In summary:
- One player has the lowest score: That player is automatically demoted.
- Two players share lowest score (same or different SB): Both are demoted.
- Three or more players share the lowest score (different SB): The two with the lowest SB are demoted.
- Three or more players share the lowest score (same SB): Nobody is demoted.
(No demotion for players in Class 5, of course)
3.4. Table for pro-/demotion
We have to distinguish ‘Class of Player’ (CP) and ‘Class of Tournament’ (CT); because as it is allowed to start in parallel groups, this may be different. So, at the completion of a tournament, the following rules apply in case of promotion and demotion, taking into account the current status of CP and the status of CT:
Promotion:
CT1 --> current CP/ new CP: 1/HC(*); 2/1; 3/2; 4/3; 5/4
CT2 --> current CP/ new CP: 1/1; 2/1; 3/2; 4/3; 5/4
CT3 --> current CP/ new CP: 1/1; 2/2; 3/2; 4/3; 5/4
CT4 --> current CP/ new CP: 1/1; 2/2; 3/3; 4/3; 5/4
CT5 --> current CP/ new CP: 1/1; 2/2; 3/3; 4/4; 5/4
(*) HC = invitation for Honour Class // remark: new system/mode for winners of class 1 under discussion !
Demotion:
CT1 --> current CP/ new CP: 1/2; 2/2; 3/3; 4/4; 5/5
CT2 --> current CP/ new CP: 1/2; 2/3; 3/3; 4/4; 5/5
CT3 --> current CP/ new CP: 1/2; 2/3; 3/4; 4/4; 5/5
CT4 --> current CP/ new CP: 1/2; 2/3; 3/4; 4/4; 5/5
CT5 --> current CP/ new CP: 1/2; 2/3; 3/4; 4/5; 5/5
(i.e.: If you lose a tourney of the same, or a lower class than you are currently in, you go 1 step into the direction of lower classes. If your class is already lower than the tournament class, your current class doesn’t change)
3.5. Applying the class changes
The class changes are applied within a few days after the tournament completion. In case the winner or loser is known before the tournament ends (say, somebody quickly wins or loses all the games), the class change may be performed before the tournament ends.