Forced (full-point) byes are an unfortunate consequence of an odd-number of available players for a given round of a tournament.
We also acknowledge that folks are sometimes too busy to be able to put three- or four-Sunday evenings aside in a row.
In an effort to be able to better anticipate such situations and being able to inform any individual(s) affected, a player requesting a half-point bye for a round must adhere to the following rules:
- A player may request two 1/2 point byes per tournament (actually, they could request more, but that would be pretty silly). Please note that players who receive two (or more) half-point byes in an event are not eligible to receive any cash prizes for that event.
- To remain eligible for cash prizes, round 4 1/2-point byes must be requested before the end of round 1. If a round 4 1/2-point bye is requested after the end of round 1, it can be granted, but the recipient would no longer be eligible for prizes.
- 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::
- A bye for a particular round must be requested (by email or phone) by 10:00 am Sunday morning of that round. 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 (esp. since the club is offering Open Rated games for Club members after July 1, 2009).
- 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 we know of any bye requests or forced bye situations, we'll update the web site with said information.
A quick summary of the bye rules:
- 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 for everyone involved in the event.
- Players receiving two (or more) half-point byes in an event are not eligible to receive cash prizes.
- To remain eligible for cash prizes, round 4 1/2 point byes must be requested before the end of round 1 (while registering for the tournament would be optimal). Zero-point byes don't have this restriction.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.
Sincerely,
Drew Sarkisian