The photo below shows some of the 30 Bury Knights' members who are taking part this year:
After four rounds (out of seven), the sole leader is 10-year old Adam John on 12 points (three points for a win, two for a draw and one for a loss). Close behind on 10 points are seven other members.
To qualify for the next level, the Megafinal, players must either score 17 points (equivalent to five wins and two losses), or be the highest scorer in their age-group (boys/girls). The Megafinal is held at Woodbridge School, in May.
Both FIDE's Chess in Schools Commission and the ECU's Educational Commission strongly recommend the 1-2-3 scoring system. In terms of numerical outcome this is effectively the same as the traditional 0-1/2-1 system (very different from the 0-1-3 used in some high level events). It could, for example, be applied to the Candidates or other international outcomes and the rankings would remain identical.
ReplyDeleteThe important thing to note, the underlying advantage of the 1-2-3 system (aside from eliminating half-points) is that NO POINTS are scored for a loss. Each player is awarded 1 point for taking part (+1 for a draw or +2 for a win).
Some players consider this explanation to be nit-picking (and stick with calling it 3-win, 2-draw, 1-loss) but the difference psychologically is huge and was behind the original introduction of the system about 30 years ago in Sweden and independently about 15 years ago in South America.