ICCF 2015-006: Same playing conditions for all games.
Welsh Correspondence Chess Federation (WCCF)
Events to carry the same playing conditions for all games.
Proposal
From 1.1.2016, in order to be rated by ICCF, all the games in a section of an event must be played under the same time control, leave allocation, and transmission method.
Rationale
In all other sporting and gaming activities, play at the highest level is governed by the fundamental principles of equality and of a level playing field. ICCF is unique in allowing differing conditions to be used for different players in the same event; this puts the organization at risk of ridicule from both within and without.
The rating system is designed to measure playing strength, all other things being equal. Introducing differing playing conditions in the same event introduces extraneous variability which may pollute the ratings distribution.
Other Comments/Considerations
The ICCF Webserver does not currently support mixed transmission methods in a single cross table. If ICCF wish to allow this, the server software should be modified appropriately; the approximate cost of these modifications is estimated at €25,000.00 (including testing).
Relevent Documentation
- ICCF Tournament Rules
- ICCF Arbiter’s Manual
Voting Summary
- A vote of Yes will mean that from 1.1.2016 all rated events will be played using the same time control, leave entitlement and transmission method for each player.
- A vote of No will mean that unfair and unequal events will be allowed to continue, and that approximately €25,000.00 will be spent on the webserver to support mixed mode events.
- A vote of ABSTAIN is not a vote but means the vote holder has no opinion and does not wish to represent the correspondence chess players of his or her federation in this matter.
Comments by Relevant Committees, Commissions, or ICCF Officers
Eric Ruch (EB)
In ICCF tournaments, diffirent method of play (postal and server transmission) are currently only allowed in WC Candidates and Finals. So far this possibility has only be used once and has never been popular amongst the player, as it may introduce unfair conditions of play. Therefore I fully support the proposal to remove the possibility of using nodes (this will also save us a significant amount of money that can be better used for more useful purposes).
Eric Ruch (Rules)
No comments yet
Dennis Doren
To properly represent the views of the 10 other members of the Arbiter Committee, I need to say that there were opinions expressed by multiple people both in favor of and against this proposal. The opinions expressed to me were strong and well articulated from both perspectives. Personally, I find the idea of promoting or even allowing different transmissions within the same tournament section as a noble attempt to accommodate to everyone's preference by making sure many people and potentially all players have to play some games of a type they prefer not to. It makes more sense to me to run postal tournaments for people wishing to play postal chess, and server tournaments for people wishing to play through the server. I am in favor of this proposal.