Anyone have any experience running these? I heard I should practice before I run one, just wondering how to set all this junk up and the tiebreaks, etc.
First you should decide whether you are running a “team-vs-team” tournament or an “individual-and-team” tournament.
In team-vs-team, teams of four (or more) players are paired against each other directly, as teams. For example, Washington HS vs Lincoln HS, with Washington’s board 1 vs Lincoln’s board 1, etc.
With individual-and-team, players are paired against each other individually (except that you avoid pairing players from the same “team”, or school, whenever it is reasonable to do so). There can be any number of players from the same team. At the end, the four (or some other number) with the highest individual scores are considered to have formed the team.
A pairing program may handle both, but you have to tell it which one you’re doing.
Bill Smythe
Team vs Team
I use it for the Amateur Team West, but your question is too general to deal with here. Send me an e-mail with more specifics if you want to discuss it (rfeditor@westernchess.com).