Anyone ever have a player request a zero point bye instead of a half point bye so that they will have an easier pairing for the following round (and be much more likely to get a win in the next round versus a loss)?
I’ve never had a player request a zero point bye in a round when half point byes were offered. The old TD at my club used to give zero point byes to lower rated players who missed a round so that they would get more competitive games. The prize money, while present, was rarely significant. I would think that this sort of thing would be more likely to backfire than work well.
Alex Relyea
Don’t recall that ever happening in one of my tournaments. Closest I’ve come across is a player requesting a 1/2 pt bye instead of a full point when they were the odd-man. They didn’t want to be bumped up into the higher score group in future rounds.
- Enrique
It depends on the event. In a large event, like the US Open, a player who is towards the bottom of the field should probably get a zero point bye in the first round, possibly in the first two rounds.
On the other hand, a GM should probably get a full point bye in the first two rounds.
In the days of the “12 round US Opens and the Busyman Special”, players entering the US Open at the start of round 7, after the Delegates Meeting, used to get seeded into the field based on their rating, I think some GMs may have gotten as much as 4 1/2 or 5 points.
I’m a frequent victim of the full-point odd-player bye. Out of 14 tournaments, I’ve had four 1-point days that consisted of one bye and three losses. Those are demoralizing, I can tell you.
Best solution I’ve encountered is from a TD/Organizer that provides house players.
Sometimes if the organizer only allows a single half-point bye in their event, but the player needs to take off two rounds or more, the zero-point bye comes in handy as a win-win for the woodpusher and the TD/organizer.
I’ve also seen cases where the player receiving a bye as lowest rated with low score be given a zero point bye instead of one point bye. I think the rationale was the player would be given brutally difficult parings with a 1 point bye, so it was requested to make it zero point bye. As it was since she was outrated by over 400 points, it made sense. I was the next one in line to get the bye since the few players rated between the 1220 and me were taking 1/2 point byes in 4th round. I was perfectly happy to accept the 1 point bye so that I could get challenging pairings.
At similar events I’ve occasionally had players ask if they could get more than one bye and I’ve responding by saying they could get byes in every round if they want to. While they are looking at me in confusion I’ll continue by saying there is no limit on zero-point byes.
The same type of answer suffices for players requesting last-round byes after the deadline for half-point byes in that round has passed.
There are several competing concepts here.
The OP asked about requested byes. Of course, the right answer is that 0-point byes are always available (and greatly appreciated by TDs who would like to know that you won’t be there, so they don’t have to give a full point to your poor opponent). 1/2-point byes are a local option - some tournaments allow them, and some don’t. If you are eligible for a 1/2-point bye, I think it’s still perfectly OK to ask for a 0-point bye instead.
A related, but completely different situation, arises with UNrequested byes. Usually, the odd player is automatically given a full point. The question here is: can the player request to be credited with only 1/2 point, or even 0 points? At one time or another, I’ve had just about every possible opinion on this. But, for me, the bottom line is that as soon as you allow the players to make choices you open the door to unintended consequences. The whole point of the player request for 1/2 or 0 instead of 1 is to influence his pairings for the rest of the tournament. What is good for him may not be good for the rest of the field (or for the TD who has to do the pairings), and it may be difficult or impossible to figure out who will be helped and who will be harmed. Therefore, I have given up trying to figure out what is “best”. Once the pairings are made, the players should have no choices to make - in the case of the “Please Wait”, take the full point and enjoy your nap.
Of course, it’s always preferable to have a suitable House Player available - but this is not always possible.
In some tournaments, it might be possible to have a uniform policy of awarding 1/2-point for all assigned byes. Just be aware that there will always be
one player who will be VERY unhappy with this.
But…as a rule, player choices are mine fields. Try to avoid them whenever possible.
This is actually what I was seeking opinions on. I think you are the first person to provide one.
I agree that it’s best not give people choices except in the case of taking the bye or playing a house player if available. In most cases it’s hard to predict what the consequences of such a request would be. However in the example I cited I think a zero point unrequested bye was the best solution for what would have been some terrible pairings.
I’m not sure whether the player’s parents made the request or if the TD offered the option. There was no house player available, except possibly her 1100 rated father. Had she been given a full point bye she would have been the 13th player in the 1 score group. She would have dropped down to play the high 1/2 pointer rated 2247 who had arrived late and took a round 1 bye. I’m not sure he would have enjoyed smashing a player 900 points lower then him, and I’m not sure his competition would have appreciated his getting an easy 2nd round pairing. Instead he was paired against an 1800 who had upset a 2130 in the first round and she was paired against an 1850 who lost in round 1.
In this particular situation assigning a zero point bye made for more realistic pairings if such a thing is possible when a player rated 1300 is playing in a tournament where the next lowest rated player is close to 1600 and 80% the field is rated over 1800. Having her play other players with zero had no impact on prizes. The three players who ended out playing her were not in contention.
Even if you’re not eligible for a ½-point bye, you could try and use reverse-psychology on the TD and demand one, so you can get a 0-point bye anyway.
For that player. How about the pairings for all the other players?
Incidentally…if I can get away with it, I rarely offer a player a CHOICE between a House Player or the bye. If I have an appropriate House Player - they get paired and play and the player who would have otherwise gotten a full point bye never knows a thing about it. Again - offering players a choice invites trouble.