16-01-2013, 11:09 PM
I've been living in Finland for the past 5 years or so and this is how they run the weekend tournaments: you send an entry (including your rating), you actually have to register at least an hour before the start of round 1 (can be done by phone) and then they split it into equal sections.
I think this is preferable for a variety of reaons, albeit I've always been in the top section - people near the usual cutoff might have other ideas.
There are occasional modifications:
1) One club* organises two weekenders a year where the top section consists of the 16 highest rated entries and is FIDE rated
2) Over Christmas and Easter long congresses are run where the top 8-12 (depending how many rounds they run) are put into an all-play-play "Master" tournament and then the rest are split into equal sections to run as swisses.
* Weekenders are generally run by clubs to raise money for their finances. When you have to pay 800-1000 euros to send your 8 person team to play a league match at the opposite end of Finland, this is necessary.
I think this is preferable for a variety of reaons, albeit I've always been in the top section - people near the usual cutoff might have other ideas.
There are occasional modifications:
1) One club* organises two weekenders a year where the top section consists of the 16 highest rated entries and is FIDE rated
2) Over Christmas and Easter long congresses are run where the top 8-12 (depending how many rounds they run) are put into an all-play-play "Master" tournament and then the rest are split into equal sections to run as swisses.
* Weekenders are generally run by clubs to raise money for their finances. When you have to pay 800-1000 euros to send your 8 person team to play a league match at the opposite end of Finland, this is necessary.